Libyan parliament denies signing agreement to allow Egyptian military intervention

A spokesperson of the Libyan parliament, Faraj Bohashim, has denied media reports claiming that his country had signed a security agreement with the Egyptian government allowing Egyptian armed forces to launch military operations inside Libyan territory.

Bohashim told Anadolu news agency’s correspondent that: “The reports published by Egypt’s Al-Masry Al-Yawm newspaper today claiming that the Libyan parliament had signed an agreement with Egypt to allow Egyptian armed forces to penetrate the Libyan territory are absolutely untrue.”

Bohashim insisted that “the Libyan parliament did not sign any such agreement” and he denounced the media outlets that circulated the report without investigating its accuracy.

Meanwhile, the Libyan parliament postponed on Tuesday a session scheduled for Prime Minister-designate Abdullah Al-Thani to present his cabinet.

Bohashim said the parliamentary session was postponed because it coincided with a national holiday. Libyans commemorate on 16 September the thousands of martyrs who died during the revolution of 17 February 2011, which toppled Muammar Gaddafi.

The parliament’s session should have witnessed a vote of confidence on Al-Thani’s government, a Libyan MP reported.

MP Tariq Jeroshi told Anadolu that Al-Thani’s cabinet includes a portfolio of eighteen ministers, including six sovereign ministries. He added that Libyan law gives the parliament just three days to approve or deny confidence for any proposed cabinet.

The parliament instructed Al-Thani to form a caretaker government early in September to manage the country’s affairs until a broad-based government can be formed.