Past Libya parliament swears in new government

CAIRO — Libya's former, Islamist-dominated parliament swore in a new government Saturday, a day before the country's recently elected parliament is due to swear in a new Cabinet.

The two parallel assemblies, each loosely allied with rival militias battling in Tripoli and elsewhere, are further fragmenting the vast, oil-rich country in the wake of the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime dictator Muammar Qadhafi.

The last four months have seen a renegade general battle Islamic militants in the eastern city of Benghazi — cradle of the 2011 uprising — and powerful regional militias fight for control of the international airport in Tripoli. Islamist-allied militias have seized virtually all of the capital.

A United Nations report said the fighting in Tripoli and Benghazi has forced some 250,000 people to flee, including 100,000 who have been internally displaced.

On Saturday, the Islamist-dominated parliament in Tripoli swore in Prime Minister Omar Al Hassi and 10 of his ministers, including the foreign, justice and oil ministers. Nine ministers have yet to be named. The body was replaced in June elections but it still convenes and refuses to recognise the new parliament, now based in the eastern city of Tobruk.

The newly elected parliament is due to swear in a new government on Sunday. It is headed by the previous prime minister Abdullal Al Thinni.