Libyan Presidential Council says unity government ready to begin work

Libya’s UN-backed Presidential Council announced on Saturday that the national unity government is ready to assume power after receiving support from the majority of MPs.

The council demanded sovereign institutions and public agencies immediately begin communicating with the government in order to make the necessary arrangements to hand over power peacefully.

It called on the international community “to stop dealing with any rival executive authority”.

As many as 100 MPs of the 198 announced their support for the government, accusing other deputies of attempting to stop them from voting to give confidence in the government.

Western countries hope the unity government will be able to address the growing threat posed by Daesh which took advantage of the security vacuum and political differences in Libya to establish a presence in the country.