Rival Libyan PM Calls For Fresh Elections
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The head of Libya's self-declared government in Tripoli called for fresh elections to pull the country back from chaos, as fighting in the restive east pushes the country deeper into instability.
Omar al-Hassi called for a vote, less than six months after the country elected a new parliament, which fled to Tobruk in the summer, to end years of conflict and turmoil.
Hassi told the AFP news agency that the country needed to vote as the internationally recognised Tobruk-based parliament had "lost its legitimacy".
"This parliament is no longer accepted in Libya. It has lost its legitimacy. We need new elections," the 55-year-old academic said.
Hassi's parliament, the General National Congress (GNC), has refused to recognize the Tobruk parliament, which is dominated by liberals and federalists.
Libya is divided between rival tribes and political factions with two governments vying for legitimacy since an armed group from the western city of Misrata seized Tripoli in August, forcing Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni to move east.
The political rivalry has been coupled with militia infighting, which has swept across the North African nation, and threatened to spill over into neighboring countries.
On Monday, a Libyan navy ship docked at Benghazi port was hit during heavy fighting between the army and Islamist fighters in Libya's second-largest city, residents said.
Libya's army had earlier urged residents to evacuate a central district of the city, as it prepared a military operation against an alliance of fighters and ex-rebels, a spokesman said.
