By Sami Zaptia.
Tripoli, 8 June 2014:
Speaking at a press conference held late last night at the Prime Minister’s office, Ahmed Maetig, . . .[restrict]one of the two contenders with Abdullah Thinni for the post of Prime Minister subject to a court ruling tomorrow , said that the state should be the entity concerned with fighting terror.
Maetig admitted that terrorism is the biggest threat to Libya’s security and assured that he will work to fight terrorism in Libya, but that this effort should be carried out by the police, army and intelligence services – and not through the bombing of cities.
Maetig was directing his implied criticism regarding the bombing of cities to Khalifa Hafter and his “Dignity/Karama” campaign in Benghazi against terrorists. The campaign is not backed by the official Libyan state.
Maetig also said that he would clear Libya’s cities of arms in an effort to improve security and increase government control on the security situation.
He also called upon the international community to continue in its support for Libya and condemned the kidnappings and attacks on diplomats and international representatives.
The contester for the post of Prime Minister said that he has put forward numerous initiatives for strong government and a national salvation government. He stressed his support for the 25 June House of Representatives elections which will replace the current GNC and said that the handover of power from Abdullah Thinni and his government was ongoing, adding that there were no personal differences between the two.
Caretaker Thinni in a statement Thursday said that preparations for the handover were continuing but that no Ministries had officially handed over yet – pending the court ruling on Monday. [/restrict]
