El Gobierno de Tobruk dimite tras las protestas en Libia
The prime minister of Libya's eastern-based government, Abdullah al-Zani, has tendered resignation from his executive to the speaker of parliament, Aguilah Saleh, due to the social protests taking place in the streets of Libya. President Saleh has asked him to remain in office until Parliament accepts his request for resignation.
The resignation comes as a result of the social mobilisations in the streets of Libya from Benghazi, a city controlled by Marshal Khalifa Haftar, to Tripoli, the country's capital and seat of the unity government led by Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj.
Initially, the protesters took to the streets peacefully, but ended up with riots and several deaths. The main demands of the mobilisations were the holding of elections, a package of social reforms and a solution to the energy problem that is constantly causing power cuts in the largest cities.
Armed militias took to the streets to clear the marches. The violence escalated until demonstrators in Benghazi stormed and set fire to the seat of government in eastern Libya and attacked the city's town hall. In addition, at least five people have been injured by shots fired by members of the Libyan National Army (LNA) in the town of Al Marj.
Prime Minister Al-Zani's resignation leaves the Haftar executive with no leadership in parliamentary management. The Tobruk Parliament was established in 2014 to replace the Libyan National General Congress following the death of Muammar al-Qadhafi and has control of western Libya.
Contacts between the Government of National Accord (GNA), led by Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj, and the other eastern executive of Tobruk, associated with the Libyan National Army (LNA) commanded by Marshal Khalifa Haftar, have reached agreement on the need to agree on "important commitments" for the end of the conflict in Libya, as announced following the first contact last Wednesday in Bouznika.
The list of commitments to be followed is not yet known, although the main aim is to achieve a definitive ceasefire. The dialogue committees are made up of seven people and will soon announce the first steps leading to a solution to the Libyan civil war.
The conflict has ravaged the North African country since 2014 and has become an internationalised war scenario in which different foreign powers with interests on the ground are involved. Haftar's LNA is supported by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Russia and France, while the GNA receives military support from Turkey and financial support from Qatar and has been recognised by the United Nations since 2016.
Last Sunday, Marshal Haftar, supported by the Tobruk government, announced the resumption of energy activities that have been paralysed for more than six months.
The suspension of production and the closure of the oil ports in the east of Libya caused losses of more than 6.5 billion dollars according to Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC).
The country is suffering from an intense electricity crisis linked to the forced closure of oil and gas production, the COVID-19 pandemic and the threat posed to various energy infrastructures by foreign mercenaries and armed groups.
Peace talks in Morocco have given the green light to this resumption of activities which is seen as a first joint step towards further improving the economic situation in the area.
In the coming weeks Bouznika will see new resolutions aimed at securing and declaring a permanent ceasefire.