TUNIS: Libya’s Fathi Bashagha, appointed as prime minister in a challenge to a unity government in Tripoli, plans to take office in the capital "in the coming days", he told AFP. But Dbeibah has refused to hand over power before elections, setting up a showdown with Bashagha, named by the eastern-based legislature elected in 2014 and backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar. In May, Bashagha arrived in the capital Tripoli in the country’s west and attempted to take office there, sparking pre-dawn clashes between armed groups supporting him and those backing Dbeibah. He backed down, he told AFP, to avoid bloodshed, but says he has since received "positive invitations" to enter the capital. Both Bashagha and Dbeibah come from the western city of Misrata and are backed by different forces in Tripoli.

Source: Libya Today July 10, 2022 00:36 UTC