TRIPOLI, 24 April - 9 ANA) - U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, the most senior U.S. official to visit Libya since a deadly 2012 attack on a U.S. compound there, said on Thursday Libya was facing a severe challenge from an increase in extremist violence.

"Rising violent extremism is an enormous challenge first for Libya but also for Libya's international partners," he told a news conference after talks in the capital Tripoli. Washington recognized the severity of that threat, he added. -(ANA)

AB/ANA/ 24 April 2014  - - -