Libya gov’t hopeful mercenaries will withdraw ‘within days’

Libyan Foreign Minister Najla al-Mangoush says she hopes foreign mercenaries will withdraw in the coming days.

Libya’s interim government has expressed hope that foreign mercenaries will be withdrawn from the North African country after peace talks with world powers in Berlin. The UN-sponsored conference gathered Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the foreign ministers of France, Turkey and Egypt, in an attempt to secure a lasting peace and ensure the conflict-wracked country remains on the path towards general elections scheduled for December. Libya has been mired in chaos since a NATO-backed uprising removed longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The country was subsequently split between rival administrations: the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) based in the capital, Tripoli, and a separate eastern-based administration, led by renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar. Each was backed by an array of militias and foreign powers.