Libya: reopening of the coastal road between Misrata and Sirte
The road connecting East and West Libya through the coast has been reopened for part of 300 kilometers.
© MAHMUD TURKIA / AFP
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After two years of closure, the coastal road between East and West Libya was reopened on Sunday, June 20.
Reopening on the front line, some 370 kilometers from the capital Tripoli, in the presence of Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeibah and several of these ministers.
The road connects the west of Libya, from its border with Tunisia, east to Egypt.
An important step towards the pacification of the country.
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At the wheel of an excavator, the Prime Minister himself cleared three sand dams blocking the road. Quite a symbol ... This 300 km long road section between Misrata and Sirte had been closed since 2019. Since the offensive on the capital Tripoli of Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the strong man of eastern Libya. With this reopening, "
a page will be turned
" welcomed Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeibah.
This is indeed an important step, although opposite, on the side of Marshal Haftar's troops, the road is still closed. The reopening of this axis road is one of the conditions of the ceasefire signed last October between the government of Tripoli and Marshal Haftar. It comes as the international community prepares to meet in Berlin this week. This is the 2nd international conference, responsible for examining the progress made in restoring peace, unifying the country and holding elections at the end of the year.
Marshal Khalifa Haftar's forces claimed on Sunday that they had closed the border with Algeria.
They said it was a "military zone" in which all movement is prohibited.
A closure which illustrates the fragmentation of power in Libya where the Government of national unity, supported by the international community, fails to reduce the opposition of the Libyan National Army led by Marshal Haftar.
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