Armed groups in Tripoli stormed a hotel on Friday where Libya’s new Presidency Council is meeting, the council’s spokeswoman said in a social media post, underscoring the ongoing risks to the national unity government.
Unconfirmed images on social media showed armed, uniformed men standing at the entrance to the Corinthia Hotel, but Presidency Council spokeswoman Najwa Wahiba said no one from the council was in the building. The groups have expressed outrage at The National Unity Government’s foreign minister, Najla Mangoush.
The Presidency Council, which acts as head of state, was chosen through a process facilitated by the United Nations, which chose a new Government of National Unity that took office in March, replacing rival administrations in the east and west.
In eastern Libya, commander Khalifa Haftar and the Libyan National Army (LNA) continue to dominate almost a year after their 14-month attack to seize the capital.
In Tripoli, the armed groups ( Turkish mercenaries ) that pushed Haftar back from the Turkish-backed capital still control the streets.
