Libya’s NTC names new government

Abdurrahim El Keib

Libya’s NTC names new government

Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) has announced a new government.

The cabinet was announced by the NTC's prime minister, Abdurrahim El Keib, on Monday, just hours after meeting Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the UN, in the Libyan capital, Tripoli.

According to reports, among those named is Osama Al-Juwali, commander of the Zintan Brigade that led the push for Tripoli in August, as the defence minister.

Juwali was given the defence job as part of a cabinet line-up in which secularist liberals were dominant.

Other positions named are the finance minister Ali Tarhouni and the foreign minister, Ibrahim Dabbashi.

The new government line-up, which will run the country until elections are held, was agreed at a meeting of the NTC, a source in the council who has seen the list of appointments told Reuters.

However, in an indication of the tensions around the cabinet composition, the source later said some NTC members, after agreeing the appointments, had re-opened the discussions.

"There are some people who do not accept some of the names," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

It was not clear which posts were the subject of debate.

The source said that Libya's deputy envoy to the UN was named as foreign minister, an oil company executive was made oil minister and the finance minister in the outgoing government was re-appointed.

The appointments come just days after the capture of deposed leader Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam and former spy chief Abdullah al-Senussi.

REUTERS/Williams