LE MONDE (France), ANSA, MISNA (Italy)
TRIPOLI – Some 100 armed men stormed Libya’s parliament late Tuesday, preventing the confirmation of 30 cabinet members for the new government of prime minister Ali Zeidan, Italian news agency ANSA reported.
Fighters have invaded parliament several times before, each time bringing proceedings to a halt. “This has grave consequences for Libyan democracy,” said Mohamed Mogarief, the president of the assembly, according to ANSA.
The armed men were stopped by security forces after a dozen had entered the hall with guns, but Mogarief ordered parliament to close, saying, “This is a way of exercising psychological pressure….All Libyans and the whole world need to see what conditions we work in. The situation is out of control.”
The armed men had paused before a television crew to be filmed, Le Monde reported.
Libya’s stability is important to the world, says an Italian oil executive interviewed by Italian Catholic news site Misna. The nation has the largest amount of crude oil reserves in Africa, and oil production reached its pre-war levels last May. “A stable government, a clear transition time frame, increased security at the national level and effective control of the territory” will all be necessary before Libya can recover, the executive said.
