January 08, 2016•Update: January 09, 2016
ANKARA
Turkey has condemned the bomb attack on a police training center in western Libya that killed at least 50 people earlier Thursday.
"We strongly condemn the deadly terrorist attack that targeted a police training center in Libya's Zliten city," Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a written statement.
"This atrocious attack has demonstrated once again the necessity of an effective fight against terror in Libya as well as the prompt establishment of national security and stability," the ministry said, urging the national unity government in Libya to start working as soon as possible.
On Dec. 17, 2015, Libya’s rival political camps, including both Libya’s Tripoli-based General National Congress and the Tobruk-based House of Representatives signed a UN-mediated reconciliation agreement to form a national unity government.
Thursday's bomb attack also left at least 127 people injured. Local sources told Anadolu Agency that a suicide bomber drove his explosive-laden truck into the center’s gate.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
Libya has remained in a state of turmoil since a bloody uprising ended the decades-long rule of strongman Muammar Gaddafi in late 2011.
Since then, the country’s stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of government, each with its own institutions and military capacities.
The so-called Libyan Political Agreement calls for a one-year transitional phase to last until referendum on new constitution and legislative elections can be held.
According to the terms of the new agreement, the two sides are expected to establish a unity government to run the country’s affairs during the transitional period.
