The Military Prosecutor's Office of Libya's Defense Ministry issued an arrest warrant Sunday for Fathi Bashagha, who was appointed by Libya's eastern-based parliament this year, amid the country’s worst fighting in two years in the capital Tripoli.
The prosecutor's office made a written request to the police, intelligence services and all security services in the country for the arrest.
It also demanded the arrest of Bashagha's major ally, Maj. Gen. Osama al-Juwaili, the former head of the Tripoli-based military intelligence service; Bashagha's Minister of Health and his government spokesperson Othman Abdel-Jalil; and Mohamed Sowan, the chairperson of Libya's Democratic Party.
Bashagha blamed Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh and government officials for the clashes in Tripoli.
Meanwhile, Dbeibeh on Sunday made an address to the nation via the official Facebook account of the Libyan government regarding the recent developments in the capital.
"We will bring those responsible for the attacks in Tripoli to justice," he said.
Dbeibah lashed out at "criminals" and "putschists" who "waged war on the capital with tanks and heavy weapons."
Tripoli clashes kill 32
Libya's rival premiers on Sunday traded accusations over deadly clashes in Tripoli – the worst in the capital since a landmark 2020 cease-fire and which sparked fears of a major new conflict.
The health ministry said 32 people were killed and 159 wounded during the fighting between rival armed groups, which began overnight Friday and continued into Saturday, setting buildings on fire and damaging several hospitals.
A cautious calm had set in by Saturday evening, an Agence France-Presse (AFP) correspondent reported. Flights resumed and shops re-opened on Sunday.
During the fighting, rockets "were flying over our heads, in the middle of residential buildings," said resident Mohammed Abaya, 38.
"We were terrified," said another resident, retiree Lotfi Ben Rajab. "A rocket fell in my neighbor's living room but didn't explode, thank God."
The fighting came after months of mounting tensions between backers of Abdulhamid Dbeibah and Fathi Bashagha, whose administrations are vying for control of the oil-rich North African country.
Dbeibah, whose government was installed in Tripoli in the country's west as part of a United Nations-led peace process last year, accused his rivals of responding to "foreign agendas."
Local media and experts said Bashagha had failed in what was his second attempt to dislodge his rival from the capital in three months.
Bashagha tried to enter Tripoli soon after he was appointed in March, but pro-Dbeibah factions blocked his convoy. He tried again in May, but left Tripoli after a brief shootout.
Bashagha, a former interior minister, is backed by a powerful eastern military chief and putschist Khalifa Haftar, whose 2019 attempt to seize the capital by force turned into a year-long conflict.
Dbeibah has refused to cede power on the grounds that the next administration should be the product of elections.
As the months passed, alliances and coalitions among the Tripoli factions shifted as both Dbeibah and Bashagha tried to court key players. On the streets of Tripoli, armed forces rubbed up against each other's territory.
The powerful eastern faction of Haftar and parliament speaker Aguila Saleh has shown little willingness to compromise on its goal of removing Dbeibah and installing Bashagha.
International efforts to broker an agreement have been hampered by disagreement among the countries involved and among local factions that many Libyans believe want to avoid elections in order to hang onto power.
Many among Libya's population of nearly 7 million fear that the next period of negotiations will only be followed by another outbreak of violence.