Turkey Re-Opens Embassy in Libya

ISTANBUL (AP) -- Turkey's foreign ministry says it is re-opening its embassy in the Libyan capital which had closed over security concerns in 2014.

The foreign ministry said in a statement Monday the embassy in Tripoli was starting out with a "core staff" working under Ambassador Ahmet Aydin Dogan. The ambassador had been working out of Tunisia after the embassy closed.

Turkey's consulate in Misrata never closed.

Turkey has close ties with the North African country and provided vital support to the rebels who overthrew and killed Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. Libya has been wracked by fighting and other violence involving rival militias since the demise of its longtime leader.

The foreign ministry said in its statement that re-opening the embassy would allow Turkey to support reconciliation and reconstruction efforts in Libya.

(KA)