The Arab Democrat The Latest From The Arab World
Related Articles
The Libyan House of Representatives based in the city of Tobruk on Tuesday ordered the army to launch an operation to “liberate” capital city Tripoli from armed militiamen. It also called on local civilians to start a civil disobedience campaign against the fighters occupying their city.
The interim parliament, whose legitimacy is being disputed, in its statement said that it ordered the Libyan army to “liberate” Tripoli and all state locations in it from the armed militias. IT also called young people in the city and its outskirts “to join hands with the army to liberate yourselves, your families and your city” and residents to launch “a civil disobedience campaign until the arrival of the army”.
It also accused local militia of destroying private and public property, torturing residents and attacking the houses of government officials.
In the statement, it also vowed to prosecute former speaker and head of Libya’s “illegitimate government” Omar al-Hassi. It accuses the parliament in Tripoli of “staging a coup” against the House of Representatives, the legitimate authority in the country.
In the three years after the toppling of Dictator Muammar Gaddafi, rival militias have clashed frequently in Libyan’s largest cities. Political divisions have caused the formation of two governments, with both vying for legislative authority – the General National Congress (GNC) and the House of Representatives (HoR).
The HoR was elected on June 25th, and has since been forced to convene in the far-eastern city Tobruk due to security concerns in Sana’a. The GNC contests the legitimacy of the HoR and continues to meet and make decisions from the capital despite its mandate ending in August.
Libya’s Supreme Court was supposed to hand out a ruling determining legitimacy of the HoR. It was forced to postpone the ruling – militia fighters had surrounded the court by Sunday night, causing security concerns. It has said that it hopes to clarify the issue on November 5th.
