Libya attacks delay extradition of Manchester bomber's brother
Abedi was arrested in Libya not long after the bombing and the government had intended to send him to Britain late last year.
Friday 26 April 2019 21:51, UK
The planned extradition from Libya of the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber has been delayed due to attacks on the capital.
Britain requested that Hashem Abedi, 21, be extradited in November 2017 - six months after his older brother blew himself up at an Ariana Grande concert.
Salman Abedi killed 22 people and Greater Manchester Police want to arrest his brother for murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to cause an explosion.
Libya agreed to extradite him because he is a British national, but the ongoing attacks on Tripoli by rebel forces mean he will remain in the north African country for the foreseeable future.
Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar has been leading the strikes, keen to take advantage of continued instability caused by the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
Libyan interior minister Fathi Bashagha has compared the attacks on Tripoli to the crimes of Adolf Hitler, and said it was impossible for Abedi to be extradited so long as they carried on.
He told the BBC: "We have to wait until the conflict is finished. All our attention we are paying is towards how to push back the Haftar militia attacking Tripoli. This is important for us."
Abedi was arrested in Libya not long after the Manchester bombing and the internationally-recognised government had intended to send him to Britain late last year.
But relations between the two countries have soured recently, with Mr Bashagha critical of Britain for withdrawing special forces and diplomats from the country in the face of the rebel advance on Tripoli.
He said their actions undermined the relationship built up since 2011, when British and French air strikes precipitated the overthrow of Colonel Gaddafi.
Mr Bashagha said "trust and confidence" had been lost and would take time to rebuild.
He added that the British withdrawal had given the rebel leader the "clear to kill us".