Day After Reopening, Libyan Coastal Road Closes
Voice of America
CAIRO - Arab media are reporting that Libya's coastal highway is closed again, following declarations by the national unity government that the road was now open.
The Tripoli-based government has been pushing hard to reopen the road, arguing that it is a sign of the country’s reunification. Military and political leaders in eastern Libya argue that reopening the road may allow terrorists to flow into their sector. Arab media reported the highway was closed again as of Monday afternoon, a day after National Unity Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbaibeh declared the road had officially been reopened. A video from the Reuters news agency showed Prime Minister Dbaibeh in a tractor Sunday, removing earth from the coastal highway to reopen the road. The road connects the western city of Misrata and Sirte, the hometown of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Gen. Ahmed Almasmari, the spokesman for eastern military commander Gen. Khalifa Haftar, said the prime minister and militia forces around Tripoli had overstepped their legal authority, circumventing a 10-person joint military committee authorized to make that decision. The U.N.-appointed committee, known as 5+5, includes an equal number of military officers from both sides.China's Defense Minister Dong Jun speaks during the Shangri-La Dialogue summit at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, June 2, 2024. FILE - A Chinese coast guard ship, left, with a Chinese militia vessel, right, blocks Philippine coast guard ship, BRP Sindangan as it tried to head towards Second Thomas Shoal at the disputed South China Sea during rotation and resupply mission on Oct. 4, 2023.
Police officers stop and search people near Victoria Park, Hong Kong's traditional venue for the annual 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown vigil, in Hong Kong, June 4, 2024. People gather near a soccer field which in previous years had been used annually for vigils to mark the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, at Victoria Park, Hong Kong, June 4, 2024. This year, the venue was blocked off for a carnival by pro-government groups. (Cindy Sui/VOA) A carnival worker tells members of the public they cannot enter the restricted area until later in the day, at Victoria Park, Hong Kong, June 4, 2024. (Cindy Sui/VOA) A carnival worker guards the perimeter of a closed-off soccer field which traditionally had been used for Tiananmen Square crackdown commemorations, at Victoria Park, Hong Kong, June 4, 2024. (Cindy Sui/VOA)
Police officers stop and search people near Victoria Park, Hong Kong's traditional venue for the annual 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown vigil, in Hong Kong, June 4, 2024. People gather near a soccer field which in previous years had been used annually for vigils to mark the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, at Victoria Park, Hong Kong, June 4, 2024. This year, the venue was blocked off for a carnival by pro-government groups. (Cindy Sui/VOA) A carnival worker tells members of the public they cannot enter the restricted area until later in the day, at Victoria Park, Hong Kong, June 4, 2024. (Cindy Sui/VOA) A carnival worker guards the perimeter of a closed-off soccer field which traditionally had been used for Tiananmen Square crackdown commemorations, at Victoria Park, Hong Kong, June 4, 2024. (Cindy Sui/VOA)