CAIRO/ TUNIS — Arab League Secretary General Ahmad Aboul-Gheit on Tuesday called for maintaining the cease-fire in Libya and sparing Libyans yet another bout of costly infighting.

The Arab League chief, in a brief statement, expressed deep concern at the latest developments in Libya, urged all parties there to practice self-restraint and resort to dialogue for paving the way to hold elections, as soon as possible.

Holding the elections is the sole avenue to end the transitional phase that has dragged on for a long period of time, Aboul-Gheit said. The polls are the means for renewing legitimacy in the institutions to put Libya on the track of stability and development, he added.

Aboul-Gheit expressed support for meetings of the joint constitutional path commission — grouping the parliament and state council — that kick started its second session in Egypt two days ago, under the aegis of the UN. He re-affirmed the Arab organization's support for any sincere effort aimed at unifying the Libyans.

Meanwhile, Libya's eastern parliament-appointed Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha and a number his Cabinet's members have departed from the Libyan capital shortly after arriving there for procedural power handover.

Information bureau of the Libyan government, tasked by the parliament, said in a statement that Bashagha and the accompanying officials had to leave the capital, on Tuesday, "to spare the blood of the Libyans."

The prime minister decided to leave the city after armed clashes erupted with forces loyal to "the government of Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh that refused to hand over the powers," his bureau's official statement added.

The information office declared earlier Tuesday that Bashagha and other officials in his Cabinet arrived in the capital for the power handover process, adding that other ministers were due to come later.

The Libyan parliament based in East Libya elected, in March, Bashagha as the new prime minister, however Dbeibeh refused to surrender powers, thus prolonging the local power struggle. — Kuna