Algeria and Libya to tackle security
Algiers/Tripoli, 23 Feb – (ANA) - North African neighbours Libya and Algeria are to exchange high-level visits in an attempt to re-launch cooperation in fighting arms trafficking and Islamist insurgents in the Sahara desert.
Security ties had been effectively on hold since the revolt last year which ended Muammar Gaddafi's rule in Libya, because of disputes between Algeria and Libya's new leadership.
Cooperation between the two countries is a crucial component in trying to stop arms smugglers and insurgents, including al Qaeda, using the Sahara desert as a safe haven - a problem made worse by the instability following Gaddafi's fall.
Algerian Interior Minister Daho Ould Kablia said his Libyan counterpart Fawzi Abdel A'al would soon visit Algeria.
"What is important in this issue is security on our borders and stability in Libya, because instability will have repercussions for us," Kablia said. (ANA)
FA/ANA/23 February 2012----------