Benghazi port open for the first time since 2014

Benghazi port in east Libya reopened for the first time in three years on Sunday after being forced into closing because of clashes in the cradle of the 2011 revolution.

Commercial operations at the port had ended in 2014 when armed movements, including the Islamic State group, took control of the city.

It was the eastern-based government of Abdullah al-Thani that launched the port's reopening. Thani arrived on board a cargo vessel accompanied by members of his cabinet. 

"We thank God that justice has been victorious over injustice," al-Thani told AFP, referring to the ouster of the Islamist militias and "all those who claim that Benghazi is not secure".

"The docking of this cargo ship carrying medicines and food supplies... is a major challenge to the obscurantists who used it to bring weapons to the terrorists." 

"Benghazi is a peaceful city, not a haven for terrorists from around the world as some people claim," he added.

Thani's so-called provisional government has not been recognised internationally since the government of national unity (GNA) was formed through a UN-sponsored agreement signed in 2015.

IS forces in Benghazi were expelled in July by the forces of military strongman Khalifa Haftar, who has been accused of personally ordering attacks on civilians.

Read also: Haftar's forces celebrate Benghazi victory by 'parading Islamists' corpses'

Haftar does not recognise the authority of the UN-backed government of national Accord based in the capital Tripoli, instead backing an alternate Tobruk-based administration set up in eastern Libya.

He recently emerged as a key figure in Libya, backed by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates among other foreign powers.