The government in Tobruk meets there because the
government was originally supposed to move from Tripoli to Benghazi but
could not meet there as the city is now mostly controlled by an umbrella
group of Islamist militias.
The GNC-sponsored government is supported
by Islamist militias and others opposed to CIA-linked General Haftar,
whose allies the Zintan brigades have been driven from Tripoli by the
Islamist umbrella group Libya Dawn. The government in Tobruk is loosely linked to General Haftar.
Omar al-Hassi, the Prime Minister and 10 ministers including the oil
minister, justice minister, and minister for foreign affairs were sworn
in. The GNC refused to recognize the legitimacy of the assembly in
Tobruk. The newly elected parliament headed by previous prime minister Abdullal al-Thinni is
to swear in the new government there today.
While the Tobruk government
is recognized internationally, it has lost control of ministries
located in Tripoli. The United Nations claims that fighting in the two
main cities of Tripoli the capital and Benghazi in the east resulted in a
quarter of a million people fleeing, with 100,000 being displaced
internally.
Reuters reports on
a Libyan claim that a Sudanese plane might be bound for Tripoli
carrying arms for militias that control the city. By "Libya" Reuters
means the government in Tobruk. The government statement said:
"This work from the Sudanese state violates (the sovereignty) of the State of Libya and interferes with its affairs.We, the Libyan government, firmly denounce that a Sudanese military plane has penetrated the Libyan airspace without an official permit from the Libyan government. The plane was carrying ammunition which had not been officially approved by the Libyan government."
Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi the Egyptian president expressed support for the
parliament in Tobruk and warned against foreign intervention in Libyan
affairs. However, according to the US, Egypt and the UAE have already
been involved in several night bombings of Tripoli recently as the
Islamists were in the process of driving out Haftar's allies the Zintan
brigades. The US claims
the planes came from the UAE but used bases in Egypt to launch the
attacks. However, the enclosed video claims that the US decided to
withdraw its claims about Egypt and the UAE. Haftar himself claimed the
bombings were a joint action by him and the international community
without naming any countries. Even before the US spoke out, Islamists
had blamed the UAE and Egypt.
El-Sisi also said if there were
intervention in Libya, Egypt could act to defend its national security.
While most of Tripoli is now relatively quiet fighters from Operation Dawn who
control Tripoli have been clashing with the Warshefana tribe allied
with the Zintan brigades in the Warshefana area that is southwest of
Tripoli. British Ambassador Michael Aron confirmed the clashes in a
tweet from Tripoli: "City is quiet. Families out on seafront last
night. But shelling of Warshefana areas clearly heard,"
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