Benghazi: Libya’s eastern-based House of Representatives speaker, Aguila Saleh, has called for the swift creation of a unified government, warning that the prolonged political crisis could further destabilize the country unless immediate action is taken.
According to Nam News Network, in a video message released by the House of Representatives media office, Saleh, whose chamber supports the eastern Government of National Stability based in Benghazi, stressed the importance of adhering to a political roadmap established last year. “We no longer have multiple options or solutions. We must act promptly to establish a new authority in line with the political agreement reached through consensus,” Saleh stated, referring to a stalled deal between his body and the Tripoli-based High Council of State, a consultative body aligned with the western Libyan administration.
Saleh’s remarks highlight the growing rift between Libya’s rival administrations, a division that has deepened since the 2011 ousting of former leade
r Muammar Gaddafi and the ensuing civil war. The United Nations Support Mission in Libya expressed similar concerns on Wednesday, warning that escalatory unilateral actions by competing factions threaten to derail fragile diplomatic progress.
Oil-rich Libya has struggled to establish stable governance since NATO-backed forces ousted and killed long-time ruler Gaddafi. The North African country remains divided between two administrations: the eastern government, backed by military commander Khalifa Haftar, and the UN-recognized Government of National Unity in Tripoli.