Libya Today: 2 Governments, Many Militias, Infinite Chaos
Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni arrives for a dinner hosted by President Obama last August in Washington. Thinni heads Libya's internationally recognized government, but due to the fighting among rival factions, he is operating from the eastern city of Bayda, hundreds of miles east of the capital, Tripoli. Susan Walsh/AP hide caption
Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni arrives for a dinner hosted by President Obama last August in Washington. Thinni heads Libya's internationally recognized government, but due to the fighting among rival factions, he is operating from the eastern city of Bayda, hundreds of miles east of the capital, Tripoli.
At a recent protest, Libyans in the eastern city of Bayda chanted: "There's no gas, there's no electricity, you've brought us nothing, Thinni."
The protesters were referring to Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni, the head of one of Libya's two rival governments. His government is relegated to Bayda, a city of just 250,000 people because it doesn't control the capital in far-away Tripoli, hundreds of miles to the west.
The protesters shut down the agricultural research building that's the government's temporary home. They stopped employees from entering, and they beat up a cabinet minister as he exited the building.
These incidents are signs of the growing frustration in a country wealthy with oil but plagued by chaos. With daily electricity blackouts and water shortages in the cold of winter, Bayda is a city that barely functions.
Bayda has been thrust into the center of Libya's conflict as the home to the internationally recognized government, which is barred from the capital by rival armed groups and a rival government. And the government in Bayda is struggling to carry the burden of rising real estate prices, thousands of displaced citizens and failing services.
Demonstrators attempted to storm the headquarters of Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni last month to demand the dismantling of his government, which has been able to provide few services. Stringer/Reuters/Landov hide caption
At a nearby gas station, cars are at a standstill for three city blocks. This week, there is no gas because of the kidnappings of truck drivers who distribute fuel. Other drivers went on strike, angry that they aren't safe on the roads, which pass through territories controlled by extremists or militias fighting this government.
It is becoming increasingly common for services to be disrupted by conflict. Akram Hadath waited hours for gas, forced to close his women's clothing shop to stake out a place in line.
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Libya Today: 2 Governments, Many Militias, Infinite Chaos