Libya’s Fathi Bashagha, who was appointed as prime minister in a challenge to Tripoli’s interim unity government, has said that he is planning to take office in the capital in the coming days, reported The Africa News.
In February, the Libyan parliament selected the former interior minister to lead a government to replace that of interim premier Abdulhamid Dbeibah. Bashagha was named by the eastern-based legislature elected in 2014 and backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.
Dbeibah was appointed as Libya’s prime minister last year as part of a United Nations-backed peace process to end more than a decade of violence in the North African country. He came to power following a landmark 2020 ceasefire that ended a year-long battle as Haftar failed to seize the capital by force.
The transitional government had a mandate to lead the country to elections last December, but the election failed to take place due to divisions over the rules and the presence of controversial candidates. But Dbeibah is not willing to hand over power before elections, setting up a showdown with Bashagha, who argues that the former’s government is “illegitimate”.
“Its mandate is over and it failed to make elections happen,” he said.
In May, Bashagha arrived in Tripoli in the country’s west and attempted to take office there, resulting in pre-dawn clashes between armed groups supporting him and those backing Dbeibah.
He then decided to back down to avoid bloodshed.
In an interview with the AFP via Zoom from his temporary base in the central city of Sirte, Bashagha said he has since received positive invitations to enter Libya’s capital.
“All the roads are open into Tripoli and God willing we’ll be there in the coming days,” he said in the interview. “Some armed forces have changed their position and have nothing against us entering the capital.”
Notably, both Bashagha and Dbeibah are supported by different forces in Libya’s Tripoli.
