Libya’s official Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni yesterday criticised the US, UK and EU for failing to supply arms to his forces as they battle those of a rival government.

The tough comments come a day after Libya's elected parliament, allied to Thinni, suspended its participation in UN-sponsored talks to try to end the power struggle between the two rival administrations and assemblies.

Thinni has been confined to a rump state in the east since a rival faction called Libya Dawn seized the capital Tripoli last year, reinstating an old assembly known as the GNC and setting up a rival government.

Thinni and the House of Representatives, also based in the east, enjoy the recognition of world powers but anti-Western sentiment has been building up. Many normal people demand military support in the power struggle with Tripoli, four years after the Nato-backed ousting of Muammar Gaddafi.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.