BENGHAZI: Libya鈥檚 eastern Parliament voted on Tuesday to withdraw its support for a UN peace deal and Government of National Accord (GNA), an escalation in the fractured country鈥檚 split that stokes concerns recent violence could intensify.
Abdullah Ablaihig, spokesman for the Tobruk-based, internationally recognized House of Representatives, said the body voted to annul its previous acceptance of a presidential council and the UN-backed government currently led by Prime Minister Fayez Al-Serraj in Tripoli.
The decision comes as Libya鈥檚 rival power centers are sliding closer to open conflict, with breakaway militias backed by western Libyan factions seizing oil terminals from the east鈥檚 strongman general, whose forces have vowed to take them back.
The Tobruk body called on all Libyan parties to condemn militias that occupied the two key terminals in what it described as 鈥渢errorist attacks,鈥� saying it was suspending its participation in peace talks until they did so. The militias, which oppose the Parliament, said they intended to take the eastern city of Benghazi and drive Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter from the area. Hifter鈥檚 army is allied to the Parliament, while the Tripoli government opposes him.
鈥淭he GNA unity government is not legitimate any more, as well as its presidential council and anything to do with this entity,鈥� Ablaihig said, urging the international community to lift an embargo on weapons sales to the Libyan Army under Hifter.
His forces have deployed more troops in preparation of a counterattack to drive out the militias, known as the Benghazi Defense Brigades, which are comprised of militants and former rebels recently defeated by Hifter鈥檚 forces in Benghazi, Libya鈥檚 second largest city. They are also joined by militiamen from the western city of Misrata, and a day earlier announced their intentions from there.
Later in the day, the Tripoli government said that the oil terminals had been abandoned by the Benghazi Defense Brigades and that its forces were moving to occupy the facilities. It denied it had any relationship with the Brigades, saying they were involved in a separate fight with Benghazi that should be negotiated peacefully.
鈥淲e officially took control of the oil terminals,鈥� Brig. Gen. Mohamed Algosri told The Associated Press. 鈥淣ow the forces will be formed and deploy to the oil terminals momentarily.鈥�
The Italian Embassy tweeted its support for the move, describing the deployment as 鈥渁 step in the right direction鈥� that should end the fighting.
Troops under the command of Hifter who were driven out of the oil facilities said they had redeployed to the east around the town of Brega and had been fighting skirmishes in recent days as they attempted to reconnoiter the opposing lines under air support.
An official at nearby Ajdabiya hospital said seven more of Hifter鈥檚 troops were killed in fighting near Ras Lanuf on Tuesday, bringing that side鈥檚 total losses to 39 killed over the past four days.
Libya descended into chaos with its 2011 civil war, which ended with the killing of longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi and led to the current split.
Western ambassadors have condemned the escalation of violence and called for an immediate cease-fire. Egypt on Tuesday condemned the seizing of the oil installations more singularly, saying that 鈥渆lements linked to Al-Qaeda鈥� were involved in the attack, which it said posed 鈥渟erious risks鈥� for Libya.