Sources from Ghat city in southern Libya said Khalifa Haftar's forces, who are in control of the city, had helped cancel a visit for the Prime Minister, Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah, after refusing to give a landing clearance to a logistics and security delegation from the Government of National Unity ahead of Dbeibah's arrival.
The sources said the forces in Ghat refused all attempts to fix the issue and allow the PM's delegation to land, thus leading to the cancelation of the flight that was supposed to take off from Tripoli.
The member of the House of Representatives from Ghat, Nasser Yousef, denounced in a statement the cancelation of Dbeibah's visit after the rejection of the landing of the delegation's plane under the pretext of "no prior coordination", saying the justification was baseless.
He said local officials and dignitaries were getting ready to host the PM and his cabinet members in Ghat and were going to provide them with documents explaining the necessary assistance the city needed, adding that canceling the visit of the PM is unprecedented and deplored by the local community in Ghat.
"We call on all the locals in Ghat to express their support for national reconciliation. Ghat is secure and what is happening now aims on the political front is only useful for the interests of certain parties." He added.
Haftar’s forces in the south prevented in September a visit by the Head of the Presidential Council to Sabha after refusing the landing of his plane.
