Libya's Abdullah al-Thinni Resigns as Prime Minister

By Sarah Price - 30 Aug '14 11:12AM

In a move aimed at ending the power struggle that has gripped the country, Libya's Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni and his cabinet announced late Thursday that it was stepping down.

The cabineet tendered its resignation to the newly-elected Parliament and according to an official statement, said that it had taken the step only to pave the way for the formation of a new inclusive government based on the Parliamentary elections in June, BBC reports.

The resignation comes days after a rival Islamist administration was created. The interim government was operating east of Libya so as to avoid the Islamist separatists who have made Tripoli their stronghold. The government said it "presented its resignation to the elected parliament" - based in Tobruk (600 km east of Tripoli) - due to security reasons, France 24 reports.

Thani's resignation comes after three days of Libya's General National Congress, officially replaced by the newly-elected Parliament, naming pro-Islamist figure Omar al-Hassi to form a "salvation government" Monday.

Abdullah al-Thinni's cabinet said Thursday that according to Libya's constitutional rules, they were required to let the new House of Representatives to form a government.

Even though the House of Representatives had replaced the General National Congress in June, they were forced to move to Tobruk as a means to escape a whole month of street fighting in the capital of Tripoli, Al Jazeera reports.

Islamists were much stronger in the GNC, while the new assembly is dominated by liberal and federalist politicians.

Thinni was appointed as the Prime Minister in March, but has faced constant opposition during his tenure. After a breakdown of the Parliament in May, the Islamist-leaning Ahmed Maetig was appointed as the Prime Minister; but his position was ruled as "unconstitutional" and Thinni's position was restored in June.

"This is just a routine step. There is no conflict between Thinni and the House of Representatives," an unnamed politician told the Reuters.