War-torn Libya still in chaos as deputy prime minister quits citing mission failure

The deputy premier of Libya's U.N.-backed government announced his resignation Monday, saying he has failed to achieve his mission. Moussa al-Kouni said during a press conference that "the Presidency Council has failed to carry out its duties and the implementation of the political agreement...," Libya's Bawabat al-Wasat news website quoted him as saying.

Al Kouni, who seemed deeply moved during the event, stressed that "all political bodies did not help the Presidential Council in unifying the state institutions." According to Bawbat al-Wasat, al-Kouni added that his "inability to respond to the expectations of the people" were a factor in his resignation.

The Presidency Council, headed by Prime Minister Fayez Serraj, took office under a U.N.-backed agreement to form a national unity government.

The council is made up of nine members who are meant to represent the various regions and political movements in Libya. Al-Kouni was from the southern part of Libya.

The oil-rich North African country descended into chaos after Western intervention and parts of it have become a bastion for Daesh, giving the militants a new base even as its territory in Syria and Iraq continues to shrink under constant assault.

Libya has suffered from a chronic absence of security as various actors have emerged. There are two centers of power in the crisis- hit country; the internationally recognized government in Tobruk, the Government of National Accord (GNA) and Tripoli-based General National Congress (GNC). The GNA is the centerpiece of U.N. efforts to end the five years of chaos in Libya and it now faces an even tougher battle to assert its authority over the rival administration in the east.

The powerlessness of the central government has led many people to take up arms against the government. After the ouster and subsequent killing of Moammar Gadhafi, the army has disintegrated, and the central government has gradually lost its power without having much effect on the ongoing violent clashes between armed forces loyal to Gen. Khalifa Haftar. State security forces have also failed to protect the government, leaving the country unprotected and open to heavy clashes between rival militias trying to gain authority over the government and the country. Peace and political stability seems far off as no rival militias have been strong enough to put an end to the ongoing war.