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Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Saraj plans to announce his resignation soon, but will have an oversight role in new government talks next month in Geneva, according to officials familiar with the Bloomberg case.
With the help of Turkey, the Government of National Accord (GNA), which controls only areas of western Libya, last June managed to stop the attack by General Khalifa Haftar’s forces in Tripoli. Haftar controls eastern Libya.
However, Tripoli was plunged into a deep political crisis and Saraj is now under pressure from protesters who complain of corruption and poor living conditions.
By leaving the prime minister’s office, he will ease the pressure he’s receiving and pave the way for his final departure, following the Geneva talks, say two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Rival camps in Libya will be convened to agree on a new presidential council structure that will unite the country’s two administrations and lead to elections.
Saraj’s move is expected to be welcomed by pro-Haftar forces, including Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, and will facilitate talks on reunifying the war-torn country, which has one of Africa’s largest oil reserves.
Haftar himself appears to be giving political ground to Agila Saleh, the speaker of parliament who owns the union initiative and now leading political talks on behalf of the eastern camp, Arab and Western diplomats say.
Four officials said Saraj and his associates had discussed their plan with Libyans and international partners. He is expected to make the relevant announcements by the end of the week, say two officials. However, a spokesman for Saraj declined to comment on the Libyan prime minister’s plans.
Resignation and demonstrations also on the eastern front
His resignation was submitted on Sunday by the government of eastern Libya, where there has also been a wave of protests against the dispute, living conditions and prolonged power outages.
Protesters set fire to the government headquarters in Benghazi over the weekend and clashes broke out with security forces in al-Marj, Haftar’s stronghold.
The UN mission in Libya has expressed great concern over reports that a civilian has been killed.
Agence France-Presse reported that officials opened fire on protesters who stormed a police station, injuring five people.
A spokesman for General Haftar said he supported the peaceful demonstrations but would not allow “the terrorists and the Muslim Brotherhood” to take the lead.
The resignation of the government must be approved by the Tobruk parliament.
With information from: Bloomberg, Anadolu, BBC, Liveumap, Aljazeera
Source: skai.gr
