BRAZZAVILLE, Congo
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 Muammar Gaddafi 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.
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