BENGHAZI, Apr 11 Head of Sirte-based Government of National Stability Libya's Fathi Bashaga said he ruled out the possibility of armed clashes in the country in the near future.
Libya currently has two non-recognizing governments. The first — supported by the UN, headed by Abdelhamid Dbeiba, operates in Tripoli, the second — empowered by the House of Representatives (Parliament) of Libya — is based in Sirte. It is headed by the former head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Government of National Accord, Fathi Bashaga. In February 2022, the parliament sitting in the east of Libya voted for Bashagi's candidacy for the post of prime minister, and the LNA also supported him. However, the head of the GNU, Abdelhamid Dbeiba, had previously stated that he would not transfer power until the presidential elections, which turned into a dual power in the country. In May last year, Bashaga, after an unsuccessful attempt to locate the Cabinet of Ministers in Tripoli, announced that the government would start working in the city of Sirte.
«We rule out that there will be any armed clashes in the near future, especially if there is international and national will to find a just and comprehensive solution to the Libyan crisis, which would put an end to this absurdity in the face of a parallel power in Tripoli,» Bashaga said.
Special Representative of the UN Secretary General Abdoulaye Batili said in March that a roadmap for holding elections in Libya, which have not taken place since the election of a transitional authority in the country under the auspices of the UN in 2021, can be developed by mid June. The Special Representative of the UN Secretary General noted that if it is adopted, elections could be held at the end of 2023.
After the overthrow and assassination of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya ceased to function as a single state. In the past few years, there has been a confrontation in the country between the authorities in Tripoli in the west of the country and the authorities in the east of Libya, which were supported by the LNA under the command of Marshal Khalifa Haftar. In 2021, the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum was held in Geneva under the auspices of the UN and elected the Libyan Transitional Executive until the general elections, which have not yet been held.
Read the full text of Fathi Bashagi's interview >>