Libyan intelligence chief Salem al-Hassi has submitted his resignation to parliament, a lawmaker said Thursday.

Al-Hassi tendered his resignation in protest against the deteriorating security situation in the country and the incompletion of institution-building process, Abdel-Moneim al-Yasir, member of the parliament’s national security committee, told Anadolu Agency.

The panel is yet to convene to determine whether to accept al-Hassi’s resignation, he added.

Fears of a possible Libyan civil war have mounted over the past weeks, since renegade general Khalifa Hafter declared war on armed militias – some of which have been absorbed into the army – in Benghazi.
Recent fighting between the two sides has left scores dead in the restive city.

Haftar says his anti-militia campaign, dubbed "Operation Dignity," aims to "purge" Libya of "extremists." The government in Tripoli, for its part, has described Haftar's campaign as an attempted coup.

Libyan authorities have struggled to restore law and order since strongman Muammar Gaddafi's 2011 ouster and death amid the continued refusal of armed militias – which had helped overthrow Gaddafi – to surrender their weapons.

PHOTO CAPTION

Ex-general Khalifa Haftar speaks during a news conference after surviving an assassination attempt, in Al Marj, east of Benghazi June 4, 2014.

AA