Late on Tuesday, Libya’s parliament-appointed Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha announced that, as of Wednesday, he will base his government in the city of Sirte.
Bashagha said they believe in the democratic process and the peaceful transfer of the government, in a statement from Sirte on clashes that erupted between armed groups after he attempted to enter the capital Tripoli.
He added that his government will start working from Sirte and will enter Tripoli only by peaceful means.
Armed groups loyal to Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh and rival leader Bashagha, who was recently appointed as premier by the Tobruk-based parliament, clashed in Tripoli on Tuesday.
Bashagha reached the capital Tuesday night to take control of the government from Dbeibeh, who has refused to hand over power.
However, Bashagha was forced to leave the capital after fierce clashes were reported between the two sides, a security source told.
Two governments, namely the national unity government led by Dbeibeh and the one granted confidence in early March by the Tobruk-based House of Representatives, have been present in Libya for more than two months.
Raising fears that the oil-rich country could slip back into a civil war, Dbeibeh has previously said that he would only cede authority to a government that comes through an “elected parliament.”
