Key coastal road reopened as Libya bids to reunite regions after civil war

LIBYA’S interim authorities have reopened the Mediterranean coastal road linking the country’s long-divided eastern and western cities, in the latest attempt to reunite the territories after years of civil war.

Yesterday’s announcement came ahead of an international conference on Libya that will be hosted by Germany and the United Nations in Berlin on Wednesday.

“I am so delighted to participate in the opening of this essential lifeline linking the east of our country to its west,” Libyan prime minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah told a crowd that gathered as bulldozers were towing away rocks and sand dunes blocking the road.

The coastal road has been closed since April 2019 after east-based military commander Khalifa Hifter launched a military offensive to wrest the capital, Tripoli, from the Un-recognised government.

Its reopening was a long-held demand by the UN to enable the safe passage of civilians and goods.

The United States’ embassy in Libya hailed the move, saying in a tweet it was “paving the path for Libyans to have full control over their own affairs”.

Mr Dbeibah was elected interim prime minister, along with a fourmember presidential council, by Libyan delegates at a Un-sponsored conference in February. They are meant to shepherd the country to nationwide elections late this year.

In March, the transitional government announced the resumption of flights between eastern Benghazi and western Misrata after seven years of suspension. Both cities have been key strongholds of Libya’s warring factions.

Libya has been mired in chaos since a Nato-backed uprising toppled and later killed longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

On Wednesday, a conference in Berlin will discuss preparations for the general elections, and withdrawal of foreign forces who were brought in to fight for the opposing sides.