The source of Libya's instability has been removed with the killing of former leader Moammar Gadhafi, but restoring public order may take time in a nation emerging from an eight-month civil war, Korea's top envoy to Tripoli said Thursday (local time).
"The failure to capture Gadhafi during the two months following the fall of Tripoli remained a source of political instability, but this has now been resolved through his death," Ambassador Jo Dae-sik told Yonhap News Agency by phone, shortly after news reports announced the killing of the 69-year-old leader by opposition forces in his hometown of Sirte.
The ambassador noted, however, that Gadhafi's death may not immediately lead to improvements in public order and safety in the nation.
"It's hard to guarantee that the security situation will improve," he said. "Libya's interim National Transitional Council (NTC) has so far overlooked its internal problems in the face of a 'common enemy,' but that may change from now on."
The former rebels who make up the NTC are ruling the nation as the de facto government, but observers fear Gadhafi's death may spur political infighting and divisions along the lines of different geographical and ideological interests.
The ambassador spoke of two major tasks Libya faces in rebuilding the nation -- reaching political consensus within the NTC and gathering in the many weapons distributed across the country.
"The most urgent priority will be to form an interim government through an agreement between the NTC's different groups," he said. On the extent of weapons distribution, he said, "It's hard to even estimate the number of arms and grenades currently in Libya." (Yonhap)