Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh has made his first public appearance yesterday as he arrived at his office in Al-Sikka Road. He then recorded a speech which was broadcast on the public broadcasting network. It was his first full speech following clashes in Tripoli between government and anti-government armed-factions that also sparked protests in the streets of Tripoli demanding his resignation.
In his speech of up to thirty minutes, the Libyan Prime Minister condemned the armed-militias and said they have exceeded their limits after committing crimes with impunity whilst being funded from the public purse. Militias in Libya have grown bigger and more powerful than the state: a trend the Prime Minister vowed to reverse. He called on all armed-militias to join regular state institutions.
The Prime Minister made a surprise announcement saying that Abdel Ghani Al-Kikli, known as “Ghnewa”, was killed in a state operation after he had begun oppressing the Tripoli neighborhood of Abu Salim. The Prime Minister accused Ghnewa of installing an oppressive rule, killings residents who opposed his rule, taking control of six banks and being involved in a corrupt scheme importing medicine from Iraq. The Prime Minister said that clashes that followed Ghnewa’s death were a mistake. The Prime Minister reiterated that the rule of Libya by armed-factions is coming to an end however he also stated that it was not his intention to start a war.
The Prime Minister draws strong backing from Misrata which supported his government by sending their reinforcements during clashes in the capital city. Ghnewa was a previous ally of Dbeibeh. Their surprising fall-out also explains the apparent confusing reporting being reported on the loyalties of the armed-factions fighting each other last week.
On Osama Najim Al-Masri, the Prime Minister said that he did know who he was and had never met him. He denied seeking his release from arrest by the Italian authorities. The Prime Minister said that Al-Masri is being accused by the International Criminal Court of raping a 14 year-old girl and his presence in Libya is no longer tolerated. The Libyan Prime Minister pledged to handover Al-Masri to the International Criminal Court.
Newsroom
Leave a Reply