PARIS (AP) — France will reopen its embassy in Libya's capital Tripoli next week in a gesture of support to the conflict-ravaged country's interim government, President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday. Macron said that France owes “a debt to Libya and the Libyans, which is a decade of disorder.”Libya was plunged into chaos when an uprising in 2011 — with support from a NATO military operation initially led by France — toppled longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi, who was later killed. Macron spoke after a meeting in Paris with Mohammad Younes Menfi and Musa al-Koni, president and vice-president of Libya’s Presidential Council. He added that priority should be given to maintaining the ceasefire, leading the country towards elections scheduled in December, and unifying Libyan armed forces in order to support the transition. The oil-rich country was in recent years split between rival east- and west-based administrations, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments.

Source: Libya Today March 23, 2021 19:18 UTC