By Saber Ayyub.
Tripoli, 30 December 2015:
The Khalifa Ghwell government in Tripoli appointed by the General National Congress has said it has . . .[restrict]suspended the mayor of Misrata pending a disciplinary investigation of him. It claims Mohamed Eshtewie “misued” his powers by intervening in national political affairs – something, it says, he was not authorised to do.
The move is seen as a consequence of Misrata’s support for the UN-brokered Libya Political Agreement signed in Skhirat on 17 December and the Government of National Accord led by Faiez Serraj both of which the Tripoli regime rejects. Eshtewie was one of several Libyan mayors who endorsed the agreement at Skhirat.
The chances of Eshtewie agreeing to Tripoli’s orders are slim. Misrata has until now recognised the Ghwell administration. But it now accepts the authority of the GNA and Serraj.
Meanwhile in another sign of change in Misrata, journalist and author Mohamed Hadi Dinqu who was seized in Tripoli at the end of October last year has been released from a jail in Misrata. The reasons for his detention have never been made public. [/restrict]
