Women alone face Libya travel ban

Military officials controlling eastern Libya have banned
 women under 60 from travelling abroad on their own.

The ban is said to be for "national security reasons" and 
not driven by religious ideology.

According to ERICGOSSIP says it will affect all passengers transiting through the east.

Libya is divided between two authorities - one in the
 east and an internationally recognised one based in the capital, Tripoli.

The eastern government is based in al-Beyda and the ban 
was first enforced in the city's Labraq international airport.

The authorities in the east under the command of Gen 
Khalifa Hefter have control over an area stretching from Ajdabiya to Tobruk.


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A spokesman for eastern Libya's Chief of Staff, Abdulrazzak al- Naduri, confirmed the new measure to the Media.

In a TV interview, he claimed that women representing 
civil society groups, who frequently travel abroad for work, 
are being used by foreign intelligence.

The directive was not voted for by the parliament but it is already being implemented in the east.

Officers say it is to be enforced on travel by land, air and
 sea.

The restriction highlights the growing political divide in 
Libya, with each side enforcing its own rules in the area it controls, our correspondent says.

Libya has been beset by chaos since Nato-backed forces
overthrew long-serving ruler Col Muammar Gaddafi in 
October 2011.

Eastern Libya is under the control of commander Khalifa Hafter who is leading the battle against Islamist militias.