Dbeibeh Accuses Local Parties of Seeking New War in Libya

Prime Minister of Libya’s Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid Dbeibeh accused local parties of seeking to reignite war by disrupting public services and electricity.

Several Libyan areas suffered sudden power cut on Friday, prompting Dbeibeh to inspect the General Electricity Company.

The PM stressed that his government will spare no effort in providing electric power, facilitating financial procedures and concluding new contracts.

He urged citizens to protect the electric power grid and ordered the Interior Minister to open a probe into the matter in all affected areas.

He further called for connecting the power grids in eastern and western Libya, noting that this could only be implemented by opening the coastal road between Sirte and Misrata cities.

The General Electricity Company had announced a complete power outage for two consecutive days in the eastern region and in most of the western region areas due to an explosion.

The company later said that 90 percent of the power plants had been restored.

In a visit to Tajoura city in Tripoli, Dbeibeh stressed that those who “ignite war, cause power cuts, create problems in the queues outside gas stations and prevent us from communicating with people across Libya are the enemies of the Libyan people.”

He warned of whom he described as “war merchants,” stressing that many have amassed their fortune from this war.

Dbeibeh said his foreign tours are aimed at restoring Libya’s unity and sovereignty and expelling mercenaries.

Some sources interpreted his comments as an escalation in his silent dispute with Marshall Khalifa Haftar in eastern Libya.

“We couldn’t access Sirte Airport, which belongs to Libya and is on Libyan soil, because of the foreign forces present there,” Dbeibeh said.

He added that the forces stationed in the area asked them to enter Sirte by road, “but the government refused.”

Notably, Dbeibeh postponed a visit to the country’s east that had been planned for April 26 to demonstrate his government’s progress in ending years of division between warring factions.