Six years on from the fall of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, Libya remains deeply divided and unstable. Rival governments tussle for authority while much political and economic activity is run by an assortment of militias.

This week, the UK’s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson visited to North African nation. The UK, along with France and the US, was instrumental in lending support to the rebels who overthrow Gaddafi in 2011. On his trip, Johnson met with Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, whose forces control much of eastern Libya, to urge him to compromise with the UN-backed government in Tripoli.

This also happened:

https://twitter.com/BBCNews/status/901005510421381120

This photo above of girls greeting a military helicopter was taken in 2012 on the anniversary of the uprising that toppled the military dictator. It was taken, in more hopeful times, by Iason Foounten (UN Photo).

For more on Libya, see:

• Dance with the Devil: Europe finances Libyan militias to curb migration
• People smuggling in Libya: You can’t bomb away a problem of economics
• Review: Migrant, Refugee, Smuggler, Saviour – by Peter Tinti and Tuesday Reitano

In our Photo of the Week, we showcase one of the boldest and most beautiful images, old or new, that we’ve come across that week. If you’d like to submit a photograph to be featured, please email [email protected]