On Wednesday, Libya’s Prime Minister-designate, Fathi Bashagha urged incumbent rival, Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba to “abide by the principles of democracy that impose a commitment to peacefully hand over power” to him amid growing military tensions in Tripoli.
In a letter addressing Dbaiba as “former Prime Minister,” Bashagha called on him to “comply with the decisions of the legislative authority of the Libyan state, which is the same authority that gave you the vote of confidence.”
Bashagha appealed for him to “incline to peace with dignity and honour, and plant in this homeland the seeds of peace and respect.”
He described his letter as an “honest patriotic invitation” which he hopes that Dbaiba would respond with a “high sense of patriotism to put the country’s interests above all else.”
Libya is torn between armed groups loyal to Bashagha, who was elected by the Libyan Parliament to lead the country in February. As well as groups that support Dbaiba, who refuses to relinquish power and remains recognized as the country’s leader by the international community.
Bashagha hinted over the weekend that he could enter Tripoli by force. In response, several militias supporting Dbaiba’s government began to mobilize their forces, threatening the possibility of a new conflict.