Libya's interim prime minister said that he ordered soldiers guarding the Cabinet building to let the country's newly elected leader in on Monday night. Abdullah Al-Thinni said in a televised statement on Tuesday that he ordered forces guarding the building to stand down to avoid bloodshed. According to daily newspaper Al-Wasat, militiamen from the Libya Central Shield - one of several militias on the government's payroll - escorted newly elected Prime Minister Ahmed Maiteg into the building on Monday night. However, as Maiteg took office on Tuesday, al-Thinni vowed not to hand over power. Maiteg, a businessman who owns a five-star hotel in the capital, Tripoli, was recently elected prime minister by Libya's Islamist-dominated parliament in a contested vote. He held his first Cabinet meeting behind closed doors shortly after entering the government headquarters on Monday, a government spokesman said. Al-Thinni warned the militia's action could encourage a "cycle of violence". He reiterated his demands for parliament to wait until the country's Supreme Constitutional Court issues a ruling on Thursday regarding legality of Maiteg's contested election. Shortly before al-Thinni's statement, a group of Islamist lawmakers also gave a televised statement accusing him of failing to restore security in Libya and of hindering Maiteg from assuming his post. They said that al-Thinni disappeared while members of his Cabinet left the country to prevent the transition of power. The political struggle over the prime minister's office risks further inflaming Libya as renegade General Khalifa Hifter and army units loyal to him have been battling Islamist militias. A former army chief under dictator Moammar Gadhafi, Hifter has rallied support from the country's weakened military, its anti-Islamist politicians, tribes and diplomats, vowing to crush the Islamist militias he blames for Libya's instability. Since last weekend, helicopters flown by pilots loyal to Hifter have bombed Islamist militia camps in Benghazi. Benghazi is the birthplace of the uprising that led to the toppling and killing of Gadhafi in Libya's 2011 civil war. Islamist lawmakers backing Maiteg blamed al-Thinni for the fighting in Benghazi. They also denounced Hifter's offensive, calling it as a form of "terrorism" and a coup. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/e9bc521f779d1a6b012a76b9b4aa1901 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

• published: 03 Aug 2015
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