Eastern Libya has declared an autonomous regional government with an official ceremony, challenging the country's weak central government that failed to assume unifying power over rebels and various tribes since the 2011 war toppled Muammar Gaddafi.Leaders of an autonomy movement met on Sunday in the small town of Ajdabiya to launch the government under the name of Barqa, or Cyrenaica as it is also known, supporters said.
A pro-federalist television station showed more than 20 ministers taking the oath at a podium decorated with a Cyrenaica flag.They were joined by the tribal leader Ibrahim Jathran, the former head of Libya's Petroleum Protection Force in charge of guarding oil facilities, who defected in the summer and seized the biggest ports Ras Lanuf and Es-Sider with his troops.Jathran was standing next to the self-declared Prime Minister Abd-Rabbo al-Barassi, a defected air force commander.
More on: aljazeera.com
