Libyan Prime Minister survives assassination attempt

Libyan Prime Minister, Abdul Hamid al-Dbeibah, on Thursday, survived an assassination attempt after gunmen opened fire on his car while returning home from a function.

The heavily armed gunmen reportedly fired several shots towards al-Dbeibah’s vehicle from another vehicle that managed to flee the scene.

al-Dbeibah who escaped unhurt, has been battling opposition amid conflicts between rival factions over control of the government.

According to reports from government media, “though the Prime Minister was unharmed in the incident, it was a clear assassination attempt.”

al-Dbeibah, a powerful businessman from Misrata, was appointed Prime Minister in February, 2021 as part of a UN-brokered, Western-backed political process, with the main task of steering the deeply divided country toward national reconciliation and lead it through elections.

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The House of Representatives in the North African country has been locked in a series of strategies to remove al-Dbeibah to no avail.

Only on Tuesday, al-Dbeibah took a defiant stand against efforts to appoint a new interim government, saying he would not hand over power.

“I will not allow a new transitional period. The Government of National Unity will continue until handing over power to an elected administration.

“We will not allow this class that has been dominant for years to monopolize the scene,” he said, while accusing the political class that controlled Libya for the past decade of seeking to remain in power.

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