Libya protests enter third week demanding PM Abdul Hamid Dbeibah’s resignation
Tripoli: For the third consecutive week, thousands of protesters gathered in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Friday demanding the resignation of UN-recognized Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, following recent violent clashes.
Protesters chanted slogans such as: “Dbeibah, resign,” “The people want the fall of the government,” and “Victory to Libya.”
Libya is currently divided into two administrations — the UN-recognized government based in Tripoli led by Dbeibah, and a rival administration in the east controlled by the family of military commander Khalifa Haftar.
Since the NATO-backed ousting and killing of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the North African country has remained deeply divided.
National elections were scheduled for December 2021 but have been indefinitely postponed due to disagreements between the rival factions.
The recent unrest began with deadly clashes between armed groups controlling different areas of Tripoli, resulting in at least eight deaths, according to United Nations reports.
The clashes were triggered when a leader of a rival armed group was killed by the Dbeibah-aligned “444 Brigade.” This incident led to fighting with another group, the “Radaa Forces,” which controls eastern Tripoli and the city’s airport.
The situation escalated further when Dbeibah issued multiple executive orders aimed at disbanding the Radaa Forces and other Tripoli-based militias — notably excluding the 444 Brigade from the list.
In response to the ongoing violence, both the Libyan government and the United Nations Mission in Libya are working toward a permanent ceasefire.
Meanwhile, last Saturday, a separate demonstration in Tripoli saw hundreds of people come out in support of Dbeibah. There, demonstrators condemned the actions of armed groups and called for the reinstatement of Libya’s 1951 constitution, which was abolished following Gaddafi’s 1969 coup.
