Peace is beginning to creep back to Libya as the military chief of staff in Libya’s eastern region has ordered a temporary freeze on a controversial ban on Libyan women under the age of 60 travelling on their own.

According to Ceoafrica, the directive, which came into force on the weekend, was widely condemned and ridiculed across the country.

Although, the ban was said to be for "national security reasons" and not driven by religious ideology, but a source in the chief of staff’s office said it was being frozen for amendments because “it may have generalised the matter too much”.

The African country of Libya is not controlled by a single authority, but Eastern Libya is under the control of commander, Khalifa Hafter, who is leading the battle against Islamist militias.