U.N’s Ban Ki-moon arrives in a surprise visit to Libya

U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon arrived Wednesday in Libya for a surprise visit, an airport official told AFP, his first since the uprising that ousted Muammar Qaddafi.

Earlier U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said Ban would spend one day in Tripoli to meet officials in the National Transitional Council who ousted Qaddafi and representatives of civic group.

The visit had not been previously announced for security reasons. Ban is on his way to the Group of 20 economic powers summit in Cannes, France, where Libya will be on the agenda. He was due to arrive in Cannes late Wednesday.

Ban did not visit Libya during the eight months of the armed uprising which led to the fall of the Libyan regime and the death of Qaddafi on October 20.

His visit comes days after the U.N. Security Council on Monday called on Libya’s interim authorities and neighboring countries to stamp out the spread of weapons from Qaddafi’s huge stockpile and after NATO ended its U.N.-mandated mission in the North African nation.