Libyan parliament approves PM's crisis govt

TRIPOLI -- Libya's parliament on Monday approved Prime Minister Abdullah Thinni's new cabinet, forming a crisis government to tackle the ongoing political crisis.

Libya's parliament spokesperson Bohashim Faraj said "the House of Representatives give confidence to the Thinni's government, with 110 out of 112 the total vote in the session."

The cabinet, consisting of thirteen posts, includes three deputy prime ministers in addition to the ten ministers. However, the defence minister is still vacant.

There is no oil ministry in the new cabinet. According to lawmakers, the oil sector will be run by state corporate National Oil Corp.

Earlier, the House of Representatives had rejected twice Thinni 's proposal of forming a larger cabinet with 16 ministers.

Libya has been witnessing a drastic escalation of violence since May, when Islamist militants and secular government-allied militias engaged in deadly clashes among the major cities like Tripoli, Benghazi and Gharyan.

Analysts said Thinni's new government might keep a hard-line stance against the Islamist armed groups as he earlier ruled out negotiating with any Islamist armed faction, especially the Libya Dawn alliance, saying the government will launch new assaults to wipe it out.

Thinni, along with most of the lawmakers, were now based in the eastern town of Tobruk, as Libya Dawn had occupied most parts of Tripoli. The Islamists have set up a rival parliament and government, which is not recognized by the international community.

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