Bashagha: we will enter Tripoli peacefully within days

Libya’s Prime Minister-designate Fathi Bashagha, who was appointed prime minister by the parliament this month, expects to take over government in Tripoli in the coming days without using force, he told Reuters, amid a weeks-long standoff between rival factions.

“We have direct contacts with the Libyan west, with Tripoli, the political elite and the leaders of the battalions and some societal figures,” Bashagha said in an interview in Tunis.

“God willing the government will be able to carry out its duties in Tripoli in the coming days.”

Bashagha has repeatedly said he will not use force to enter the capital and told Reuters “our arrival in Tripoli and the government headquarters will be completely peaceful”.

He said there were indications from inside Libya and internationally that he would be able to take over in Tripoli and that Dbeibah’s government was not able to operate outside the city.

A spokesman for Dbeibah’s government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Bashagha was interior minister in the then internationally recognised government in Tripoli, and played a role in fending off an assault by Haftar’s forces from 2019-20.