Fathi Ali Abdul Salam Bashagha, the Minister of Interior of Libya’s UN-backed government, on Sunday survived an assassination attempt by gunmen in the west of the capital Tripoli.
Mr. Bashagha had finished a meeting on Sunday with the chairman of the National Oil Corporation and was returning to Tripoli, the seat of the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), when his convoy came under attack.
“At 3 p.m. (1300 GMT), an assassination attempt targeted Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha as he was returning from his residence in Janzour district (western Tripoli),” the Interior Ministry said in a statement. “An armoured Toyota opened fire on the minister’s motorcade using machine guns.
“Bashagha’s security guards fired back at the gunmen, killing a gunman and capturing two others, while one guard was injured”, the ministry added.
The ministry confirmed that all necessary legal measures regarding the attempted assassination have been taken.
Libya has been suffering insecurity and chaos ever since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011.