Germany will do its part to avoid a proxy war in Libya, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday, warning that the situation in the country risked destabilizing the whole of Africa.
"In Libya, a situation is developing that can take on similar dimensions to what we have seen in Syria .. and it's imperative we do everything we can to make sure this does not escalate into a proxy war and Germany will play its part," Merkel told the Bundestag lower house, according to Reuters.
"The whole of the African region will be destabilized if Libya is not stabilized," she added.
Libya has been wracked by chaos since the 2011 uprising in which its longtime leader Moamer Gaddafi was killed. In April, Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army launched an operation to liberate the capital, Tripoli, from forces loyal to the head of the Government of National Accord, Fayez al-Sarraj.
The UN special envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, warned last week that without action by the Security Council, the conflict could escalate.
