Former Libyan Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril has died of coronavirus in an Egyptian hospital, local media report.

Jibril’s political party, the National Forces' Alliance, said he had tested positive for the virus on 26 March. Jibril's own Facebook page has now been updated with an Islamic message used after someone has died.

Born in 1952, Jibril was a Western-educated politician who defected to the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) at the beginning of Libya's 2011 uprising against long-term leader Muammar Gaddafi.

He went on to serve as NTC prime minister until October the same year.

His National Forces Alliance led in Libya's 2012 election, the country's first democratic poll in decades.