Libya slid into chaos after the 2011 toppling and killing of longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi. The internationally recognized government is based in the far eastern town of Tobruk, while a rival Islamist-led government is based in the capital, Tripoli.
The UN envoy for Libya, Bernardino Leon, announced the proposal along with a list of candidates to head the new body on 8 October.
The amendments that angered the Tobruk lawmakers would have given the unity government the power to fire all senior Libyan officials not unanimously approved by its members. The Tobruk government saw this as an attempt to remove their fiercely anti-Islamist army chief, General Khalifa Hifter, whose forces have been battling Islamist militias nationwide for over a year, government spokesman Ali Tekbali said.
The Islamist-led government did not officially reject the deal, but said “signing it would lead to further complications” in a statement issued Monday.
The Tripoli government objects to the deal because it does not provide sufficient guarantees that Islamic law will be implemented, members of the Islamist parliament said on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to brief reporters.
Both governments have slammed Leon for announcing candidates for the unity government when they had not agreed on forming one yet.
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