Libyan Foreign Minister suspended of carrying her duties

SANAA, Nov. 07 (YPA) – Libya’s presidential council suspended Foreign Minister Najla al-Mangoush from her duties on Saturday days before an international conference is to make a new push to restore stability to the war-battered nation.

The council opened an inquiry into alleged “administrative breaches” by Mangoush, spokeswoman Najla Weheba told the Libya Panorama television channel.

The El-Marsad news website, which is close to eastern-based strongman Khalifa Haftar, said that the council accused her of taking foreign policy decisions without consulting it.

This came after the name of former Libyan intelligence official Abu Agila Mohammed Masud resurfaced after Tripoli announced its readiness to hand him over to the United States.

Libyan Foreign Minister Najla al-Mangoush said the government intends  to open “collaboration” with the US over the extradition of a Libyan man wanted over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing that killed 270 people.

Najla al-Mangoush, the Foreign Minister of the Libyan interim government, said “positive outcomes are coming” in regards to the case of Abu Agila Mohammed Masud, an alleged bombmaker currently detained in Libya on separate charges.

In an interview with the BBC on Wednesday, she said the Libyan government understood the pain and grief of the families of the victims of the incident, but needed to respect the laws, she said.

E.M