Battles broke out today in Tripolishortly after the announcement of the parliament-appointed government, supported by the marshal Caliph Haftarthat the seat of the rival government is being moved to the Libyan capital.
His government’s information service Fati Basaga reported in a press release that the Prime Minister and “several ministers»Arrived«in the capital Tripoli to begin their work” there.
The government of Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbaiba, based in Tripoli and formed following a UN-backed political process in early 2020, has so far not reacted to the announcement.
Fighting broke out before dawn between armed groups after the arrival of Mr. Basaga’s government, a French Agency journalist found. Continuous, loud fires were still heard in the city around 07:00 (local time; 08:00 Greek time).
Clashes between armed groups in Libyan capital #Tripoli #Libya # ليبيا # طرابلس
pic.twitter.com/X0eMWzfDxh– Expats In Tripoli (@ExpatsTripoli) May 17, 2022
The Libyan parliament, which is based in the eastern part of the country, named Mr Basagas as the new prime minister in February. The parliament is backed by General Haftar, the strongman of eastern Libya, whose troops had attempted to seize the capital in 2019.
Abdulhamid al-Dbaiba, the head of government in Tripoli and a businessman, refused to relinquish powerwhich again caused a long conflict between the two parallel governments.
VIDEO | Clashes with various types of weapons on Al-Shatt Road in the middle of #Tripoli; an imam of a mosque can be heard through the loudspeaker urging calm. #Libya https://t.co/U39dCevdDf
– صيفة المرصد الليبية (@ObservatoryLY) May 17, 2022
Mr Dbaiba’s government had a key mission to organize parliamentary and presidential elections, which are supposed to take place in December 2021.
However, ongoing disputes between local leaders, especially over the legal basis of the electoral process, have led to indefinite postponement of these electionsthat the international community had high hopes that they would lead to the stabilization of the vast country of North Africa.
Mr Dbaiba’s political opponents say his term ended after the election was called off.
Libya continues to emerge from the chaos of power struggles and the civil war that has lasted more than a decade since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 in the wake of the so-called Arab Spring.
The country of some 7 million inhabitants remains submerged in political chaoswith competing governments and institutions in the east and west, and insecurity.
Oil production, the country’s main source of revenue, is once again being held hostage by political disputes, with a wave of forced closures of fields and terminals.
The groups behind the blockade of oil facilities, which are considered to be adjacent to the political camp in eastern Libya, are demanding the transfer of power to Mr Basagas and a fairer distribution of black gold sales.
In late April, the Security Council, divided over the issue, adopted a proposal drawn up by Britain and extended the mandate of the UN political mission in Libya for just three months. Russia has refused to approve its extension until a new UN special envoy to Libya has been named.
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