Presidency Council Members Reported to Have Arrived in Tripoli; Ghwell Announces State of Emergency

By Libya Herald reporters
Tripoli/Tunis, 25 March 2016

There are unconfirmed reports this evening that four members of the Presidency Council have arrived in Tripoli to prepare for the arrival of the prime minister-designate Faiez Serraj and rest of the Council. The four are deputy prime ministers-designate Ahmed Maetig, Fathi Majberi and Abdelsalam Kajman and Mohamed Ammari, the Minister for Specialised Councils Affairs.

Officials working with Council have refused to confirm or deny the reports.

However, the head of the Tripoli “government”, Khalifa Ghwell announced a state of emergency shortly after reports of their arrival in the capital started to circulate.

In statement issued around midnight local time, Ghwell ordered his defence and interior ministers together with the head of the intelligence and leaders of “revolutionaries brigades” to take all necessary measures to protect the regime. In particular, he called on them to increase checkpoints and protect key buildings.

Rumours that that Maetig, Ammari and Kajman would go to Tripoli ahead of the rest of the council have been circulating for days.  Tonight, they and Majberi are said to have gone straight to Palm City, the residential compound on the western edge of the city which is expected to serve as the Presidency’s headquarters.

Although Presidency Council officials have refused to comment on the reports, one official today close to Maetig said that Serraj would be in Tripoli “within three days”.

Last week, Serraj announced that he would go to the capital in just a few days’ time. The Presidency Council was ordered to do so by the Libya Dialogue team a fortnight ago.