The Prime Minister-designate who was appointed by the House of Representatives (HoR), Fathi Bashagha, said that the Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, is in Tripoli by the protection of a limited number of militias, some of which are believed to be linked to “international terrorist groups”.
Speaking via videoconference, Bashagha told a number of the members of the United Kingdom’s Parliament that using those militias as a strength factor by Dbeibah is happening in line with the resumption of terrorist groups’ activities , especially in south Libya as well as the the ongoing lack of security and the powerful influence of militias over the government and decision-making, all amid the increasing human rights violations.
Bashagha said that under Dbeibah, Libya’s revenues are used to protect personal interests, rather than for the benefit of the Libyan people, adding that Dbeibah’s period in office had witnessed an unprecedented rise in the prices of foods and medicine without any intervention by the government, let alone the electricity crisis that worsened despite all the massive amounts of money spent on the power sector.
Bashagha also confirmed that Libyan students spent the entire academic year without books due to the race for commissions and deals, in an incident he described as the first of its kind in Libya, in addition to the return of political and institutional division, the rise of hate speech and incitement of violence. He also accused Dbeibah of giving orders to shoot him and his supporters in densely populated neighborhoods, when he entered Tripoli peacefully last May to carry out his duties, adding that he withdrew from the capital to avoid bloodshed and losing more Libyan lives.
He also held Dbeibah responsible for the failure of the “dream of 2.8 million Libyans who were looking for change through the presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for December 24, 2021 according to the Geneva roadmap”, stressing that the Libyan people are not satisfied with this situation, and that is why they have gone on demonstrations and protests in the past few weeks in all regions, especially in Tripoli, which he said saw the largest crowds.
Bashagha said that Libya is at a crossroads now, and that it is still suffering from chaos, reaffirming that Dbeibah has no control on the ground, but the United Nations and some other international actors continue to support him, including the British government.
