31 January 2013 Last updated at 13:31 GMT                       Source: BBC News

We want to stand with you, David Cameron tells Libya

David Cameron at a police graduation ceremony in a 

training college on the outskirts of Tripoli, Libya

David Cameron has told Libyans that "the British people want to stand with you" as he visited country on the second stage of his African trip.

The prime minister was greeted by the public in Martyrs' Square in the capital Tripoli, having spoken to recruits at a police training college.

He is also meeting Prime Minister Ali Zidan and President Mohamed Magarief.

Downing Street had requested a news blackout ahead of his arrival from Algeria for security reasons.

He told police recruits at the training centre, which is receiving support from the British government, that it was "very good to be back".

In September 2011, Mr Cameron travelled to Libya with French President Nicolas Sarkozy to celebrate the liberation of this country from Colonel Gaddafi.

"I will never forget the scenes I saw in Tripoli and Benghazi," he said.

"The British people want to stand with you and help you deliver the greater security that Libya needs.

"So we have offered training and support from our police and our military. We look forward to working together in the years ahead."

                                                                                        David Cameron in Martyrs' Square in Tripoli

Earlier this week, the Foreign Office warned of a "potential threat" to the British embassy in Tripoli.

This came less than a week after UK citizens were urged to leave the second city, Benghazi, because of a "specific and imminent threat to westerners".

The security situation has deteriorated since the PM's last visit. As he toured Martyrs' Square, a police helicopter hovered overhead and security forces were close at hand.

Visiting Algeria on Wednesday in the first leg of his trip to Africa, the prime minister said the international community should use "everything at its disposal" to fight terrorism.

The recent hostage crisis at the In Amenas gas plant, in which some 37 foreigners died, was "a reminder that what happens in other countries affects us at home", he said.

He also defended Western intervention in the conflict in Mali.

He was the first British prime minister to visit Algeria since it became independent in 1962.