On Thursday, Libyan newly-appointed Foreign Minister, Hafez Qaddour announced that he will be taking his constitutional oath before the Speaker of the Libyan Parliament, Ageela Saleh next week.
In a statement, Qaddour refuted rumours of his resignation, adding that these rumours seek to fuel strife and division.
He added that eight ministers from the new Libyan government took their constitutional oaths before Saleh, including:
Major General Issam Mohamed Hassan Bouzreba, Minister of the Interior
Sami Ali Al-Fitouri Al-Dawi, Libyan Minister of Local Government
Othman Abdul-Jalil, Minister of Health
Jumaa Muhammad Al-Jadid; Minister of Education
Ali bin Younes; the Minister of Marine Wealth
Al-Mabrouk Ghaith; Minister of Social Affairs
Intisar Abboud; Minister of State for Women’s Affairs
Fathi Moussa Al-Tabawi; Minister of State for Illegal Immigration Affairs.
Two ministers in the Government of National Unity (GNU), headed by Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba announced their resignation. This is after the Libyan Parliament withdrew confidence from the government, and granted confidence to a new government headed by Fathi Bashagha.
The GNU’s Minister of Civil Service, Abdel-Fatah Al-Khouja said that he submitted his resignation on Wednesday. He added that he is committed to his oath to abide by the Constitutional Declaration and preserve the territorial integrity of Libya.
On 10 February, the Speaker of the Libyan Parliament, Ageela Saleh announced the unanimous appointment of Bashagha as the new Prime Minister. But Dbaiba warned that the appointment of a new interim government could lead to war and chaos in the country. He renewed his pledge to only hand power over to an elected government.
Libya has been mired in a political crisis since the fall of long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011. Observers fear that Libya will return to having two opposing governments, threatening the nation’s vital oil sector.