After Bashagha announcement, large military crowds enter tripoli
Tripoli saw the arrival of large military convoys over two days, coinciding with Libyan Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha’s announcement that he would carry out his work from the Libyan capital after Eid al-Adha.
The armed crowds were entering the headquarters of militias on the outskirts of the capital, while it was discovered that they are brigades of the deterrence and al-Nawassi militias loyal to the outgoing Prime Minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, and the Brotherhood organization.
The build-up coincides with Bashagha’s announcement by the government-led parliament that he will operate from Tripoli, rather than Sirte, where he has been working for the past period.
“He will enter Tripoli without firing a single shot”, Bashagha said, adding that there are understandings among some parties inside the capital that would support his entry without disturbance.
“The Tripoli government is illegitimate, its mandate has expired and it has not succeeded in organizing elections”, Bashagha said, warning in return that the demonstrations might cause chaos. He demanded that there be a single government able to bring Libyans together and begin the reform process.
Dbeibeh refuses to hand over the government’s headquarters to Bashagha, who was elected by parliament about five months ago, and insists on his position demanding elections.
Clashes within Tripoli have recently erupted due to deepening political disagreements, which have led to a struggle between militias for control of vital outlets and ministry headquarters to negotiate the fate of the coming period.
“There is a party that is ready to wage a war to retain power despite the end of its legitimacy and its failure to organize presidential and parliamentary elections”, said Libyan political analyst Ibrahim al-Fitouri.
Dbeibeh lost its legitimacy last December because of the failure of the elections. It is now enduring all the difficult economic conditions that Tripoli is facing and is receiving services, and after Libya managed to turn the page on the existence of more than one government, which also refused to hand over the government, and Libya became two governments again.
Libya is now on the brink of war again. The situation has now passed the idea of political division and has now moved to a social division, after Dbeibeh took refuge in his city and some tribes to stand beside him in front of Bashagha.
“Meanwhile, Libyan political analyst Sultan, Dbeibeh is playing with the money card to gain the loyalty of the militias, and the sacked governor of the central bank, Al-Siddiq Al-Kabeer, is involved with them”, al-Baroni said
Al-Baroni said that Dbeibeh has allocated monthly salaries to these militias in return for loyalty. He promised to increase their influence inside the capital, which led to recent clashes aimed at controlling some outlets by force, after the militias disagreed over the division of money.
He said the outgoing prime minister “exploited the presence of financial authority in the country under his command, and with this paper, he was able to abort the recent movement that the Libyan street witnessed against him with a package of money”.
Libya may witness a new chapter in the conflict, the deadlock in the political process results in more violence and fighting.
