Bloomberg: Libyan Prime Minister al-Sarraj to resign soon

CAIRO -15 September 2020: According to Blomberg, the Prime Minister of Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez al-Sarraj plans to announce his resignation soon but will stay on in a caretaker capacity through negotiations for a new government in Geneva next month, according to officials familiar with him.

 

 

With Turkey's help, Al-Sarraj and his internationally recognized government were able to control only parts of western Libya, in June quashed a yearlong offensive on the capital by eastern commander Khalifa Haftar. But Tripoli has since fallen into political infighting, and Sarraj has also faced pressure from a protest movement against corruption and poor services.

 

 

By announcing his resignation, al-Saraj would relieve some of the pressure on himself while setting the stage for his exit after the Geneva talks, two officials said on condition of anonymity. The warring sides will be urged to agree on a new presidential council structure that unifies the country’s dueling administrations and scheduled elections.

 

 

The move is expected to be welcomed by Haftar's regional backers, including Egypt and the United Arab Emirates while facilitating talks to unify the conflict-torn North African country that sits on the continent's highest oil reserves.

 

 

Arab and Western diplomats said Haftar himself has increasingly given way to Parliament Speaker Ageela Salah, who has proposed a political initiative to unify the country's institutions and is now leading political talks for the eastern camp.

 

 

Four officials said that Sarraj and his aides had discussed his plans with Libyan and international partners. Two officials said he was expected to issue his announcement by the end of the week. Simultaneously, Sarraj spokesman declined to comment on the prime minister's plans.

 

Libya has been marred in violence between competing forces, militias, and extremists since the toppling and killing of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The conflict now pits the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) against the Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Field Marshal KhalifaHaftar, for control of the country.

 

During the past months, the country has suffered from several crises that threaten to push the country into a dangerous turning point if the UN mission in Libya and the countries concerned with the security and stability of Libya do not move.

 

These successive crises are represented by long hours of power outages, lack of liquidity, collapsing infrastructure, and fears that the country will enter a political vacuum due to the weakness of the Government of National Accord(GNA) controlled by  militiaand the resignation of the interim Libyan government that enjoys the confidence of the Libyan Parliament, led by AqeelaSaleh.

 

As a result of the deteriorating living conditions in the country, several widespread demonstrations erupted in most Libyan cities, whether in the west, east, or south, all calling for a rapid solution to the crises afflicting the Libyan state, which could lead to a state of widespread public tension that pushes towards a general uprising similar to the events of February 17, 2011.

 

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya(UNSMIL) focuses on pushing towards activating a political solution in cooperation with several neighboring countries, in addition to conducting a new round of meetings for the Libyan military in the format "5 + 5" to work on fully stabilizing the ceasefire and discussing several controversial files between the Libyan National Army delegation and the National Accord government delegation.