The project, led by Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle and supported by the European Commission, was set up to give Libyans and international media organization access to unbiased news about the country.

Libya is contending with a civil war being fought between two rival governments, while extremist movements such as the so-called Islamic State have exploited political instability. UN-brokered efforts at political transition have so far failed to bring about a unity government.

“Libyans need information about Libya, from Libyans. This is absolutely vital for a new, democratic beginning,” LCNA editor-in-chief Tarek Al Huni said in a statement.

“The LCNA is a very important tool to help re-establish a more objective picture of Libya,” added Christian Gramsch, the director of Deutsche Welle Akademie, which trained 100 journalists from across the country for the project.

LCNA provides texts, photos and multimedia material that is uploaded onto an online cloud service, whose servers are based outside the country and “out of the range of physical attacks,” the agency says.

It is financially independent and does not accept donations. LCNA aims to be self-sustaining, through subscriptions from media outlets and other news agencies.