WORLD NEWS

Libya asks Britain's Johnson to help lift arms embargo

Libyan leader Fayez al-Sarraj on Wednesday invited visiting British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson to help lift a UN arms embargo in effect since the 2011 Libyan revolution .

Sarraj called for "the support of the British government to accelerate the lifting of the embargo," according to a government statement of unity after their talks in Tripoli.

Sarraj said that such a move would help "arm and equip the coast guards and border guards of Libya to carry out their missions against smugglers, especially traffickers," he said.

Both discussed the fight against illegal immigration and cooperation between their two countries in the fields of security, health, energy and education.

Johnson stressed London's support for efforts to reach an agreement between the two rival Libyan authorities, the statement said.

The government of the National Accord (GNA) backed by Sarraj's law fought to impose its authority in Libya in the face of opposition from an Eastern rival administration backed by the strong military man Khalifa Haftar.

Sarraj met Haftar near Paris in July in order to reach a peace agreement in the country in conflict.

Their commitment to holding elections was approved by the UN Security Council, of which Great Britain is a member.

Johnson recently visited Libya in May, discussing in Tripoli and the eastern city of Tobruk, where rival administration is based