Blinken commends appointment of new special envoy for Libya by UN chief

US State Secretary Antony Blinken has welcomed the appointment by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of his Special Representative for Libya.

"We welcome the appointment by UN Secretary-General Guterres of Mr Abdoulaye Bathily as his Special Representative for Libya and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya," Blinken said in a statement released by the US State Department, Interfax reports.

Blinken noted that the outbreak of violence in Tripoli [the capital of Libya] in August underlined the fragility of the situation in Libya, clearly indicating the need for all parties to work in good faith and without delay to reach an agreement on a constitutional framework and specific timing for elections.

The state secretary pledged to fully support the special envoy.

He also urged Batili to "prioritize" efforts to ensure transparency and accountability in Libya's state institutions, as well as the work of the UN ceasefire monitoring mission.

The appointment of Senegalese Abdoulaye Batili as Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya was announced by the UN press service on September 3.