Libyan government wants militias to leave Tripoli

Tripoli, May 23: The Libyan interim government Thursday called for all militias to leave Tripoli since their presence " threatened the city and the safety of its residents".

The government has urged all militias to leave Tripoli and stay out of politics, Xinhua quoted Libyan Culture Minister Habib Lamine as reading out a statement on television, adding that bringing more armed groups into the city will only exacerbate the situation and will not resolve the current political crisis.

One of the strongest militias was deployed in Tripoli Thursday after the parliament speaker asked them to "protect the capital" from retired Major General Khalifa Haftar's "coup" attempt.

Haftar, who played a major role in toppling Libya's former leader Muammar Gaddafi, led a series of military actions against the country's interim parliament in the name of "purging terrorists" and tried to force the parliament to abandon power.

IANS