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Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) departing for Libya early Thursday morning in Berlin
Photo: Florian Gaertner / photothek.de / imago images / photothek
After years of civil war and chaos in Libya, Germany is opening a new embassy in the capital Tripoli.
Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas arrived in Libya for a short visit to support the peace process in the North African country after many years of civil war.
"The former parties to the conflict have recognized that there can be no violent solution for their country," said Maas before his arrival in Tripoli.
"With concerted diplomacy, the international community and the United Nations have contributed to opening the door to a better future for Libya."
In July 2014, all German diplomats were withdrawn from Tripoli.
The German representation for Libya was housed in Tunis.
»With the reopening today we want to show that Germany is and will remain a committed partner to Libya.
We want to have a local voice in the Libyan capital again, «said Maas.
Fragile truce, fears about elections
After the overthrow of long-term ruler Muammar al-Gaddafi in 2011, Libya sank into a civil war in which numerous militias are involved.
The country was split up into several rulers, and terrorists from the "Islamic State" established themselves along the coast.
The east is dominated by the renegade General Haftar, while the west is governed by a government supported by the UN and several western states.
Since last year there has been a ceasefire between the warring factions in East and West.
This spring a transitional government was formed under UN mediation, which is to lead the country to elections on December 24th.
Among other things, because of a month-long dispute over the constitutional basis, the hope that this deadline can be met is increasingly dwindling.
mrc / dpa
