Libya rifts deepen as new PM named, incumbent refuses to yield

FILE PHOTO: Fathi Bashagha, former Interior Minister, delivers a speech after submitting his candidacy papers for the upcoming presidential election at the Headquarters of the Electoral Commission in Tripoli, Libya, November 18, 2021. REUTERS/Hazem Ahmed/File Photo

TOBRUK, Libya (Reuters) - Libya's divisions seemed poised to deepen on Thursday as the eastern-based parliament named a new prime minister, with the incumbent refusing to step aside.

The move threatens to plunge Libya back to the split between two warring, parallel administrations that governed from 2014 until a unity government was installed last year as part of a U.N.-backed peace plan.