Benghazi residents protest against unity government deal

Oct 23, 2015 Over 2,000 protesters in Libya’s city of Benghazi took to the streets to voice their opposition to a new national unity government proposed by the UN mission to Libya.

According to the protesters, Bernardino Leon, the special representative of the UN to Libya, has given too much away to Islamist politicians.

One of the protesters, Omar al-Futouri said:

“We came out today to reject the government of hypocrisy, the government of (UN support mission in Libya head Bernardino) Leon, the government of the (Muslim) Brotherhood. We are a people who want the police and army, we want security and safety, we want men from within Libya to rule Libya, chosen by the Libyan people, not chosen by Leon and his gang. This is the reason we are out here today,”

For a year, Libya’s capital has been under the control of a loose alliance of armed factions known as Libya Dawn. While the internationally recognized government and elected parliament has operated out of the east of Libya.

The U.N. envoy had proposed six members for a presidential council to head up the unity government, including delegates from all the warring factions.

Failure to secure a national government could be disastrous for the North African state, which is already deeply fractured from the political instability since 2011.