Libya’s UN-backed unity govt moves into Tripoli HQ

By Khalil al-Kalaei

TRIPOLI, Libya

Libya’s UN-backed unity government Monday evening held its first meeting in its new headquarters in Tripoli.

The meeting was attended by top government officials, including Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj.

Meanwhile, personnel from the unity government’s various ministries -- including that of defense and foreign affairs -- also moved into new headquarters in the capital.

Libya has largely remained in a state of turmoil since 2011, when a bloody uprising ended with the ouster and death of longtime strongman Muammar Gaddafi.

Following Gaddafi’s departure, the country’s stark political divisions yielded two rival seats of government, one in Tobruk and another in Tripoli.

Late last year, Libya’s rival governments signed a UN-sponsored agreement to establish a unity government in an effort to resolve the ongoing political standoff.

In March, members of the new unity government, led by al-Sarraj, arrived in Tripoli from Tunisia with a view to assuming their governing mandate.