UNITED NATIONS— The United Nations voiced concern over the situation in Libya after Fathi Bashagha, prime minister-designate of Libya’s parliament-approved government, called on the Tripoli-based Prime Minister Abdul-Hamed Dbeibah to peacefully hand over power.

“We’re watching with concern the developments in Libya, including the mobilization of forces, the threats of resorting to force for political aims,” said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

It is very important that there is de-escalation and that everyone keeps in mind the needs of the Libyan people: political harmony and peace, he said. “Nobody wants to see anything go backward.”

The officer in charge of the UN Support Mission in Libya, Rai Zenenga, is continuing to engage with all relevant actors, said the spokesman.

In a letter addressed to Dbeibah on Wednesday, Bashagha called on his political rival to “resort to peace and avoid war.” Dbeibah rejected Bashagha’s appeal and called on Bashagha to resort to elections “instead of a military coup.”

Libya is currently at a political impasse. The eastern-based House of Representatives, the parliament, withdrew confidence from Dbeibah’s Government of National Unity in Tripoli and voted in March to install a new government led by Bashagha. Dbeibah rejected the March vote and said he would only transfer power to an elected government.

Libya has suffered political instability and chaos since Muammar Gaddafi’s fall in 2011.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK