Libya's under-fire interior minister quits

LIBYA: Interior Minister Fawzi Abdelali resigned on Sunday after coming under fire for the performance of security forces during a surge of violence that has rocked Libya, an official from his office told AFP.

"He submitted his resignation to protest against congressmen criticising the government and to defend the revolutionaries," the official said, referring to former rebels who now form part of the country's security services.

Libyan security services have come in for censure following double car bombings that killed two people on the day Muslims celebrated the feast of Eid al-Fitr a week ago in Tripoli and attacks on several Muslim shrines in the past few days.

The criticism has been led by the newly elected General National Congress, which on Sunday accused the interior ministry's High Security Committee of being lax or even implicated in the destruction of shrines, including those of the Sufi sect.

Islamist hardliners on Saturday bulldozed part of the mausoleum of Al-Shaab Al-Dahman, close to the centre of the Libyan capital. AFP