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

<p>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.</p> <p>Saied is the first head of state to visit France since the country’s de-confinement due to the pandemic.</p> <p>This visit is also his first trip to Europe since the election of the Tunisian President last October. </p> <p>“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.</p> <p>Libya has been in turmoil since 2011, when a <span class="caps">NATO</span>-backed uprising overthrew leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was later killed.</p> <p>The country has since been divided between rival administrations in the east and west, each supported by armed groups and various foreign governments.</p> <p>France is pushing for a cease-fire as a priority in Tunisia’s neighbor, which has been in turmoil since 2011 when a <span class="caps">NATO</span>-backed uprising toppled leader Muammar GadDafi, who was later killed.</p> <p><strong>AP</strong></p>

And I will say it from this podium, in Paris, that Tunis will not accept the division of Libya.