Bashagha Makes Arrangements to Assume Office in Tripoli

Fathi Bashagha, designated as prime minister by the parliament, delivers a speech at Mitiga International Airport, in Tripoli, Libya February 10, 2022. Picture taken February 10, 2022. (Reuters)
Fathi Bashagha, designated as prime minister by the parliament, delivers a speech at Mitiga International Airport, in Tripoli, Libya February 10, 2022. Picture taken February 10, 2022. (Reuters)
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Bashagha Makes Arrangements to Assume Office in Tripoli

Fathi Bashagha, designated as prime minister by the parliament, delivers a speech at Mitiga International Airport, in Tripoli, Libya February 10, 2022. Picture taken February 10, 2022. (Reuters)
Fathi Bashagha, designated as prime minister by the parliament, delivers a speech at Mitiga International Airport, in Tripoli, Libya February 10, 2022. Picture taken February 10, 2022. (Reuters)

Libya’s Prime Minister-designate Fathi Bashagha has said he is making arrangements to assume office in the capital Tripoli. He also called on state bodies to stop obeying the Government of National Unity (GNU).

He ordered all heads of public departments and bodies not to arrange financial or contractual obligations on behalf of the Libyan state.

The Minister of Interior in Bashagha’s government, Major General Essam Abu Zariba, underscored the need to follow his instructions and orders and called for raising the level of preparedness, securing state headquarters, institutions and vital facilities, and preventing any breaches that affect the security of the capital and the safety of Libyans.

Abu Zariba said the ministry is finalizing all arrangements for the government to start its work from the capital to ensure the peaceful transfer of power and maintain security and stability.

Meanwhile, head of the GNU Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah has vowed not to cede power before holding elections.

During a meeting with various heads of diplomatic missions in Tripoli on Tuesday, Dbeibah said he respects people’s will to hold elections as soon as possible.

He further reviewed the government’s plan to restore people’s trust.

Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Libya Richard Norland said his country maintains contacts with Libyan conflicting parties to ensure calm and avoid escalation.

“In the context of ongoing political tensions in Libya, I have been in touch with PM Dbeibah and PM-designate Fathi Bashagha and am confident both leaders want to avoid escalating violence,” he disclosed via the US Embassy Twitter account.



Syria, Jordan, US Agree to Back Ceasefire Enforcement in Sweida

This handout picture released by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry shows (L to R) Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, and US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack meeting in Amman on August 12, 2025. (Jordanian Foreign Ministry / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry shows (L to R) Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, and US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack meeting in Amman on August 12, 2025. (Jordanian Foreign Ministry / AFP)
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Syria, Jordan, US Agree to Back Ceasefire Enforcement in Sweida

This handout picture released by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry shows (L to R) Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, and US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack meeting in Amman on August 12, 2025. (Jordanian Foreign Ministry / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry shows (L to R) Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, and US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack meeting in Amman on August 12, 2025. (Jordanian Foreign Ministry / AFP)

Syria, Jordan and the United States agreed on Tuesday to form a joint task force to support Damascus’ efforts to uphold a ceasefire in the Sweida province in southern Syria and end the crisis there, the three countries said in a joint statement.

The agreement was reached during talks in Jordan between Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi, and US special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack, the statement said.

The meeting discussed ways to help rebuild Syria “on foundations that guarantee its security, stability, sovereignty, unity and non-interference in its internal affairs.”

Jordan and the United States welcomed Damascus’ steps, including “full investigations and holding all perpetrators of crimes and violations in Sweida accountable” and its readiness to cooperate with relevant UN agencies in the probe, the Syrian foreign ministry said.

They also praised Syria’s moves to expand humanitarian aid access to all areas of Sweida, restore disrupted services, start community reconciliation, and promote civil peace.

Both countries reiterated their “full solidarity” with Syria’s security, stability, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Sweida and its communities were an “integral part of Syria” whose residents’ rights must be preserved in the rebuilding process, the statement said.

The three sides agreed to meet again in the coming weeks to continue Tuesday’s discussions.

Barrack said on X: “Syria remains steadfastly committed to a united process that honors and protects all its constituencies, fostering a shared future for the Syrian people despite intervening forces seeking to disrupt and displace its communities.”

“Delivering justice and ending impunity are paramount to achieving lasting peace,” he stressed.

“The Syrian government has pledged to utilize all resources to hold perpetrators of the Sweida atrocities accountable, ensuring no one escapes justice for violations against its citizens,” he added. “Syria will fully cooperate with the UN to investigate these crimes.”

During a meeting with Shaibani, Safadi reaffirmed Jordan’s rejection of foreign interference in Syria and its support for the country’s security, sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to a Jordanian foreign ministry statement.

The FMs condemned repeated Israeli air strikes and incursions into Syria, calling them a “flagrant violation of international law” that threatened regional stability.

They discussed efforts to cement the Sweida truce, agreed last month after violence between armed groups in the mainly Druze province killed hundreds.

On X, Shaibani said Syria was committed to protecting Sweida’s Druze, Bedouin and Christian residents and to countering any sectarian or inciting rhetoric. “Our Druze people are an integral part of Syria... we reject any attempt to marginalize them under any pretext,” he said.

He pledged accountability for all violations in Sweida “regardless of the party involved,” saying justice was essential to building a state governed by law.