The Interior Minister of the Presidential Council, Fathi Bashagha, said there are armed groups and forces that are by name operating under the ministry, but in reality they are executing their own agendas away from the government's orders.

In an interview with BBC Arabic, Bashagha said the parallel forces have some kind of hegemony in the decision making of the government in all fields, including politics, security and economy.

"We have now a parallel interior ministry in Tripoli." He remarked, saying they do own a very huge amount of money to run their operations.

Bashagha said the security apparatuses under his ministry are abiding by the laws, refusing to call them militias, adding that the other armed groups are outside the law and order of the ministry and are causing chaos.

Last August and September, armed forces under the interior ministry fought in Tripoli against other forces under the 7th Brigade and other brigades. Clashes ended after a ceasefire brokered by the UNSMIL, which also ordered the armed groups to join official security apparatuses of the government.

After the terrorist attack on the Libyan Foreign Ministry last December, Bashagha accused some brigades under his own ministry's command of executing agendas of foreign countries to wreak havoc in the country.