Libya's interior minister resigns

Libya’s interim interior minister has resigned after members of the newly-elected parliament accused his forces of neglect when attackers bulldozed a Sufi shrine and mosque while police stood by as mute spectators.

Saturday’s attack on the shrine was the latest in a string of assaults on Sufi places of worship, sparking fears of stewing sectarian troubles in a country that is still without a strong central government and largely without a functioning police or military.

The official Libyan news agency LANA reported that Fawzi Abdel-Al submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Abdurrahim el-Keib on Sunday. The spokesman for Libya’s security services, Abdel-Moneim al-Hurr, said that the interior minister’s resignation had been accepted by both the prime minister and parliament.

Adding to the tension, a security official said that after lawmakers spoke out against the security forces’ inaction, Tripoli’s police and militias were ordered by their superiors to withdraw from the streets.