Libya: Eastern-based Government Resigns amid Protests

By Staff, Agencies

An interim government allied with Libya's eastern-based renegade commander Khalifa Haftar resigned amid protests over power cuts and deteriorating living conditions.

Ezzel-Deen al-Falih, a spokesman for the Tobruk-based House of Representatives [HoR], said Prime Minister Abdallah al-Thani tendered the government's resignation to Speaker Aguila Saleh late on Sunday.

Parliamentary spokesman Abdallah Abaihig said HoR lawmakers would review the resignation of al-Thani's government, which is not internationally recognized, in their next meeting. No date has been set for the session.

Oil-rich Libya was plunged into chaos when a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 toppled longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was later killed. The country has since split between rival east- and west-based administrations, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments.

A 14-month offensive by Haftar's forces to wrest control of the capital, Tripoli, from the internationally recognized Government of National Accord [GNA] crumbled in June, with the front lines now solidified near the central city of Sirte.