UN-backed Libya government told to leave after Tripoli arrival

The head of Libya’s UN-backed unity government arrived Wednesday in Tripoli, but international hopes of a peaceful power handover were dealt a swift blow as the unrecognised authorities demanded his departure. Fayez al-Sarraj, a businessman named prime minister-designate under a UN-brokered power-sharing deal in December, arrived by sea with a naval escort along with several members of his cabinet. But in a sign of the formidable challenge facing Sarraj’s government, Tripoli’s unrecognised authorities declared a state of emergency and demanded that he leave the capital or “hand himself in”.

Those who entered illegally and secretly must surrender or turn back. We won’t leave Tripoli as long as we are not sure of the fate of our homeland.

Khalifa Ghweil, head of the Tripoli authorities

Libya has had two rival administrations since mid-2014 when a militia alliance overran the capital, setting up its own authority and forcing the internationally recognised parliament to flee to the country’s remote east. International leaders, increasingly alarmed by the rise of jihadists and people-smugglers in the impoverished North African state, have urged Libya’s political rivals to support the unity government. But so far the two administrations have refused to cede power.

Now is not the time for obstructionists to hold back progress, but rather for all Libyans throughout the country to embrace this historic opportunity for a peaceful and more prosperous Libya.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry

Libya