The press secretary of the Government of National Unity (GNU) of Libya denied on Saturday that Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah had resigned.

"The statement (about quitting) that has appeared is not true," Mohammed Hammuda said.

Earlier, Russian media TASS reported that Dbeibah's office had released a statement saying he was resigning in the interests of the country. "In these difficult conditions that the country is going through..., in the conditions of discord, conspiracies perpetrated by internal and external forces, rampant armed groups, Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah decided to resign," TASS quoted the statement as saying. 

A standoff between two rival governments in Libya worsened on Thursday with the risk of fighting or territorial division as the parliament in the east swore in a new administration while the incumbent government in Tripoli refused to cede power.

Addressing parliament after taking the oath of office, the newly elected rival Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha said he was studying all options to take over in Tripoli. 

Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah has said he will not hand over control.

(Cover: Libya's Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah speaks during a press conference in the capital Tripoli on February 25, 2021. /CFP)