BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) – Fathi Bachagha was sworn in as Libya’s prime minister on Thursday, a nomination contested by his still-serving predecessor that risks deepening the political crisis, as the new government accuses the incumbent of abducting two of its limbs.
Former Interior Minister of the Tripoli government, Fathi Bachagha was appointed Prime Minister last month by the Parliament of Tobruk.
After the approval of his government team on Tuesday, he was sworn in on Thursday before the same parliament in eastern Libya, controlled by the Libyan National Army (ANL) of Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
But Abdoulhamid Dbeibeh, head of the government of national unity formed last year under the aegis of the UN to try to put an end to the conflict which has torn the country apart for a decade, after the failure of an offensive by the forces of ‘Haftar against Tripoli, refuses to cede power before elections are held.
In this tense context, the services of Fathi Bachagha declared Thursday morning that his Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Culture had been kidnapped by a militia linked to the government of Tripoli while trying to reach Tobruk by land.
The Prime Minister-designate had complained on Wednesday evening that Abdoulhamid Dbeibeh had closed Libyan airspace to prevent members of the new government from traveling to Tobruk.
The enthronement of Fathi Bachagha as Prime Minister arouses at the same time the reservations of the United Nations.
The spokesperson for the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, echoed in a press release published overnight “worrying” information according to which the vote of confidence in the new government team on Tuesday “n ‘did not reach the required standards in terms of transparency and the conduct of procedures’ and was accompanied by ‘acts of intimidation’ before the session.
Djamal Chaabane, who was to become economy minister in Fathi Bachagha’s government, has moreover announced that he is giving up his post because of doubts weighing on the legitimacy of the vote of confidence.
To break the impasse caused by the postponement for a year of the presidential and legislative elections which were to take place at the end of December, for lack of agreement between the two camps on their organization, the UN called on them to agree to allow for the rapid holding of a new ballot.
The Parliament of Tobruk justified the nomination of a new government by asserting that the mandate of Abdoulhamid Dbeibeh expired at the end of December.
The Prime Minister in power in Tripoli disputed this interpretation and warned that he would not resign until after the elections.
The positioning of international powers will be crucial in the showdown that is emerging between these two executives for control of Libya, which raises the specter of territorial division and fighting between rival factions after a year and a half of relative calm.
The anchorage in Libya of many militias with uncertain allegiances, as well as the presence of foreign forces on the ground, in particular Russian and Turkish, makes the situation particularly volatile in this oil-producing country.
(Ayman al-Warfali report, written by Angus McDowall; French version Myriam Rivet and Tangi Salaün, edited by Sophie Louet)