The Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Antonio Guterres, has said that he "deeply regrets" the United States (US) decision to block a former Palestinian prime minister from leading the UN's political mission in Libya.

According to Ceoafrica, Mr Guterres said Salam Fayyad was "the right person for the right job at the right moment".

The US blocked Mr Fayyad';s appointment on Friday, saying it was acting to support its ally, Israel, which the US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said the UN was "unfairly biased in favour of the Palestinian Authority to the detriment of our allies in Israel".

Speaking at the annual World Government Summit in Dubai, Mr Guterres said that “it is a loss for the Libyan peace process and for the Libyan people that I am not able to appoint him and I do not think there is any valid reason to avoid someone who is very competent to do a job that is extremely important".

Libya has been gripped by war and unrest since the 2011 overthrow of former leader, Muammar Gaddafi.