Libya has been divided between warring factions since 2014 following the NATO-backed uprising against Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
The country’s interim prime minister, Abdulhamid Dbeybeh, head of the UN-backed Government of National Unity (GNU), is based in Tripoli in western Libya. The parliament building in Tobruk in the east of the country is the seat of a rival government led by Prime Minister Fathi Bashag.
Libyan media, including LANA, the official news agency of the internationally recognized government, and Almarsad, a leading news source, reported that protesters entered the building in Tobruk on Friday.
Several cities, including Tripoli, witnessed demonstrations over deteriorating living conditions and calls for the dissolution of political bodies, reports said.
Videos posted on social media showed protesters inside the parliament building chanting “long live Libya”. Other videos show people collecting trash and tires in front of the building and setting them on fire. The building was empty when the protesters stormed it.
Dbeibeh said in a post on Twitter that he supports the demands of protesters across the country.
“Everything [political] bodies have to leave, including the government, and there is no way to do that except through elections,” Dbaybeh said, referring to Bashag’s government.
“The parties that obstructed the elections are known to the Libyan people and the same ones that obstructed the budgets and shut down the oil, which contributed to exacerbating the living crisis,” he added.
Dbebe was appointed after UN-brokered talks in Geneva last year. He was tasked with leading the transitional government into elections, but that process ended in chaos late last year due to disputes over election rules, including the legitimacy of his own candidacy. According to his government, he survived an assassination attempt earlier this year.
After elections were postponed in December, Libya’s eastern parliament appointed Bashagha to lead the country.
Dbeiba does not recognize Bashaga’s premiership and Bashaga accuses Dbeiba of losing his mandate after the postponement of the vote.
The GNU Interior Ministry issued a statement on Friday saying that all Libyans have the right to protest as long as they are peaceful demonstrations and “in accordance with the laws”.
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