Only solution for Libya is elections — Dbeibah

The head of Libya's Government of National Unity Abdulhamid al Dbeibah has said he supports protesters in the country, agrees that all institutions should leave including the government, and there is no way to do that except through "election."

Dbeibah's late Friday comments came after protesters stormed the parliament building in the eastern city of Tobruk and staged the biggest demonstration for years in the capital Tripoli, in the west.

"The parties obstructing the elections are known to the Libyan people and are the same ones that blocked budgets and closed oil, which contributed to the exacerbation of the cost of living crisis," Dbeibah said on his Twitter account.

Demonstrators have stormed the parliament to protest deteriorating living conditions and political deadlock.

Several TV channels said that protesters managed to penetrate the building and committed acts of vandalism on Friday.

Media outlets showed images of thick columns of black smoke coming from its perimeter as angry young protesters burned tyres.

Security forces protecting the parliament withdrew from the site, the eyewitnesses added.

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Libya's turmoil

Libya, an oil-rich country, has remained in turmoil since 2011, when longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi was ousted after four decades in power.

The country has seen the emergence of two rival seats of power: one in eastern Libya — to which warlord Khalifa Haftar is affiliated — and the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord, which has UN recognition.

Libyan legislative leaders quit talks in Geneva on a constitution and elections without reaching a deal on Thursday, pausing diplomacy to resolve a standoff that has imperiled a two-year peace process.

Presidential and parliamentary elections, originally set for December last year, were meant to cap a UN-led peace process following the end of the last major round of violence in 2020.

But the vote never took place due to several contentious candidacies and deep disagreements, over the polls' legal basis, between rival power centres in the east and west of the country.