Libya inaugurates newly elected parliament

by Agency Reporter

Three-quarters of Libya’s newly elected parliament held its first official session in the eastern city of Tobruk on Monday, even as militias continue to battle each other in the oil-rich North African nation’s largest cities, Associated Press reports.

The 200-member parliament was elected at the end of June and will take over from the previous assembly which was dominated by Islamist groups including the Muslim Brotherhood. The new body’s real power remains in question however as the militias who overthrew longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011 are fighting each other for control of the country.

In the last few weeks, 230 people have been killed and nearly 1,000 injured as combat has destroyed the capital’s airport and thousands of Libyans and foreigners have crammed the bordering crossing with Tunisia in an effort to escape.

“Libya is not a failed state,” maintained newly elected parliamentarian Abu-Bakr Baeira as he addressed his fellow deputies and called for help from the international community. “If the situation were to get out of control in Libya, the whole world will suffer.” Baeira is among the top advocates for a federated system where Libya’s three historical regions enjoy a degree of self-rule.

The session took place in Tobruk because Islamic militias now dominate the country’s main city in the east, Benghazi, driving out troops loyal to renegade general Khalifa Hifter after a monthslong battle.

The mere fact that the parliament was unable to convene in Benghazi, “shows the challenges facing Libya by ongoing fighting between armed groups and extremist ones,” said Hesham Youssef, speaking to the deputies as a representative of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

The session was boycotted largely by pro-Islamist deputies including the head of the outgoing parliament, Nouri Abu Sahmein, who has called for holding a rival opening session in Tripoli. There are also 12 seats vacant because they represent regions too unstable for elections.

“We are in a crucial period where the rattle of guns are louder than reason,” Ezz Eddin al-Awami, a member of the outgoing parliament, told the new deputies in Tobruk.

Since the overthrow of Gadhafi, Libya has been ruled by politicians backed by militias, especially powerful ones from the cities of Zintan and Misrata.

The uneasy balance of power crumbled when Hifter announced a campaign in May to rid the country of Islamist militias and parties.