Efforts against the jihadis in the East were hampered by fractures within the pro-HoR/anti-Islamist camp. Prime Minister Abdullah Al-Thinni has had a difficult week with the House of Representatives (HoR) rejecting two of his proposed government lists. His own political future is very much in the balance as he struggles to find a solution that will appease the various factions, regions and tribes who are all demanding representation in the new cabinet. Indeed, Al-Thinni is coming under pressure from every side.
Al-Thinni’s failure to form a government has revealed the depth of division that exists inside the HoR, particularly between the federalists and the National Forces Alliance (NFA) (which is itself divided).
These divisions, as well as the House’s failure to appoint a government in a timely fashion, are serving to weaken the HoR and erode its legitimacy even further.