In Libya, protests in several cities have raised concerns about further violence. In view of the “fragile situation”, the EU ambassador in the North African country, José Sabadell, urged restraint on Saturday. “Protest must be peaceful and without any form of violence.”
The UN special adviser on Libya, Stephanie Williams, also appealed to everyone involved to remain calm. Acts of violence such as the storming of Parliament are “completely unacceptable”.
In the city of Tobruk in the east of the country, angry demonstrators attacked parliament on Friday evening, threw stones and set fires, eyewitnesses reported. Video of a bulldozer ramming a gate of Parliament was shared on social media. Libyan media published a photo of the damaged building with black marks on the facade on Saturday.
According to eyewitnesses, there were also protests in other cities, including the capital Tripoli, the coastal cities of Misrata, Sirte and Benghazi, and Sabha in the south. Some protesters blocked roads and set tires on fire. They demanded a dissolution of the two governments that had been struggling for power for months and national elections, as well as better electricity supply and lower bread prices. According to official information, there were no dead or injured. On Saturday, the situation was generally calm.
The news site Al-Wasat reported on a “Friday of Rage” – an allusion to the motto “Day of Rage” under which opponents of longtime ruler Muammar al-Gaddafi took to the streets in 2011. After the violent suppression of these protests and the fall of Gaddafi, a civil war finally broke out in the oil-rich country.
