Police officers keep watch over a peaceful protest. Photo: Paul Spiteri Lucas

Police security outside the Libyan Embassy in Balzan was yesterday beefed up following pressure from Libya’s two rival governments to have their representative head the embassy.

Last month, Maltese diplomats in Tripoli were recalled following similar pressure for recognition from the same two governments, one of which sits in Tobruk and is internationally recognised and the other which has taken over Tripoli.

The police yesterday closed off part of the road leading to the embassy and at least 12 officers were keeping a close watch over the area when a small number of Libyans headed there in “peaceful protest”.

These Libyans, who live in Malta, were calling on the chargé d’affaires appointed by the Tripoli-based government to make way for the diplomat sent by the Tobruk government.

For the past months, Malta, like its European and UN counterparts, has recognised the parliament in Tobruk as the legitimate government. At the same time, the General National Congress was revived in Tripoli, insisting it should be given international recognition.

A UN special envoy has been in touch with both sides for a peace bid

Both governments have their own Prime Minister and Cabinet. UN special envoy Bernardino Leon has been in touch with both sides in a bid to reach a peace deal between the warring factions.

In the absence of a Libyan Ambassador in Malta, the government was recognising a chargé d’affaires who was uncontested by either side. However, someone sent by the Tripoli government recently took over the role.

In an immediate reaction, the Tobruk government sent a note verbale asking the government to recognise, instead, another person who it was specifically sending to Malta to represent it.

This, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said, has created a situation: the diplomat who represents the Tripoli government does not want to make way for the diplomat from Tobruk.

The government has consulted with the EU and neighbouring foreign ministries and is hoping for a solution to be reached without getting caught between the two sides. It said the situation was not an easy one and the government was holding a series of meetings in a bid to secure an agreement without conflict between the two Libyan factions in Malta.