NTC deputy head resigns amid Libya protests

The deputy head of Libya’s ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) has resigned after a series of protests against the new government which the country’s leader warned could drag Libya into a “bottomless pit”.

The protests have pitched the NTC into its deepest crisis since Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown.

Late on Saturday, a crowd demanding the government’s resignation forced their way into the NTC’s local headquarters in Benghazi while the NTC chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil was inside, in the most serious show of anger at the authorities since Gaddafi’s fall.

The NTC has the support of Western powers, but it is unelected, has been slow to restore basic public services, and some Libyans say too many of its members are tarnished by ties to Gaddafi.

Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, vice-president of the NTC and one of the council’s highest-profile members, was the target of some of the protesters’ criticism.“My resignation is for the benefit of the nation and is required at this stage,” he told Al Jazeera television yesterday.

Mr Jalil, speaking at a news conference in Benghazi, appealed to the protesters to be more patient.