9 – 15 September: PM Serraj allegedly to resign

Sep 16, 2020 | Libyan actors

On 15 September, Bloomberg news reported that the head of the Government of National Accord (GNA), Fayez al-Serraj, was planning to resign but would stay on in a caretaker capacity until October when planned negotiations in Geneva have concluded (the negotiations would restructure the Tripoli-based Presidential Council (PC), of which Serraj is also the head). Serraj is expected to make his announcement by the end of the week. Other sources say that Serraj will retire immediately so as not to go to Paris to meet Haftar.

From 11-13 September, three consecutive days of protests occurred throughout eastern Libya. The demonstrators protested against worsening living conditions, corruption, limits to fuel purchases and constant power cuts. In Benghazi, on 13 September protestors set fire to the headquarters of the Interim Government and the House of Representatives (HoR). In Marj, protestors set fire to the city’s Security Directorate. Two civilians are reported to have been injured when security forces fired upon them. On 13 September, the UN Mission to Libya (UNSMIL) released a statement following reports that one person had been killed and three injured as a result of clashes between protestors and security in Marj.

On 13 September, the eastern-based Interim Government submitted its resignation to the Speaker of the Tubruq-based House of Representatives (HoR), Aqeela Saleh, for consideration by the HoR. The announcement followed an emergency meeting after protests erupted in Benghazi concerning the constant black-outs and deteriorating living conditions. In the meeting, the HoR accused the Central Bank of Libya (CBL) based in Tripoli and the GNA of ‘plundering’ the country and neglecting the east.

On 11 September, participants in the so-called Libya Dialogue held in Bouznika, Morocco stated that they had agreed upon ‘criteria, transparent mechanisms and objectives’ for the appointments of new individuals to key posts. In a statement read by a representative of the HoR, the delegates said that they would meet again at the end of September to finalise mechanisms ‘that would guarantee the implementation and activation’ of their agreement.