Libya: Eastern-based parliament speaker announces eastern central bank head as overall governor

Libya's eastern-based parliament speaker, Aguila Saleh, has issued a letter telling the government and state institutions to recognise Ali al-Hibri, the head of the eastern Central Bank of Libya branch, as the bank's designated overall governor.

The letter, dated on Tuesday but made public on Friday, marks a step away from two years of efforts to reunify Libyan state institutions divided by years of conflict, after months of worsening political stalemate over control of government.

Libya has been wrecked by conflict since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The country was for years split between rival administrations in the east and west, each supported by different militias and foreign governments.