Sources from the UN-proposed government’s Presidential Council (PC) said there are efforts from the inside that are aiming at probing the PC member Fathi Al-Mijibri and referring him to the Attorney General over his statement to a pro-Khalifa Haftar local TV channel. Al-Mijibri threatened in his statements to escalate the tension regarding the presence of the Italian vessels in the Libyan waters, accusing the Head of the Presidential Council, Fayez Al-Sirraj, of treason. Al-Mijibri - a staunch loyalist to Haftar - implied in his statement that Qatar had funded the sending process of Italian vessels to Libyan waters, adding that the agreement made by Al-Sirraj holds Libya responsible for the costs of the mission. According to the sources, Italian stakeholders are dismayed by Al-Mijibri's statements although no Italian official stance has been made yet. Meanwhile, the member of the Presidential Council, Mohammed Al-Emmari, denounced the "misleading media campaign" that is presenting the Libyan-Italian deal as a violation of the Libyan sovereignty.

Source: Libya Observer August 10, 2017 19:52 UTC