Liberia cuts ties with Libya

Liberia cuts ties with Libya

Liberia has cut diplomatic ties with Libya, the latest African country to distance itself from leader Muammar Gaddafi since a NATO-backed uprising against him.

The move, announced by the office of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, comes after Senegal received a delegation of Libyan rebel leaders last month and Mauritania's president was quoted last week as saying Gaddafi's departure was necessary.

Lost legitimacy

"The Government took the decision after a careful review of the situation in Libya and determined that the Government of Colonel Gaddafi has lost the legitimacy to govern Libya," the statement from Sirleaf's office said.

The Liberian government said it would withdraw the Liberian envoy from Tripoli and suspend activities of the Libyan representation in the Liberian capital Monrovia.

Liberia called for an end to the violence against the Libyan people.

Gaddafi has long used Libya's oil wealth to invest in poorer African countries in what analysts describe as a bid to win friends and strategic influence on the continent.

Libya has a 30 million dollars project to promote local production of rice in Liberia, while a Libyan company is involved in the renovation of Monrovia's Ducor Hotel, the largest in the country and one of the few five-star hotels in Africa. Both project, officials said, were already at a standstill.

While there are signs that some African leaders are eyeing a post-Gaddafi Libya, others see that as premature.

REUTERS/Williams