|
Thinni orders suspension and arrest of mayors dealing with government of national accord
[Libya Herald] The Beida-based interim prime minister Abdullah al-Thinni has ordered the suspension and arrest of mayors and councillors from areas supposedly under his control who have been in contact with the Presidency Council’s government of national accord (GNA) based in Tripoli...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... Thinni gave the instruction to suspend the mayors and councillors this morning to his minister of local government, and that to arrest them to his new acting interior minister, Colonel Younis Mohammed Belgassem Ismail. The move will affect several of the municipalities in the east which have not, so far, had military governors appointed to run them. The two most prominent are Beida and Tobruk. The mayor of Beida, Ali Hussein Mohammed, has had talks with Serraj in search of funding for his town as have councillors from Tobruk. The mayor of Tobruk, Naji Maziq, studiously avoided meeting Serraj and instead sent other councillors to negotiate instead for funding for the town’s electricity and water projects, but this may not save him. The suspension and arrest orders are likely to complicate matters in the east. The mayor in Beida, for example, is popular and his arrest could stir up local anger. The orders are also likely to deepen the antagonisms between the east and west of the country. "This move will not help reconciliation," said one top local government official in Tripoli, adding that "the timing is obviously connected to the events of the past few days in Benghazi". He was referring to the latest liquidation attempt in Benghazi against the GNA’s deputy interior minister Faraj al-Gaem, his ultimatum to Khalifa Hafter to quit the city and yesterday’s counter attempt by the LNA to seize him. Posted by: Fred 2017-11-13 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=501547 |