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Attack on interim Libya PM

May 27, 2014

Reports have emerged that militants attacked the residence of Libya’s caretaker prime minister, just two days after he took office. The interim premier is the north African country’s third in two months.

https://p.dw.com/p/1C7re
Tripolis Libyen Haus Premier Ahmed Maitiq
Image: picture-alliance/Zuma

The home of Libyan Prime Minister Ahmed Maiteeq came under attack early Tuesday morning, according to Libyan media and the prime minister's office.

Gunmen launched grenades and fired other weapons at Maiteeq's home in Tripoli. Guards at the residence fired back, reportedly injuring at least two people. It was not immediately clear if anyone had died in the clashes.

The interim prime minister was not harmed in the attack.

Further details about the incident were not immediately available.

The 42-year-old businessman-turned-politician rose to power in early May in a hotly contested vote in parliament. Some lawmakers dismissed the outcome of the vote as invalid, saying that, even though he had won a majority of votes, he had failed to reach the quorum needed for a victory.

Unrest has plagued Libya since the ouster of Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. Most recently, the country's parliament building came under attack by gunmen reportedly aligned with a renegade general who seeks to wipe out Islamist influence from the country.

kms/jm (Reuters, dpa)