Libya’s Interior Minister, Mohamed Khalifa al-Sheikh, has tendered his resignation

According to the Libyan Interior Ministry spokesman Rami Kaal, Sheikh announced his resignation in a letter submitted to the General National Congress (GNC), the country’s higher political authority, and to Prime Minister Ali Zeidan on Sunday, only three months after taking up the post.

Sheikh said in the letter that he was stepping down “namely because of a lack of support from the prime minister,” MP Abdullah al-Gmati said.

He also accused the GNC members of interfering in his affairs.

“The minister complained (in the letter) of not getting financial and moral support to implement his reform program and said he did not have sufficient prerogatives to carry out his policies,” Gmati added.

Official LENA news agency said that the prime minister accepted the resignation. Zeidan also asked Deputy Prime Minister Sadik Abdelkrim to run the ministry until a replacement for Sheikh is found.

On August 4, Deputy Prime Minister Awadh al-Barassi stepped down over what he described as the government’s inability to contain unrest in the North African country.

“I cannot work in a dysfunctional government where my powers are lost,” Barassi said during a news conference in the eastern city of Benghazi.

He also said that the government had not succeeded in winning the people’s trust and providing state agencies with adequate resources.

In late July, Zeidan had announced plans to reshuffle the government in an effort to improve its response to the crisis in Libya. However, days later he shelved them.