News / North Africa

Libya’s Tripoli sacks head of government

Tuesday, 31 March 2015 6:17 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 31 March 2015 6:17 PM ]

Omar al-Hassi, the head of the self-declared government in Libya’s Tripoli © AFP

The head of the Tripoli-based government in Libya has been sacked after an overwhelming majority of lawmakers backed his ouster.

The General National Congress (GNC), which was reinstated after Libya Dawn seized the capital in July 2014, voted to dismiss Omar al-Hassi for his poor performance.

“The head of the government was dismissed by the parliament in a vote on Tuesday that was backed by the rest of the ministers,” media outlets quoted a senior lawmaker as saying on Tuesday.

Mohammed Khalifa al-Guwail, the GNC’s first deputy speaker, has now been tasked with running a caretaker cabinet until a new government is formed within one month.

Hassi, a lecturer in political science at the University of Benghazi, had been tasked by the Tripoli-based parliament to form a government last August. However, he faced criticism and came under fire by his critics for failing to fire ministers accused of corruption.

Libya has had two governments and parliaments since summer 2014. The internationally recognized government is based in the eastern city of Bayda, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) northeast of Benghazi.

Several rounds of peace talks brokered by the United Nations have been held in recent months aimed at forming a unity government between the rival factions. The peace talks have failed to deliver any practical results.

Libya has been in chaos since the 2011 popular uprising against the dictatorship of Muammar Gaddafi. The ouster of Gaddafi gave rise to a patchwork of heavily-armed militias and deep political divisions.

JR/HSN/SS

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