Eighty-four parliamentarians from Tobruk and Tripoli announced on Wednesday that they will give the new Libyan interim government and its soon-to-be-formed government of national unity their confidence “without restrictions or conditions.”
“We, the undersigned representatives, call on our colleagues to hold a session to give the National Unity Government confidence,” they wrote in a statement.
The statement was issued a day after a meeting was held in Tripoli to determine the location of the session. Despite the presence of 140 MEPs in Tripoli, only 40 took part.
The statement also called on the newly elected Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah to form a unity government with “competence, honesty, experience”.
The UN Secretary-General, Special Envoy for Libya Jan Kubis, held a telephone conversation with Dbeibah on Wednesday in light of the rapidly approaching deadline for presenting the government line-up.
“They discussed the progress of government formation and the ongoing efforts to convene a House of Representatives to give a vote of confidence in the PM-appointed government proposal,” the UN mission in Libya said in a written statement.
Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Tripoli said in a tweet on Wednesday that: “Ambassador Norland spoke with House Speaker Aquila Saleh today to stress the importance of the House meeting to give confidence in the new executive as soon as possible.”
Dbeibah, who will serve until his election on December 24, is expected to form his cabinet by February 26 to present it to the House of Representatives in order to gain confidence.
Since 2014, control of Libya has been divided between an internationally recognized government in the west, based in the capital Tripoli, and its opponents in Benghazi in the east led by Putist general Khalifa Haftar.
Libya began a new phase on February 5, when delegates from the country’s rival factions elected Mohammed Menfi as head of a three-member presidency and Dbeibah as interim prime minister in a UN-hosted political dialogue process in Switzerland.
Although significant steps are being taken for the political process in Libya, there are still obstacles when mercenaries remain and the main west-east coast road is closed despite a ceasefire in October that requires all foreign mercenaries to leave the country and reopen.
Russian mercenaries seen in Sirte
The Libyan army on Wednesday said it saw several trucks of Russian Wagner mercenaries in the coastal city of Sirte.
In a statement, the government-led Volcano of Rage Operation said that two groups of mercenaries were also seen moving along the road from the oil-rich city of Brega to Sirte and in the direction of Ajdabiya.
The Libyan army described the activities of Russian mercenaries as a “violation of the ceasefire agreement” signed in Geneva.
International mercenaries and weapons have flowed into the country since Haftar launched its offensive, with Russia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) acting as the putschist’s best suppliers. According to the UN, there are currently 20,000 foreign fighters and mercenaries in Libya.
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