Libya Parliament Slams British 'İnterference'

Libya's internationally-recognized parliament, which convenes in the eastern Tobruk city, has slammed statements by Michael Grant, the British ambassador to the United Nations.



"[Grant's] statements before the UN Security Council session on Libya amounted to interference in the country's internal affairs," the House of Representatives said in a statement on Sunday.



"These statements reflect the British stance against Libya's legitimate government and its explicit support of the so-called Libya Dawn," the assembly said of the umbrella group of Islamist militias which is loyal to the rival parliament in Tripoli.



Grant told the 15-member Security Council on Saturday that Libya needed to have a national unity government so that it could fight Daesh, the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, a militant organization that has overrun large territories in Iraq and Syria.



He said that the international community should only supply the Libyan army with weaponry to fight Daesh in the presence of a national unity government.



The Libyan army command, which is loyal to the Tobruk government, has also denounced Grant's remarks as "unacceptable."



It accused the British diplomat of "practicing deception at the UN to alter the truth and spread false information."



The army command also accused the West of taking sides with what it described as the "terrorists" and their allies.



Libya has remained in a state of turmoil since a bloody uprising ended the decades-long rule of strongman Muammar Gaddafi in late 2011.



Since then, the country's sharp political divisions have yielded two rival seats of government, each of which has its own institutions.



Vying for legislative authority are a parliament based in the eastern city of Tobruk and another based in capital Tripoli.



The two assemblies support two different governments, respectively headquartered in the two cities.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Kahire