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18-05-2025
TRIPOLI: Several ministers with Libya’s internationally recognized government have resigned in support of the protesters calling for Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah to step down.
The government late on Friday said a police officer was killed in an “attempted assault” on the prime minister’s office as thousands of Libyans marched into squares and various areas in the capital, Tripoli.
“He was shot by unknown attackers and succumbed to his injuries,” a statement said, adding that members of a group who mixed with the protesters tried to set the office on fire using Molotov cocktails.
Economy and Trade Minister Mohamed al-Hawij, Local Government Minister Badr Eddin al-Tumi and Minister of Housing Abu Bakr al-Ghawi resigned, according to a video released by two of those ministers as well as local media reports.
The government had earlier on Friday denied reports of the ministers’ resignations.
Meanwhile, in the city of Misrata, protesters gathered in support of Dbeibah and his government.
The protests follow a wave of violence in Tripoli in the past week that led to the deaths of at least eight civilians. The deadly clashes started after powerful militia leader Abdelghani al-Kikli, also known as Gheniwa, was killed in an ambush at a military base. Dbeibah attempted to consolidate power and assert control after the killing, with more clashes following later in the week.
Before the demonstrations, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) had emphasized “citizens’ right to peaceful protest” and warned against “any escalation of violence”.
Reporting from Tripoli, a senior journalist Malik Traina said Libyans want to see a major change as people are “extremely frustrated” with the security situation.
“Libyans are calling for elections and want to be able to voice their opinion and put those that they want in power,” he said.
Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Saturday that Cairo was closely monitoring developments in Libya, and urged all parties to exercise “maximum restraint”. It also advised Egyptian citizens in Libya to remain cautious and stay in their homes until the situation is clarified.
Libya has been in turmoil since a NATO-backed uprising in 2011, which ended up dividing the country between two rival administrations.
Dbeibah’s Government of National Unity (GNU) has maintained control over western Libya since 2021, while an administration backed by renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar leads in the east.
Libya was scheduled to hold national elections at the end of 2021, which were postponed indefinitely due to disputes over candidate eligibility, constitutional rules, and concerns over security as the rival governments failed to agree on a framework.
A day after deadly clashes shook Tripoli, Libya’s United Nations-recognized government in the west of the country has begun asserting control following the reported killing of powerful militia leader Abdelghani al-Kikli, also known as Gheniwa.
The Emergency Medicine and Support Centre confirmed it retrieved six bodies from the Tripoli neighborhood of Abu Salim on Tuesday, after heavy fighting erupted across the capital the previous night and into the early morning. Explosions and gunfire echoed through the southern part of the city as rival armed factions clashed for several hours.
The fighting stemmed from the killing of al-Kikli, commander of the Stability Support Authority, SSA, on Monday by a rival militia, a senior government and health official told the Associated Press news agency. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
