Zürcher Nachrichten - Double trouble: Fears of violence over Libya's 2 PMs

EUR -
AED 4.325935
AFN 82.295246
ALL 97.926243
AMD 452.928874
ANG 2.108041
AOA 1080.157743
ARS 1450.537772
AUD 1.798908
AWG 2.12321
AZN 2.007149
BAM 1.955925
BBD 2.378252
BDT 144.489211
BGN 1.956569
BHD 0.443228
BIF 3509.023701
BMD 1.177925
BND 1.500096
BOB 8.139519
BRL 6.38271
BSD 1.177875
BTN 100.523408
BWP 15.600995
BYN 3.854646
BYR 23087.331819
BZD 2.365951
CAD 1.60298
CDF 3398.314319
CHF 0.935405
CLF 0.028538
CLP 1095.129815
CNY 8.440309
CNH 8.439249
COP 4689.39895
CRC 594.837921
CUC 1.177925
CUP 31.215015
CVE 110.27203
CZK 24.646321
DJF 209.743371
DKK 7.461454
DOP 70.494494
DZD 152.109697
EGP 58.022699
ERN 17.668876
ETB 163.469121
FJD 2.637615
FKP 0.862849
GBP 0.862601
GEL 3.204416
GGP 0.862849
GHS 12.190777
GIP 0.862849
GMD 84.22618
GNF 10215.651249
GTQ 9.056577
GYD 246.42571
HKD 9.2463
HNL 30.773962
HRK 7.536412
HTG 154.649859
HUF 399.203326
IDR 19062.0084
ILS 3.939983
IMP 0.862849
INR 101.068035
IQD 1542.998366
IRR 49620.09495
ISK 142.446936
JEP 0.862849
JMD 188.001985
JOD 0.835195
JPY 170.275556
KES 152.179701
KGS 103.010002
KHR 4732.301685
KMF 492.373101
KPW 1060.132584
KRW 1605.924627
KWD 0.359609
KYD 0.981663
KZT 611.718997
LAK 25381.61808
LBP 105536.527962
LKR 353.392529
LRD 236.165056
LSL 20.719221
LTL 3.478107
LVL 0.712516
LYD 6.344404
MAD 10.572174
MDL 19.841265
MGA 5300.337897
MKD 61.533923
MMK 2473.327031
MNT 4221.285995
MOP 9.523607
MRU 46.74898
MUR 52.948179
MVR 18.14445
MWK 2042.530211
MXN 21.952406
MYR 4.972067
MZN 75.340533
NAD 20.719221
NGN 1802.15516
NIO 43.342763
NOK 11.864468
NPR 160.837253
NZD 1.944493
OMR 0.452069
PAB 1.177875
PEN 4.176666
PGK 4.86531
PHP 66.570482
PKR 334.365716
PLN 4.244948
PYG 9386.598396
QAR 4.304974
RON 5.059075
RSD 117.187471
RUB 92.85592
RWF 1693.207942
SAR 4.415727
SBD 9.820272
SCR 16.592058
SDG 707.348348
SEK 11.256846
SGD 1.500092
SHP 0.925664
SLE 26.444855
SLL 24700.50455
SOS 673.142913
SRD 44.036774
STD 24380.6712
SVC 10.306657
SYP 15315.295503
SZL 20.70332
THB 38.118091
TJS 11.45473
TMT 4.134517
TND 3.431819
TOP 2.758823
TRY 46.955033
TTD 7.988509
TWD 34.086841
TZS 3109.79825
UAH 49.123132
UGX 4225.269361
USD 1.177925
UYU 47.273014
UZS 14790.942924
VES 128.951587
VND 30838.07893
VUV 139.499805
WST 3.053192
XAF 655.99882
XAG 0.031783
XAU 0.000353
XCD 3.183402
XDR 0.815852
XOF 655.99882
XPF 119.331742
YER 285.234989
ZAR 20.722353
ZMK 10602.74357
ZMW 28.533819
ZWL 379.291399
  • CMSC

    0.0900

    22.314

    +0.4%

  • CMSD

    0.0250

    22.285

    +0.11%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    69.04

    0%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    10.74

    +0.37%

  • RELX

    0.0300

    53

    +0.06%

  • RIO

    -0.1400

    59.33

    -0.24%

  • GSK

    0.1300

    41.45

    +0.31%

  • NGG

    0.2700

    71.48

    +0.38%

  • BP

    0.1750

    30.4

    +0.58%

  • BTI

    0.7150

    48.215

    +1.48%

  • BCC

    0.7900

    91.02

    +0.87%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.13

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    9.85

    +0.1%

  • BCE

    -0.0600

    22.445

    -0.27%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    12

    +0.83%

  • AZN

    -0.1200

    73.71

    -0.16%

Double trouble: Fears of violence over Libya's 2 PMs
Double trouble: Fears of violence over Libya's 2 PMs

Double trouble: Fears of violence over Libya's 2 PMs

Libyans found themselves with two prime ministers on Friday, raising the spectre of renewed violence in a country where elites have ignored the wishes of citizens to choose their leaders, analysts say.

Text size:

After weeks of manoeuvering since December 24 elections were indefinitely postponed, the House of Representatives in the country's east on Thursday picked former interior minister and ex-fighter pilot Fathi Bashagha to replace interim prime minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah.

But Dbeibah, a construction tycoon appointed a year ago as part of United Nations-led peace efforts, has vowed only to hand power to an elected government.

Peter Millett, a former British ambassador to the country, told AFP the main division now "is between the Libyan people -- who want elections -- and the political elite, who don't."

He noted that more than two million Libyans, out of a total population of seven million, had collected voter cards last year, showing a desire to pick new representatives in December when both legislative and presidential polls were supposed to be held.

"The motivation of many MPs is to hang on to jobs and privileges rather than allow for a smooth process leading to elections," Millett said.

It's not the first time the oil-rich North African country has found itself with two premiers.

Torn apart by a decade of strife since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled dictator Moamer Kadhafi, Libya had two rival heads of government between 2014 and 2016.

The UN has been working to reunite the country's divided institutions since the end of the last major fighting in 2020, but many analysts have accused the entrenched political elite of blocking reconciliation efforts.

- Militias -

The country's infrastructure is ruined and its economy battered, meaning that for normal Libyans, the stakes couldn't be higher.

"The cost of living is obscene," said Abdul Mawla al-Kaseh, a resident of Shahat in northeastern Libya.

Salem Bakkar, also from Shahat, said it doesn't matter who heads the government as long as they "stress the importance of reconciliation and urge the holding of elections."

Libya has seen months of relative stability since a landmark October 2020 ceasefire which formally ended eastern military chief Khalifa Haftar's bid to seize by force the capital Tripoli in the west.

But a patchwork of local militias, with foreign backing and linked to political figures, continue to vie for control.

Dbeibah and his unity government were appointed with a mandate to steer the country to the polls, which were eventually derailed by differences over their legal basis and contentious candidates.

That left question marks over the UN's roadmap.

The eastern-led parliament -- whose own mandate ended in 2015 -- argued that Dbeibah's administration was past its sell-by date, and stepped up efforts to remove him.

With Bashagha now challenging his power, backed by Haftar's forces, some analysts fear a return to conflict.

Yet that could look very different from the previous rounds of violence fuelled by the country's geographic divisions.

"There really isn't an East-West division as there was a year ago," said Amanda Kadlec, a former member of the UN panel of experts on Libya.

"What is potentially dangerous is violence in Tripoli, as Bashagha and Dbeibah both have deep connections across western Libya," she added.

Millett also warned of "potential instability in Tripoli" and said: "The international community should aim for a clear and transparent, process that sets out a clear roadmap to elections."

- 'A lot can happen' -

The UN said Thursday it still recognised Dbeibah's administration.

But on the ground, the delicate balance of power could easily shift, Kadlec said.

"The militias will move with whomever they perceive as having power," she said.

Kadlec added that armed groups backing Dbeibah could easily shift behind Bashagha, providing he is "willing to give them positions in government, keep paying their salaries and giving them weapons".

Claudia Gazzini, senior Libya analyst with the International Crisis Group, wrote on Twitter that the parliament was set to hold a vote of confidence on Bashagha's proposed cabinet two weeks from now.

"As recent events in Libya showed us, a lot can happen in two weeks," she said.

Just hours before the parliamentary vote to replace him, gunmen in Tripoli fired on Dbeibah's convoy in Tripoli.

The interior ministry said nobody was hurt -- but there are fears it could be the opening volley of another ruinous battle.

A.Weber--NZN