Libya's Bashagha Admits his Government Failed to Enter Tripoli

Fighters affiliated with the Dbeibeh government train on securing Tripoli, Libya (AP)
Fighters affiliated with the Dbeibeh government train on securing Tripoli, Libya (AP)
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Libya's Bashagha Admits his Government Failed to Enter Tripoli

Fighters affiliated with the Dbeibeh government train on securing Tripoli, Libya (AP)
Fighters affiliated with the Dbeibeh government train on securing Tripoli, Libya (AP)

Libya’s parliament-appointed prime minister, Fathi Bashagha, has admitted the government’s failure to conduct its daily business from the capital Tripoli nearly eight months after its formation.

Bashagha said in a speech in Benghazi, after concluding his tour abroad, that the cabinet will exercise its duties from Sirte and Benghazi, adding that the government rejects sedition.

He asserted that the government works for all Libyans, accusing some parties of wanting to create chaos and division.

Bashagha stressed that the government would serve all Libyans to achieve national reconciliation, despite many difficulties.

The government tried to stay in Tripoli to carry out its duties but wanted to avoid bloodshed and sedition, and decided to return peacefully despite people's suffering in the capital and the Libyan West in general, explained Bashagha.

According to local media, Bashagha is scheduled to visit Cairo after meeting in Qobba with Speaker Aguila Saleh.

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry of the Dbeibeh government announced that its Undersecretary for Public Affairs, Mahmoud Saeed, received a Libyan prisoner from the Ukrainian-Polish border, according to the prisoner exchange agreement signed with the Ukrainian government.

The ministry explained that a government committee recently deported and evacuated all the Libyan community in Ukraine, after a series of negotiations with the Ukrainian authorities last March.

All members of the Libyan community were deported and returned safely.

In addition, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) renewed its commitment to achieving peace in Libya through an inclusive Libyan-led and owned process.

Noting in a brief statement on the International Day of Peace, UNSMIL asserted it continues to work with all Libyan actors to advance the peace process and the elections the Libyan people demanded.

In New York, the head of the Presidential Council, Mohammed Menfi, participated in the consultative meeting held by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz with African leaders, including President of Senegal, Macky Sall, in his capacity as President of the African Union (AU), and Chairperson of the African Commission, Moussa Faki.

Menfi praised Germany's role in supporting the political track in Libya through the Berlin conferences and the cooperation between Germany and Africa to support Libya's stability.

He also touched on the challenges of food security in Africa, especially in light of the current international crisis, and the importance of cooperation to overcome this crisis.

Menfi explained that after reaching stability, Libya could play a significant role in oil, energy, and environment, providing economic and investment opportunities, stopping illegal migration, and settling sustainable development in Africa.



Gaza: Polio Vaccine Campaign Kicks off a day Before Expected Pause in Fighting

A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
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Gaza: Polio Vaccine Campaign Kicks off a day Before Expected Pause in Fighting

A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A campaign to inoculate children in Gaza against polio and prevent the spread of the virus began on Saturday, Gaza's Health Ministry said, as Palestinians in both the Hamas-governed enclave and the occupied West Bank reeled from Israel's ongoing military offensives.

Children in Gaza began receiving vaccines, the health ministry told a news conference, a day before the large-scale vaccine rollout and planned pause in fighting agreed to by Israel and the UN World Health Organization. The WHO confirmed the larger campaign would begin Sunday.

“There must be a ceasefire so that the teams can reach everyone targeted by this campaign,” said Dr. Yousef Abu Al-Rish, deputy health minister, describing scenes of sewage running through crowded tent camps in Gaza.

Associated Press journalists saw about 10 infants receiving vaccine doses at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.

Israel is expected to pause some operations in Gaza on Sunday to allow health workers to administer vaccines to some 650,000 Palestinian children. Officials said the pause would last at least nine hours and is unrelated to ongoing cease-fire negotiations.

“We will vaccinate up to 10-year-olds and God willing we will be fine,” said Dr. Bassam Abu Ahmed, general coordinator of public health programs at Al-Quds University.

The vaccination campaign comes after the first polio case in 25 years in Gaza was discovered this month. Doctors concluded a 10-month-old had been partially paralyzed by a mutated strain of the virus after not being vaccinated due to fighting.

Healthcare workers in Gaza have been warning of the potential for a polio outbreak for months. The humanitarian crisis has deepened during the war that broke out after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were militants.

Hours earlier, the Health Ministry said hospitals received 89 dead on Saturday, including 26 who died in an overnight Israeli bombardment, and 205 wounded — one of the highest daily tallies in months.