Libya's UN-backed government seeks help from Italy to curb militias

Rome  :  Libya's Interior Minister Fathi Bashaga held talks on Thursday with his Italian counterpart Matteo Salvini, Defence Minister Elizabetta Trenta and Deputy Foreign Minister Emanuela Del aimed at strengthening the UN-backed government's control over security in the chaos-stricken country and to rein in the power of its armed groups.

Premier Giuseppe Conte confirmed Bashaga's presence in Rome as well as that of the second-in-command of the UN's mission in Libya, Stephanie Williams, telling reporters that Libya was "the main focus of our foreign policy".

Bashaga's visit came the day after UN-backed premier Fayez al-Sarraj and powerful eastern warlord Khalifa Haftar agreed in UN-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi to reform Libya's Constitution, hold national elections and "on ways to maintain stability in the country and unify its institutions", according to a statement from the UNSMIL mission.

Libya has been in turmoil since the NATO-backed ouster of late dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, with rival governments in Tripoli and the east of the country backed by a myriad of militias who are vying for control of the oil-rich North African country.