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Libya's UN-backed government to take over ministries

Xinhua, April 18, 2016 Adjust font size:

Libya's UN-backed government on Sunday confirmed that the government will take over three ministries on Monday.

"Three official ministries will be taken over by the government on Monday. The take over will be administrative," Ahmed Maiteeq, Libyan deputy prime minister of the UN-backed government, said in a press conference with Martin Kopler, the UN envoy to Libya.

Maiteeq said it includes the ministries of housing and utilities, sports and youth, and social affairs.

This is the first action taken by the government of national accord since its arrival in the capital Tripoli in March.

Based in the heavily guarded Abu Setta naval base in Tripoli, the new government is expected to bring stability and fight against the increasing dominance of IS affiliates.

Tripoli, until recently, was controlled by the self-proclaimed government of Khalifa Gwell, a government appointed after the so-called Libya Dawn militias took control of Tripoli in 2014 and revived the expired general national congress (parliament), forcing the elected parliament to move to the far eastern city of Tubrug and creating a political division in the country.

Gwell's government decided to step down on April 5 after the arrival of the unity government from Tunisia.

The government of national accord was named based on a peace deal signed by Libya's political rivals after almost a year of negotiations sponsored by the UN. Endit