The statements by the head of Libya’s national unity government came hours after protesters stormed the parliament building in Tobruk.
The head of Libya’s government of national unity, Abdulhamid Dbayba, said he was siding with the protesters in the country, agreed that all current institutions should leave power, including his own government, adding that to do so there is no other way but to organize “elections”.
Mr. Dbayba’s statements came hours after protesters stormed the parliament building in Tobruk (east) and took part in the largest protest mobilization in recent years in the capital Tripoli (west).
Plunged into chaos after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011, undermined by east-west conflicts, Libya, the country with the largest hydrocarbon deposits in Africa, remains in the grip of an intractable institutional crisis.
Since March, two governments have again been vying for power, one in Tripoli under Mr. Dbayba, who took over in 2021, the other in eastern Libya, under Fathi Batsaga, who is supported by Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
The ongoing crisis, mid-summer blackouts due to a large reduction in natural gas production due to the occupation of facilities, and the deterioration of Libyans’ living standards have enraged much of the population.
The presidential and parliamentary elections that were supposed to be held in December 2021 did not take place.
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