The head of the Libyan Government of National Accord, Fayez al-Sarraj, announced amendments to the service ministries, after hundreds of protest demonstrations took place in Tripoli condemning the deteriorating living conditions. Al-Sarraj also held the retired Major General Khalifa Haftar responsible for thwarting peace initiatives and efforts to stop the war.
In a speech yesterday evening, Al-Sarraj clarified that peaceful protest and protest is a legitimate right of the people, and it is the duty of his government to listen to it and meet its demands, which is the characteristic of the city-state, as he put it.
Al-Sarraj warned those he called armed infiltrators who would participate in demonstrations and cause acts of sabotage.
Hundreds of people demonstrated on Sunday evening in Tripoli to express their anger at the deteriorating living conditions and corruption in countries that have been experiencing armed conflicts for years, before they were dispersed by the security forces, who shot in the air.
Some protesters in Tripoli carried white flags to deny their support for any Libyan faction, while videos and pictures circulating on social media showed men in military clothing pointing their weapons at the demonstrators in a street in the capital.
The United Nations called for support in Libya on Monday, the Government of National Accord to conduct "an immediate and comprehensive investigation" into incidents that occurred during Sunday's demonstration in Tripoli, which led to injuries, according to a statement issued by the mission.
The statement stated that the mission calls for "an immediate and comprehensive investigation into the excessive use of force by security personnel" in Tripoli, "which resulted in the injury of a number of demonstrators," without giving an accurate toll.
On the other hand, Al-Sarraj held the retired Major General Khalifa Haftar responsible for thwarting peace initiatives and efforts to stop the war. He said that the war that lasted 14 months was imposed on the Libyans, and that the one who ignited it still insists on depriving them of their power by insisting on continuing to close the oil installations.
In the context, the National Oil Corporation in Libya announced that Haftar's forces refuse to re-pump oil from the "Sharara" and "El Feel" fields, adding in a statement that they could not provide the needs of the "Zueitina" power stations and north of Benghazi due to the forced closure of the oil installations.
It also confirmed the depletion of the budget allocated to importing fuels, in order to cover the deficit caused by the cessation of natural gas production and the provision of fuel to the local market during the past months.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Oil Corporation renewed the call for an end to the illegal closure of oil installations. The Corporation announced that the losses of the oil sector due to the closure since last January until today are close to 9 billion dollars.
For his part, the US ambassador to Tripoli, Richard Norland, called for an immediate resumption of oil production, and said that Washington supports arrangements that allow for an immediate resumption of oil production in Libya with a transparent mechanism.
Norland described the statement of the Government of National Accord and the statement issued by the Speaker of Parliament, Agila Saleh, as a positive development.
Norland agreed in a phone call with Al-Sarraj that the 5 + 5 committee should focus on ways to cease fire and how to reach an effective solution that requires disarmament in central Libya, which would start the process of de-escalation and the exit of all foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya.