Libya: Bashagha leaves Tripoli after battalion is attacked

The eastern Libyan parliament-appointed prime minister, Fathi Bashagha, left the capital, Tripoli, after the headquarters of the Al-Nawasi battalion that received him was attacked, according to a security source.

In a statement to Anadolu news agency, a source affiliated with the Ministry of Interior in the Government of National Unity (GNU) said that Bashagha left Tripoli after the headquarters of the Al-Nawasi Brigade, which received him and announced its support for him upon his arrival in the city, came under armed attack.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the 444 battalion of the Ministry of Defence took over the process of securing Bashagha’s exit from Tripoli.

Anadolu’s correspondent had reported that clashes erupted between armed groups supporting the GNU, headed by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, and others supporting Bashagha, hours after the latter arrived in the city.

Libya’s political division has raised fears of a civil war following the inauguration of Bashagha as prime minister by the House of Representatives in Tobruk. Dbeibeh has refused to hand over power until a new government is assembled following an election. The alternative government in Tobruk is “born dead,” he insists.

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