Libya’s UN-backed prime minister on Thursday said officials and ministers of the newly appointed Libyan unity government are expected to establish an office in Tripoli in the coming days.
The new government of national accord was nominated last weekend by a UN-recognized provisional government in exile, the Tunis-based Presidency Council, a move that was quickly endorsed by the US, the UN and EU.
“We have successfully communicated with the sovereign institutions in the west and the east, including the financial institutions. I would like to assure everyone that the Government of National Accord will be in Tripoli in a few days,” the Prime Minister, Fayez Serraj, told the Jordan-based Libya channel.
The oil-rich country is struggling to make a democratic transition since the 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.
Since 2014, the country has had two rival parliaments and governments, one based in Tripoli and one in the east.
The Islamic State group has seized the power vacuum to establish a foothold in the North African country, taking control of the city of Sirte and staging attacks on civilian and military targets, and against oil facilities.
Western powers have been pushing hard for the unity government, hoping that it will be able to tackle the threat from Islamic State, both by drawing together Libyan armed factions, and by requesting international help.