On Sunday, Fathi Bashagha, Libya’s Minister of Interior, was caught in an attack where gunmen began shooting towards the motorcade of the minister, who later escaped the scene unharmed, according to sources close to Bashagha. The shooting took place in western Tripoli after the minister visited the National Oil Company and the headquarters of the ministry’s law enforcement force. The crossfire ended as two of the attackers were arrested, while one was killed and another was injured. Investigations suggest that the assailants are from Zawiya: 45 kilometres west of Tripoli.
Fathi Bashagha, who is a prominent figure of the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) from the city of Misrata, was one of the losing candidates from the interim election that took place in Geneva. However, since then, he has been vocal with regards to supporting the chosen interim government.
The attack against the Minister of Interior came at a time when the new interim government in Libya prepares to take power from the GNA, in which Bashagha serves in. The interim government was chosen after an election conducted by the UN-backed Libyan Political Dialogue Forum in Geneva, that aimed to form an interim government until the general elections expected to take place on 24 December.
