The advance of Islamic militants in Tripoli may have been a way of gaining leverage before truce talks start, according to the US ambassador to Libya.

Deborah Jones said the US would continue listening and talking to all groups in Libya but insisted the only recognised authority was the democratically elected House of Representatives.

Ms Jones was speaking to the Maltese media for the first time since arriving here after the US closed its Tripoli embassy last month, transferring all operations to Malta.

Our job is to see the end of the tunnel and work towards it, otherwise we are in the wrong job

“I would not underestimate the value of legitimacy afforded by the international community to the elected parliament,” she said, when asked about the institution’s inability to enforce its decisions.

She said a majority of Libyans still wanted to see a united country but acknowledged that the decision by Islamic militants, aligned with the Misurata faction, to recall the former parliament and appoint a prime minister had complicated matters.

Libya now has two parliaments and two prime ministers, although the international community only recognises the recently elected House of Representatives, based in Tobruk, and the government led by Abdullah al-Thinni.

However, Ms Jones insisted this did not mean the US would agree with every decision taken by the House of Representatives, such as a recent blanket labelling of Misurata militias as terrorist groups.

“What we need now is all parties to agree to a ceasefire and labelling will not help to foster consensus,” she said.

However, she underscored that the US considered the Benghazi-based Ansar al-Sharia to be a terrorist organisation.

Ms Jones said the UN Security Council would in the coming days discuss a resolution asking all parties in Libya to agree on a ceasefire, but it would also consider some form of sanctions against those who breached international law and destroyed civilian infrastructure such as the airport.

Ms Jones said recent airstrikes conducted by an outside force in Tripoli against militant targets failed to achieve their objective and insisted such unilateral interventions were wrong.

The two sorties by fighter jets were reportedly conducted by the United Arab Emirates using bases in Egypt. The US said it was not informed of the operation.

“The US believes that any actions that exacerbate damage to the basic infrastructure that affects Libyans in their everyday life is wrong,” she said, pointing out that outside interference in Libya could complicate matters. Anticipating criticism that this stand was hypocritical given the latest bombing raids in Iraq conducted by the US military, Ms Jones said the intervention targeting Islamic State (IS, formerly known as Isis) extremists was done transparently and in cooperation with the international community.

Deborah Jones with US ambassador to Malta Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley yesterday.Deborah Jones with US ambassador to Malta Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley yesterday.

‘Decision was one of saddest of career’

Asked about the threat of Islamic State extremists infiltrating Libya, Ms Jones said that border security would always be a big challenge no matter what the circumstances because of the country’s size and the length of its borders.

“There are obviously concerns about [IS infiltration] and there are a lot of eyes on that,” she said.

Ms Jones said the decision to leave Libya was one of “the saddest” decisions in her diplomatic career.

The US embassy compound had only been opened a month before but needed to be shut down after heavy fighting broke out in the vicinity.

Ms Jones said the US military provided satellite and air cover as the long convoy of embassy vehicles made it to Tunisia by road.

Heavy fighting broke out at the end of July close to Tripoli airport. It escalated until the Misurata-led Islamists captured the airport from the rival secular western forces from Zintan last week. The airport was gutted and several aircraft damaged.

Asked whether she saw light at the end of the tunnel, Ms Jones said it was her job to create the space for all sides to talk to each other. “Our job is to see the end of the tunnel and work towards it, otherwise we are in the wrong job.”

Ms Jones is being hosted in Malta by US ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, a colleague since 1984 when both women worked in Baghdad.

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