A source close to Dabaiba said that the prime minister was on his way home when another car was shot, before fleeing, and that the incident was referred to the Public Prosecutor for investigation.
Armed and armored cars roamed the center of Tripoli and the Andalus neighborhood after Dabaiba’s car came under fire.
It was reported that the perpetrators of the assassination attempt were not arrested or identified, as they fled.
The attempt to assassinate Dabaiba would exacerbate the crisis over control of Libya, according to Reuters.
Armed forces have mobilized more fighters and equipment in the capital, Tripoli, over the past weeks, raising fears of fighting due to the political crisis.
Libya has seen little peace or stability since the NATO-backed uprising against Muammar Gaddafi, and it split in 2014 into two warring camps in the east and west of the country.
Dabaiba was appointed in March as head of the UN-backed government of national unity, which was meant to unify the country’s divided institutions and oversee the run-up to elections in December as part of a peace process.
Rival factions are vying for power after the electoral process collapsed amid disputes over rules, including over the legitimacy of Dabaiba’s candidacy for the presidency after he had pledged otherwise.
Parliament, which mostly backed forces in eastern Libya during the civil war, has called the national unity government illegitimate and is holding a vote on Thursday to name a new prime minister to form another government.
Dabaiba said in a speech this week that he would not hand over power until after elections, and the United Nations special adviser on Libya and Western countries said the legitimacy of the national unity government remained.
Parliament said this week that there will be no elections this year.
Parliament’s move to choose a new prime minister may lead to a return to the previous situation before the formation of the national unity government headed by Dabaiba, where two parallel governments seek to rule the country from two different cities.
However, analysts say that may not immediately lead to a return to civil war.
