"We were surprised by a lot of bullets," al-Thinni told Al Arabiya news. "Thank God, we managed to escape."
During Tuesday’s parliament session, speaker Aqila Saleh asked the prime minister to leave the assembly for his own safety, two lawmakers told Reuters. Protestors had gathered outside the naval base and lawmakers reported seeing burning cars outside the venue. A statement made by the interim government added that armed protestors were reportedly planning to storm the building. Al-Thinni left the session shortly after gunfire was heard.
The assassination attempt comes as al-Thinni faces increased criticism for running an ineffective state after his parliament was forced to flee Tripoli and relocate to a naval base in Tobruk, near Bayda where the prime minister works. The incident is also the latest in a string of disruptions to the beleaguered House of Representatives as it struggles to implement control over the deeply fractured North African country.
Libya has two rival governments and parliaments, both of which are backed by armed factions fighting for control following the overthrow and death of former leader Muammar Gaddafi. The internationally recognized House of Representatives was forced out of Tripoli in August 2014 after the rival self-proclaimed General National Congress seized the capital and key state bodies and ministries in the West.
