Risk consultancy AKE has said it has lowered its security risk rating for Libya as a result of improved conditions in the recently liberated country.
Libya is now rated at 35 out of 100, a notable improvement from the ratings of 63 and 64 the country had during its six-month long conflict between March and October.
The uprising caused Libya to take over Afghanistan as the world’s riskiest state, and thousands of foreign oil and gas workers were evacuated during this period. A number of foreign companies have now begun to return to Libya, including Spain's Repsol.
AKE warned that ongoing internal tensions could still result in bloodshed, however, and said the operating environment should still be considered potentially hostile.
The consultancy's Libya specialist Alan Fraser said the National Transitional Council had still to “reign in the large number of former rebel fighters now roaming major cities”.
Reports indicate that many of the militia leaders are abandoning a pledge to give up their weapons, and instead intend to preserve their autonomy and influence political decisions as “guardians of the revolution”, the expert added.
(Source: Upstream Online)
