Tunisia 'won't accept a divided Libya'- President

Tunisian President Kais Saied said his country would not accept a divided Libya at a news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris Monday.

Saied is the first head of state to visit France since the country’s de-confinement due to the pandemic.

This visit is also his first trip to Europe since the election of the Tunisian President last October.

“The authorities in Tripoli are based on international legitimacy, but this international legitimacy cannot continue. It is a temporary legitimacy, and its place must come a new legitimate government, a legitimate government which is born of the will of the Libyan people. And I will say it from this podium, in Paris, that Tunis will not accept the division of Libya”, he said.

Libya has been in turmoil since 2011, when a NATO-backed uprising overthrew leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was later killed.

The country has since been divided between rival administrations in the east and west, each supported by armed groups and various foreign governments.

France is pushing for a cease-fire as a priority in Tunisia’s neighbor, which has been in turmoil since 2011 when a NATO-backed uprising toppled leader Muammar GadDafi, who was later killed.

AP