Prime Minister Thinni survived gun attack on his car. (File photo)
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, has condemned yesterday’s assassination attempt in Torbuk against Prime Minister Abdullah Al-Thinni. It was “an outrageous assault to further destabilise Libya”, she said. Libyans needed to unite, she added, in order to prevent such attempts “that undermine Libyan efforts to find a political agreement”.
In Tobruk today, however, there was little willingness within some quarters of the House of Representatives (HoR) to follow her advice and unite, let alone in Tripoli where pro-Libya Dawn media appeared to take positive glee at the reports of yesterday’s anti-Thinni protests outside the HoR and the assassination bid.
In the HoR, a small group of anti-Thinni members used the occasion to attack the prime minister, claiming the incident had been set up to make him appear a victim and his opponents, criminals.
On the Jordan-based Libya TV channel, Benghazi member Amal Bayou had last night already called the whole event surrounding Thinni’s questioning by the HoR “a farce”. The president of HoR, Ageela Saleh, “left the session, then he returned. He asked the Prime Minister Thinni and his government to leave without giving any reasons. He then asked all the HoR members to stay so he could to tell them the reason,” Bayou said. “We, the HoR members, did not hear shooting. I myself went out of the session to see what was happening and I saw some protesters outside the building making their own demands”.
The same claim was made by another Benghazi member, normally outspoken but in this case insisted on remaining anonymous .
However, these were rebutted by other members who insisted that protestors had been armed and threatening and that Thinni’s convoy when it left the navy base where the HoR meets in session had been shot at. “It’s true” Sidra member Salah Fhaima said this afternoon.
An HoR official who was in the chamber at the time told the Libya Herald that he had seen the protestors when he arrived and recognised some of them.
The protestors were genuinely angry, he said. “It was clear they wanted him [Thinni] to go. They said they would attack the base if the House did not dismiss him.”
At no point though, he added, did the protestors enter the navy base. They were kept outside. Nonetheless, security guards then went to the HoR president, Ageela Saleh Gwaider, and told him about the situation. “He immediately decided to stop the session,” the source said. Thinni and his team then left, the official stated, but no one else including himself did. As a result neither he nor any of the HoR members saw what is then said to have occurred – Thinni’s convoy being shot at.
This morning, he said, he had spoken to several members. “Some say it’s true, others deny it, yet others don’t know.” The reality, he believed was that none of them knew what had really happened.
He personally, however, did not think that the protestors had intended to kill Thinni. “It was not a real attack. They had hunting guns with them. It was for show. If they had wanted to kill Thinni they would have brought serious weapons.”
HoR members today were also in the dark about where the prime minister now was, the official added. “Some reports say that he left back to Beida last night. Others say that he is still here in Tobruk. But we don’t know.”
One thing the source could confirm was that Thinni did not turn up again today to the House to complete his session as was reported yesterday would happen.
By Libya Herald reporters.
