by Nurat Uthman
The African Union on Monday urged an end to “external interference” in Libya, which has been torn by a devastating civil war since 2011.
A NATO-backed uprising led to the overthrow and killing of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011. With a myriad of militias subsequently vying for power, more than a decade of stop-start conflict followed.
The African Union, holding its ninth special meeting on Libya, underscored the need to back Libyan efforts to return to normalcy.
Libya is now divided between an internationally recognised Tripoli-based administration in the west, and one in the disaster-stricken east backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.
“The members… reiterated their backing for the political process undertaken by Libya with the aim of leading to general elections allowing a unified government,” Congolese foreign minister Jean-Claude Gakosso said in a final statement.
They also renewed an appeal “for all external actors to stop interfering in the internal affairs of Libya which affect the fundamental interests of the Libyan people, their legitimate aspirations and stability, peace and development.”
An inter-Libyan reconciliation meeting is scheduled to take place on April 28 in Sirte in Libya.
The chairman of the African Union commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, also said that the Libyan crisis “has endured too long and cost its people dearly” and fomented terrorism in the Sahel region.
