Photo: Global Look Press
UN Secretary-General António Guterres calls for the avoidance of any actions that could lead to the destabilization of Libya, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
Mass protests began in a number of major Libyan cities on Friday. Demonstrators attacked the local parliament and set fire to several offices.
“The Secretary-General calls on all parties to refrain from any action that could destabilize,” Dujarric said.
UN commentary says , that the Secretary General of the organization recognizes the right to peaceful demonstrations, but calls on all demonstrators to refrain from violent acts. Guterres also urged law enforcement to exercise maximum restraint. According to his spokesman, the demonstrations that took place on July 1 in a number of Libyan cities, including Tripoli, Tobruk and Benghazi, are particularly cause for concern. Demonstrators are demanding the dissolution of the current authorities and early presidential and parliamentary elections.
The UN also called for unity to overcome the ongoing political impasse.
Earlier, Prime Minister of the National Unity Government Abdulhamid Dbeiba supported protesters and said that the only way out of the situation is elections. According to him, all power institutions in the country “should leave”, including the government.
In February, the parliament sitting in the east of Libya voted for the candidacy of former interior minister Fathi Bashagi for the post of prime minister. In March, ministers from the government formed by Bashaga were sworn in before parliament in the city of Tobruk. The current head of the National Unity Government, Dbeiba, has previously said he will not transfer power until the presidential election, putting the country at risk of another dual power. In May, Bashaga, appointed by parliament to head the Libyan government after a failed attempt to find a cabinet in Tripoli, said the government would begin work in the city of Sirte.