Libya on Saturday embarked on a new phase of its transition after an interim executive was selected to lead the country until December elections, following a decade of chaos since late Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi was deposed.
In a potential turning point accord cautiously welcomed by key powers, four new leaders from Libya’s west, east and south face the task of unifying a nation torn apart by two rival administrations and countless militias.
Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, a 61-year-old engineer, was on Friday selected as interim Libyan prime minister by 75 Libyan delegates at UN-led talks outside Geneva, Switzerland, the culmination of a dialogue process launched in November last year.
Photo: AFP
The new prime minister on Saturday called for the “reconstruction of the country” and promised to be “ready to listen to and work with all Libyans, whatever their ideology, affiliation or region.”
In his first address in the new role, he described the selection process as “democratic and reunifying” after “conflicts and divisions that have affected the Libyan state and its institutions.”
“The result ... is a consecration of democracy and unity,” he said in a televised address.
It marks the start of a new chapter for Libya after the failure of a 2015 UN-brokered deal that established a Government of National Accord headed by then-Libyan prime minister Fayez al-Sarraj.
Libya has been mired in violent turmoil with divisions between the Government of National Accord in Tripoli and a rival administration backed by Libyan National Army Commander Khalifa Haftar.
Acting Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya Stephanie Williams, who facilitated the week-long talks in Switzerland, called it a “historic moment.”
“I do believe it is a breakthrough,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
In the center of Libya’s capital Tripoli, citizens guardedly welcomed the news.
“At first, Libyans were not optimistic, but yesterday, the joy was palpable, because we saw these initiatives for the emergence of a state,” said 43-year-old Adil al-Kakli.
However he added that the plan to hold elections in December remained too ambitious.
France, Germany, Italy, the UK and the US welcomed the interim government, but cautioned of a “long road ahead,” and said that they would have to offer Libyans essential public services.
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