US and UN call for talks in Libyan dispute over control of central bank

UN-backed institutions in west of Libya show no sign of backing down over dismissal of bank's governor of 20 years

A crisis in the Libyan economy sparked by an escalating and sometimes violent contest over the control of the country's central bank can only be cured through diplomacy, the US embassy in Libya has said, as it backed efforts by the UN to convene an emergency meeting of the groups involved.

The embassy, led by the ambassador Richard Norland, pleaded with all sides to heed a UN call to hold talks, saying the contest over the administration of the bank undermines confidence in Libya's economic and financial stability in the eyes of Libyan citizens and the international community, and increases the likelihood of harmful confrontation".