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Libya’s UN-sponsored government says ready to take power

In this picture taken Thursday, March 10, 2016, damaged buildings and a burnt out car are seen in the Hawari area, south-west of the city of Benghazi. The leader of Islamic State group in Libya says the North African country has become a "destination" for jihadists, with the numbers of fighters having doubled in recent months, but added that his group has struggled to spread across Libya because of rivalries between militants. (AP Photo/Mohammed Elshaiky) In this picture taken Thursday, March 10, 2016, damaged buildings and a burnt out car are seen in the Hawari area, south-west of the city of Benghazi. The leader of Islamic State group in Libya says the North African country has become a "destination" for jihadists, with the numbers of fighters having doubled in recent months, but added that his group has struggled to spread across Libya because of rivalries between militants. (AP Photo/Mohammed Elshaiky)

By Associated Press March 13, 2016 1 min read

BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) – Libya’s U.N.-sponsored unity government says it is ready to take power, after receiving the endorsement of the previous, internationally backed government in the country’s east.

In a statement late Saturday, the Government of National Accord said a majority of the Tobruk-based House of Representatives had endorsed it, and it had begun urging financial and state institutions to recognize it exclusively as the country’s sole governing body.

Based in the Tunisian capital for now, the GNA aims to install itself in Tripoli but security concerns have delayed it. The city is controlled by an array of militias, some of which have openly threatened it.

The new government was formed after a year of peace talks sponsored by the United Nations between the Tobruk government and a rival, Islamist-backed one in Tripoli.