Libyan Parliament-appointed government starts working from Sirte

TRIPOLI, Libya

Libya’s parliament said Tuesday the government it appointed under former Interior Ministry Fathi Bashagha has officially started working from the central city of Sirte.

Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh said Bashagha’s government can’t enter the capital “as Tripoli is under the control of armed groups.”

“The government officially decided to assume its duties from Sirte in order to avoid bloodshed,” he added in a speech to parliament.

The parliament speaker said the government of Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh refuses to hand over government premises in Tripoli to Bashagha’s cabinet.

“This is a clear violation of the constitution and law,” he added.

There was no comment from the Dbeibeh government on Saleh’s statements.

For more than two months, there have been two governments in Libya: the national unity government led by Dbeibeh and the one granted confidence in early March by the Tobruk-based House of Representatives.

Dbeibeh has previously said that he would only cede authority to a government that comes through an “elected parliament,” raising fears that the oil-rich country could slip back into a civil war.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar