Lebanon PM to Introduce Bill Proposing Early Elections

Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab. (Dalati & Nohra)
Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab. (Dalati & Nohra)
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Lebanon PM to Introduce Bill Proposing Early Elections

Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab. (Dalati & Nohra)
Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab. (Dalati & Nohra)

Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced Saturday he will introduce a draft bill proposing early elections for the crisis-stricken country.

In a televised speech, he called on all political parties to put their disagreements aside and work together.

He said he is ready to stay in the post for two months to allow for politicians to work together on implementing reforms, saying he was not to blame for the country's deep economic and political woes.

On the devastating Beirut blast, he said everyone involved will be held accountable.

The investigation will uncover the truth and it will bring those responsible to justice, he added

“Holding early elections is key to resolving the country’s problems,” Diab stressed.

“It is unacceptable to stand against structural reforms, rather the country must be allowed to stand up on its feet,” he continued.

“I share the Lebanese people’s aspirations for change,” said the premier.



Most Intense Fighting for Years Rocks Libyan Capital 

Libyans walk past a burnt vehicle after Monday evening clashes between armed militias in Tripoli, Libya, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP)
Libyans walk past a burnt vehicle after Monday evening clashes between armed militias in Tripoli, Libya, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP)
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Most Intense Fighting for Years Rocks Libyan Capital 

Libyans walk past a burnt vehicle after Monday evening clashes between armed militias in Tripoli, Libya, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP)
Libyans walk past a burnt vehicle after Monday evening clashes between armed militias in Tripoli, Libya, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP)

The most intense clashes for years rocked Tripoli for a second night and continued into Wednesday morning, witnesses in the Libyan capital said, after Monday's killing of a major militia leader set off fighting between rival factions.

The United Nations Libya mission UNSMIL said it was "deeply alarmed by the escalating violence in densely populated neighborhoods of Tripoli" and urgently called for a ceasefire.

The latest unrest in Libya's capital could consolidate the power of Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, head of the divided country's Government of National Unity (GNU).

Libya has had little stability since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising ousted longtime ruler Moammar al-Gaddafi and the country split in 2014 between rival eastern and western factions, though an outbreak of major warfare paused with a truce in 2020.

While eastern Libya has been dominated for a decade by commander Khalifa Haftar and his Libyan National Army (LNA), control in Tripoli and western Libya has been splintered among numerous armed factions.

Dbeibah on Tuesday ordered the dismantling of what he called irregular armed groups.

That announcement followed Monday's killing of major militia chief Abdulghani Kikli, widely known as Ghaniwa, and the sudden defeat of his Stabilization Support Apparatus (SSA) group by factions aligned with Dbeibah.

The seizure of SSA territory in Libya by the Dbeibah-allied factions, the 444 and 111 Brigades, indicated a major concentration of power in the fragmented capital, leaving the Special Deterrence Force (Rada) as the last big faction not closely tied to the GNU head.