Libya’s Dbeibah Says Will Only Leave Post Through Elections

Head of Libya’s Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah meets with an Italian delegation. (GNU)
Head of Libya’s Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah meets with an Italian delegation. (GNU)
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Libya’s Dbeibah Says Will Only Leave Post Through Elections

Head of Libya’s Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah meets with an Italian delegation. (GNU)
Head of Libya’s Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah meets with an Italian delegation. (GNU)

Head of Libya’s Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah declared that he will only hand over power to a successor when elections are successfully held.

Speaking at a forum in the capital Tripoli on Saturday, he added that Libya “will not be divided” and there “can only be one state.”

“God brought me to head the government,” he went on say.

He continued: “I love this country and I am working for it and its people. My motto is ‘no to wars and conflicts’.”

Moreover, he alleged that the parliament had “lost its legitimacy years ago.”

“We don’t want another period of transition,” Dbeibah urged.

He suggested that a referendum be held over the constitution “since it is the guide of the people.”

He declared that he will “only leave his seat in power to whoever wants to serve the people.”

“The people must decide who they want to lead them. We will accept any laws as long as they are fair,” he went on to say.

On whether he will run in the elections, he revealed he will have to consult his family and wife first. He also noted that the “rules of the political real have not really been approved for him to declare whether he will run or not.”

On the possibility that Seif al-Islam al-Gaddafi, the son of slain leader Moammar, will run, Dbeibah said he has “no problem” with his candidacy “if the Libyan people agree to it and if there are no legal impediments.”



Syria’s Al-Sharaa Says No to Arms Outside State Control

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Says No to Arms Outside State Control

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said his administration would announce the new structure of the defense ministry and military within days.

In a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday, al-Sharaa said that his administration would not allow for arms outside the control of the state.

An official source told Reuters on Saturday that Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency that toppled Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago, had been named as defense minister in the interim government.
Sharaa did not mention the appointment of a new defense minister on Sunday.
Sharaa discussed the form military institutions would take during a meeting with armed factions on Saturday, state news agency SANA said.
Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said last week that the defense ministry would be restructured using former opposition factions and officers who defected from Assad's army.

Earlier Sunday, Lebanon’s Druze leader Walid Jumblatt held talks with al-Sharaa in Damascus.

Jumblatt expressed hope that Lebanese-Syrian relations “will return to normal.”

“Syria was a source of concern and disturbance, and its interference in Lebanese affairs was negative,” al-Sharaa said, referring to the Assad government. “Syria will no longer be a case of negative interference in Lebanon," he added.