Turkey on Tuesday called for restraint as gunfire rocked Libya's capital for several hours after a rival prime minister attempted to oust interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.
“We are following the developments in Libya with concern,” the Turkish Embassy in Libya said in a written statement.
“Maintaining calm and not allowing clashes is our main priority. We call on all parties to exercise restraint, exercise rationality, and refrain from actions that might endanger stability,” it underlined.
Saying that Turkey views Libya as a whole and embraces all Libyans, the embassy said Ankara would continue to contribute to the Libyan reconciliation efforts, as well as to the political process led and adopted by the Libyans under the auspices of the United Nations.
“In this regard, it is important for all parties in Libya to complete the work aimed at laying the required solid legal groundwork as soon as possible. We support the efforts of the House of Representatives and the High Council of State facilitated by the United Nations.”
Fathi Bashagha landed in Tripoli in the early hours of Tuesday and tried to take it by force, sparking pre-dawn clashes between armed groups supporting him and those backing Dbeibah. One man, Ahmad al-Ashhab, died in the crossfire, Bashagha told journalists late in the evening.
Hours after landing, Bashagha left Tripoli citing the "security and safety of citizens," as the United Nations, European Union and United States appealed for calm.
Dbeibah, based in Tripoli, was appointed under a troubled U.N.-led peace process early last year to lead a transition to elections set for December 2021, but the vote was indefinitely postponed.
In February, parliament – based in Tobruk in Libya's east – opened up the latest in a series of schisms since a 2011 revolt that toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. It appointed Bashagha, a one-time interior minister, to take his place, arguing that Dbeibah's mandate had ended.
But Dbeibah has refused to hand over power except to an elected administration, a vow he repeated in a televised speech on Tuesday evening.
Both Bashagha and Dbeibah come from the western city of Misrata and are backed by different armed groups in the capital.
Bashagha on Tuesday evening addressed journalists from the city of Sirte, saying his delegation had entered the capital "peacefully" but that when fighting broke out, to prevent "casualties, we saw that we needed to leave."
He bitterly criticized Dbeibah, saying that poverty and theft had increased under his rule and he "has lost control of Tripoli."
The clashes between the two sides have raised fears of a return to the all-out conflict that gripped the capital when forces aligned with eastern putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar launched a failed offensive in 2019-20.
Haftar is among those throwing his weight behind Bashagha, compounding such fears.
Dbeibah's Defense Ministry said it would respond "with an iron fist" to anyone "attacking security and the safety of citizens."
Dbeibah was later seen meeting the public in the streets of the capital.
His office announced the sacking of his military intelligence chief Osama Juwaili, without citing a reason.
Pro-Bashagha armed groups had already deployed in March on the edges of the capital, raising fears that a fragile ceasefire in place since October 2020 could collapse.
The creation of two governments echoes Libya's troubled period of rival administrations between 2014 and 2021.
The revolt that toppled Gadhafi plunged the vast but sparsely populated country into violence as armed groups vied for control and a string of interim governments came and went.
Many militia forces have been integrated into the state, allowing them a share in the country's vast oil wealth, and rights groups have accused all sides of abuses.
