Suspension of Libya's top diplomat triggers political row

The office of Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah said on Sunday that the country's presidential council, formed in February, doesn't have the right to suspend ministers, including Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush.

The announcement comes a day after the council, headed by Mohamad al-Manfi, declared it had suspended Mangoush for 14 days and banned her from travel ahead of a major international conference on Libya in Paris next Friday.

The council accused her of not coordinating on foreign policy and said it had opened an inquiry into alleged "administrative breaches," spokeswoman Najla Weheba told the Libya Panorama television channel.

In response, Dbeibah stated that "the nomination, dismissal, suspension or indictment of a member of the executive branch... fall under the exclusive powers of the prime minister."

The transitional government instructed Mangoush to continue her duties and stressed its "appreciation" of her work.

BBC interview raises questions

The row follows comments that Mangoush had made in a BBC interview about the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.

A total of 270 people were killed in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jet as it was flying over the Scottish town of Lockerbie. Libya admitted responsibility for the attack in 2003.

In the interview, the foreign minister had suggested that Libya was ready to coordinate with the US over the extradition of suspects in the bombing.

According to the BBC, Mangoush alluded to bomb-maker Abu Agila Mohammad Masud, who is jailed in Libya and wanted in the US over the attack.

Without further details on the allegations against Mangoush, Libyan media has connected her suspension with the interview.

Election turmoil grows

The move to suspend Mangoush reflects increasing tensions between Dbeibah and Manfi ahead of the country's presidential elections.

The north African country's rival political institutions remain split over the election's legal basis, the rules governing candidacy and even the date.

Parliament recently announced legislative polls would be postponed to January amid the tensions. But on Sunday, Libya's electoral commission said that candidates for presidential and legislative polls slated for December 24 can start registering on Monday.

mvb/fb (AFP, AP, Reuters)