Libya's head of 'unity government' survives assassination attempt

Libya's head of 'unity government' survives assassination attempt
Fayez al-Sarraj survived an assassination attempt in Tripoli on Monday, reports suggest.
1 min read
20 February, 2017
Sarraj is the head of the UN-backed unity government [AFP]

The head of Libya's UN-backed unity government survived an assassination attempt on Monday, according to local reports.

Fayez al-Sarraj's government is locked in a power struggle with a rival administration in eastern Libya led by a former general named Khalifa Haftar.

But last week, Libya's conflicting factions agreed to hold presidential elections by February 2018, during a meeting which brought together the rival army chief and the head of the country's unity government in Cairo.

Sarraj's "Government of National Accord" has struggled to assert its authority across the North African country since starting work in Tripoli nearly a year ago.

Haftar, whose forces control much of Libya's east, is backed by a parliament based in the far east of the country that has refused to recognise the unity government, in part because of a dispute over his future role in Libya.

This is a developing story.