A new Vatican Ambassador to Libya has been appointed by Pope Francis,
the head of the Roman Catholic Church. He has named Archbishop Aldo Cavalli as Apostolic Nuncio (Vatican Ambassador).
He replaces Archbishop Tommaso Caputo who left last November.
Archbishop Cavalli, born in 1946 in Maggianico di Lecco, north of Milan, was previously Apostolic Nuncio to Colombia.
The new Vatican Ambassador was also appointed Nuncio to Malta, where he arrived on April 11.
There are thought to be some 50,000 Catholics in Libya, the vast majority foreigners working in the country.
There are a small number of Catholics married to Libyans.
A new Vatican embassy is being built next to the Catholic church in Tripoli.
However, it is reported that last week a group of militiamen not linked to any official organisation arrived at the site and forced workers to stop construction.