Libya’s UN-backed government has suffered a new setback after forces loyal to a political rival seized key offices in the capital and proclaimed the reinstatement of the former administration.
Khalifa Ghweil, who was prime minister in the unrecognised National Salvation Government, announced his administration’s comeback from inside the headquarters of the former parliament after his militia supporters seized the building in Tripoli on Friday night.
Ghweil, who has been sanctioned by the EU for obstructing the peace process, called on the internationally backed government of Prime Minister Fayez Serraj to stop work.
He also called for a direct unity deal with a third rival administration in eastern Libya instead of the UN-backed peace deal that brought Serraj and his allies to Tripoli in March.
