Bashagha: There are no plans for action from Tripoli. We plan to hold elections in 14 months
Libyan Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha says he has no current plans to work from Tripoli and will operate from the central city of Sirte.
Bashagha said in an interview with the Associated Press that his government will work from its headquarters in Sirte, as the head of the national unity government continues to refuse to hand over power before holding elections.
“Bashagha stressed that he would not enter Tripoli as long as conditions were not 100% favorable: We blame ourselves for entering the city”, he said, calling on the Central Bank of Libya to disburse the state’s general budget to his government.
He said he was in a civilian car with his escorts who were unarmed when he tried to enter Tripoli last week.
Bashagha accused militias of attacking him after he entered Tripoli, and one of his companions, Ahmed al-Ashab, was killed while defending him against militia members.
Bashagha revealed that his government is considering holding elections on the level of Libya within 14 months, while he doubted the ability of the outgoing Prime Minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, to unify Libya and organize elections, as he does not have enough loyalty outside the capital Tripoli.
The Libyan West is witnessing security tensions after outgoing Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dubaiba made changes at senior levels in the military intelligence service and the general intelligence service, following Libyan Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha’s attempt to enter the capital, Tripoli, to exercise his functions.
Dbeibeh issued decisions that were considered by political and military experts as a threat to the ceasefire agreement, which included military changes to the lines of contact.
On Saturday, Dbeibeh, in his capacity as defense minister in his outgoing government, issued an order to the 166th Misrata Brigade, led by Mohammed Al-Hassan, to retreat from protecting the industrial river system in the Ash Shwayrif region, one of the contact points, and charged one of his militias to advance to the region in violation of the ceasefire agreement, which stipulates that no military convoys to or from it should be moved except with the prior approval of the 5+5 Committee.
