Reopening of the Coastal Road between Eastern and Western Libya Officially Announced

The coastal road connecting Eastern and Western Libya, closed for nearly two years due to fighting in the eastern region, was officially reopened on Friday. This followed a month after traffic resumed on its western segment. The “5+5” military committee, comprising military personnel from both warring sides, stated in a release that the road was reopened at 9 AM GMT. A member of the committee told AFP that “citizens have been directed from the previous detour routes to the current direct coastal road.” Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah inaugurated the reopening of this road on the western side at the end of June. There are still checkpoints along the route, which passes through areas controlled by Khalifa Haftar, the strongman of Eastern Libya. This road links the western part of the country from the border with Tunisia in the east to Egypt. The 300-kilometer segment between the cities of Misrata (west) and Sirte (north-central) was closed at the onset of Haftar's offensive from April 2019 to June 2020 aimed at capturing Tripoli. The reopening of this road is central to the negotiations of the "5+5" committee, which was formed following the signing of a ceasefire on October 23 under the auspices of the United Nations. Libya has been striving to emerge from a decade of violence since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.