Two ministers of the Government of Bashagha detained on swearing-in day

Two ministers from Libya’s interim prime minister-designate Fathi Bashagha were detained by an armed force linked to current Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeibeh, who was due to be sworn in on Thursday, sources close to the minister said.

This represents a remarkable development in the dispute over the government and raises fears of a return to military confrontations between eastern and western Libya after Dbeibeh refused to hand over power to Bashagha, who was chosen by parliament to be prime minister.

Bashagha’s office said it had confirmed the two ministers had been kidnapped.

Bashagha announced late Wednesday night that Dbeibeh had also closed Libyan airspace to prevent new ministers from traveling to Tobruk to take the oath.

“There will be no use of force, neither on our part nor on the part of the present government”, Bashagha told Reuters news agency on Wednesday.

“Tomorrow I will take the oath before the parliament and then I will go to Tripoli”, he said, adding that arrangements would be made to ensure a “normal and smooth” transition.

The UN Secretary-General’s spokesman said in a statement that there were reports that the parliamentary vote does not meet the required transparency and procedural requirements, and that there were acts of intimidation prior to the session.

Instead, the UN is focusing on renewing its efforts to hold elections, the spokesman said, adding that UN Advisor on Libya Stephanie T. Williams will soon hold talks between parliament and the High Council of State, an anti-government political body.

The struggle for the premiership after the collapse of an election scheduled for December threatens to return the country to the division that prevailed for most of the NATO-backed uprising in 2011.

Dbeibeh was appointed interim prime minister a year ago under an UN-backed plan, and says his government is still in place and will hand over power only after elections he says he will hold in June.

Parliament declared Dbeibeh’s term ended when December’s elections were not held as scheduled, and instead chose Bashagha to lead a new transition with elections next year.

The parliament’s position is supported by the eastern-based commander of the Libyan National Army, Khalifa Haftar, who waged a 14-month war on Tripoli from 2019 to 2020.

Armed factions in the capital and the west appear divided over the crisis, with some on Tuesday opposing moves by parliament to install a new government.