Madar (Tripoli) - Libya's Audit Bureau on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, suspended work until further notice after its headquarters in Tripoli was stormed by armed force "to impose a deputy head of the Bureau without any legal basis", according to a Bureau statement carried by the Libyan News Agency (LANA).
The Bureau said the incursion had endangered the safety of its staff and that it could not exercise its oversight powers "under security conditions in which facts are imposed by force". The suspension will last until the reasons behind it are removed and safe conditions are restored, it said.
In Benghazi, the presidency of the House of Representatives said the High Council of State's unilateral appointment of a deputy head of the Audit Bureau "constitutes a clear violation of the agreements" between the two chambers on sovereign posts, and urged all bodies to disregard it, while continuing coordination with the High Council of State to unify these institutions, LANA reported.
The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) condemned the use of force to impose appointments within sovereign institutions as "entirely unacceptable", calling for the immediate withdrawal of armed elements from the Bureau's premises and for disputes to be settled through legal and institutional channels, the Libya Herald reported. The US and British embassies expressed concern over the presence of armed forces at the Bureau's headquarters, with Washington calling for immediate de-escalation.
The Libya Herald said video footage circulating on social media showed a scuffle at the entrance of the headquarters on Nasr Street in Tripoli on Wednesday morning. Officials have not publicly identified the force behind the incursion.
