Tripoli
The head of Libya’s unity government on Saturday appointed a new defense minister and army chief, after days of protests against poor public services and living conditions.
The decrees followed the announcement hours earlier by Libya’s UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) that it had suspended its interior minister after militia gunmen fired on peaceful demonstrators last week.
GNA chief Fayez Al-Sarraj promoted deputy and acting defense minister Salah Eddine Al-Namrush to the ministry’s top job and appointed General Mohammad Ali Al-Haddad as head of the army. Haddad hails from Misrata, 200 kilometers (125 miles) east of Tripoli, the home of powerful armed groups that have fought on the side of the GNA in the battle against eastern-based military strongman Khalifa Haftar, who tried to seize the capital last year.
