Cairo – The office of one of Libya’s rival prime ministers says he is expected to set up his government in the capital, Tripoli, on Tuesday – three months after he was appointed to lead an interim administration in the crisis-stricken country.
The office of Prime Minister Fatima Bashaghar said she had brought in a number of ministers from her cabinet. It did not provide further details. There was no immediate word from Tripoli’s troubled Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dwivedi’s government.
In February, Basagha was nominated by the country’s former parliament as prime minister. But Dibebah refused to resign, insisting he would only hand over power to an elected government.
Over the weekend, rival militias clashed in Tripoli. No casualties were reported, but local authorities said there was damage to infrastructure, including a power plant.
The UN mission in Libya has condemned the clashes involving “indiscriminate fire and the alleged use of heavy weapons” in densely populated areas.
Lawmakers have argued that Libya’s mandate expires after it failed to hold presidential elections in December as planned under a UN-brokered deal.
The failure to hold a vote is a major blow to international efforts to end a decade of unrest in Libya. It marks the beginning of a new chapter in Libya’s long-running political stalemate, with rival governments claiming power after taking temporary steps toward unity last year.
The oil-rich country has been ravaged by conflict since the fall and assassination of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011. Libya has for years been divided between rival administrations in the east and west, each supported by different militias and foreign governments. .
