Clashes broke out Tuesday in Tripoli after the Libyan government appointed by Parliament and supported by Marshal Khalifa Haftar announced its entry into the capital, the seat of the rival executive power.
The press service of this government announced in a statement “the arrival of the Prime Minister of the Libyan government Fathi Bashagha, accompanied by several ministers, in the capital Tripoli, to begin its work.
The government based in Tripoli, born in early 2020 from a UN-sponsored political process, did not immediately react to the announcement.
Clashes broke out before dawn between armed groups after the entry of Mr. Bashagha’s government, a journalist observed.
Heavy gunfire continued in the city around 07:00 local (05:00 GMT).
In February, the parliament sitting in the East had appointed Fathi Bashagha, former interior minister, as the new prime minister. This body is supported by the powerful Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the strongman of eastern Libya, whose forces had tried to conquer the capital in 2019.
But Bachagha had so far failed to oust the incumbent executive in Tripoli, led by businessman Abdelhamid Dbeibah, who has repeatedly said he would only hand over power to an elected government.
Abdelhamid Dbeibah’s government had as its main task the organization of parliamentary and presidential elections, originally scheduled for last December.
However, persistent disputes among local political leaders, particularly over the legal basis for the elections, led to the postponement indefinitely of these elections, on which the international community had high hopes for finally stabilizing the vast North African country.
Mr. Dbeibah’s political rivals believe that his mandate has ended with this postponement.