The Presidency Council of the Libyan Government of National Accord issued today two decisions to appoint Colonel Salah Al-Nimroush as the new Minister of Defense, and Major General Muhammad Al-Haddad as Chief of Staff, after the Accord Government's decision yesterday to arrest Minister of Interior Fathi Bashagha and request his appearance for investigation against the backdrop of protests in the capital, Tripoli, in recent days.
The new Minister of Defense was an undersecretary of the Ministry of Defense, and the new Chief of General Staff of the Libyan Army was the commander of the Central Military Region, and the decision to appoint him to the new position was made by promoting him to the rank of First Lieutenant General.
The appointments came after Fayez al-Sarraj, the head of the National Accord Government, announced last Monday his intention to make urgent ministerial changes away from consent and quotas, in response to the growing popular discontent in Tripoli and other cities in the Libyan west that are under the control of the Government of National Accord.
Last week, hundreds of demonstrators staged demonstrations in Tripoli to protest against corruption and the lack of electricity, water and fuel, and during the demonstrations, gunmen fired on the crowds several times.
Bashagha's statement
In a related context, the Libyan Minister of Interior announced today his readiness to comply with the decision of the Presidential Council of the Government of National Accord and to appear for investigation within 72 hours, before a committee investigating the demonstrations in the capital, and demanded that the accountability and investigation session be public and transmitted through the media directly.
A short while ago, a word was given to Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha after his arrival to Tripoli from # Turkey pic.twitter.com/TNqBCXr9am
- Emad Fathi E. Fathi (@emad_badish) August 29, 2020
The Presidency Council of the Government of National Accord justified the decision to arrest Bashagha that the investigation with him will be regarding the permission, permissions and providing the necessary protection to the demonstrators, and the statements issued by him regarding these demonstrations that took place in Tripoli and several cities under the authorities of the Government of National Accord. The Presidential Council assigned the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior, Khaled Mazen, to run the ministry until the completion of the investigation with Bashagha.
The Council also announced that it had assigned a joint force affiliated to the Western Military Region Operations Room to control security inside the capital, in coordination with the Ministry of Interior and other security agencies.
International positions
On the other hand, the US embassy in Libya announced Washington's support for the rule of law in Libya, and said in a tweet on Twitter that it appreciates its close partnership with the President of the Presidency Council of the Government of National Accord Fayez al-Sarraj and Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha, calling for cooperation for the good governance of the people Libyan.
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya called for calm, the application of the rule of law and the preservation of the rights of all citizens to peacefully express their views.
The UN mission added in a statement that the recent events in Libya "confirm the urgent need to return to a comprehensive and integrated political process that would meet the aspirations of the Libyan people for a government that adequately represents them," noting the increase in reports of human rights violations in Libya, including arbitrary detention. Detention and restrictions on freedom of movement and expression, as well as the right to peaceful assembly and protest.
It is noteworthy that, since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011, Libya has witnessed political and security turmoil, and successive conflicts between competing forces for power in a country that has the largest oil reserves in Africa.