Egypt has offered to train pro-government forces battling rival armed groups in Libya, stepping up efforts to eradicate what it says is a threat to its own stability from the anarchy engulfing its neighbour.

The offer was the latest sign of intervention by competing Arab powers in Libya – a haven for Islamist militants and close to becoming a failed state – while Western governments are preoccupied with Iraq and Syria.

Egypt is trying to reassert its regional authority on its own terms while also winning back the US military aid suspended after Cairo cracked down on the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood.

Egyptian military officials and representatives of pro-government Libyan forces have met several times over the past two months in Cairo and the Mediterranean city of Marsa Matrouh, Egyptian security officials said.

An intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said “intelligence and training” assistance were on the table.