The spontaneous protests that engulfed Benghazi and a number of major cities in eastern Libya forced the interim government in Tobruk to resign and confused the accounts of Khalifa Haftar.
In his report, which was published by the Russian newspaper "Nizafismaia", the writer Gennady Petrov said that the protests - which sparked off near Haftar's headquarters in Al-Marj area in Benghazi - made the retired general review his accounts and admit his failure to improve the economic situation in the areas under his control.
The spokesman for the interim government in Tobruk, Izz al-Din al-Falih, announced, on Sunday evening, that Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani had submitted the resignation of his government, which will be considered in a session of the Tobruk Parliament, the date of which has not yet been set.
The protests erupted in the areas under the control of the forces loyal to Haftar a few days ago, after a sharp rise in the prices of foodstuffs coincided with a new blackout.
According to the writer, the suffering of the Libyans has been going on for a long time due to the scarcity of energy supplies, but it reached its climax in the last period as a result of the crisis of electricity operating stations, making two cities the size of Benghazi and Cyrenaica threatened by a complete blackout.
He adds that these demonstrations - which are attended by thousands in protest against the deteriorating economic conditions, which began on Saturday from the city of Al-Marj, where Haftar's headquarters is located - resulted, according to the United Nations Mission in Libya, killing at least one person and wounding 3 others during clashes between demonstrators and security forces. .
It seems that the unrest, according to the writer, forced Haftar to change his tactics, as he had stated earlier that the protests were a plot by the Islamists, but he quickly changed his mind and admitted that the country is facing severe social and economic problems.
According to an expert with the Russian Council for International Affairs Kirill Simionov, "The protests are a natural result of the situation on the fronts of the Libyan civil war, as Haftar was unable to control the capital, Tripoli, and the siege that he imposed on the capital for several months ended in failure, and his defeat led to a structural crisis at the level of power in the east." Libya. "
The economic crisis was exacerbated when tribes loyal to Haftar, at the beginning of this year, closed all oil ports in the east of the country, claiming that the internationally recognized government headed by Fayez al-Sarraj alone benefits from his revenues.
After the United States threatened to impose sanctions, the ports reopened last August, but exports are still below normal levels.
For its part, the UN mission said that the protests taking place in Libya are a result of "deep disappointment" for the people on both sides of the conflict, and urged them to take urgent steps to improve the economic situation in the areas under their control.
The writer goes back to saying that the armed struggle for power has fully captured the attention of Haftar and Al-Sarraj, and has made them overlook the situation in which the Libyan people are supposed to take care of their affairs and work to protect them.