(VOVworld) – The outgoing cabinet of Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni on Monday called on the caretaker government to recess and re-organize the controversial election of the Prime Minister. The move aimed to save Libya from plunging into civil war.

Demonstrations in Tripoli protest escalating violence in Benghazi on May  16th (Photo: VNA)

An open letter published on the government's website said the General National Congress should "take a recess after the vote on the 2014 budget and until new parliamentary elections" within three months”. The budget vote is scheduled to take place this week amid a dramatic spike in lawlessness in Libya's two largest cities. The initiative also calls for a new vote of confidence in the GNC for new premier Ahmed Miitig following a chaotic and contested first vote at the beginning of the month.

The government plea comes a day after the GNC was attacked by armed groups demanding its dissolution and after retired general Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive targeting Islamists in Benghazi on Friday that claimed the lives of 24 people and 150 others wounded. The caretaker government condemned General Haftar’s act calling it a coup d’etat, while Minister of Justice Salah al-Marghani also accused him and his supporters of using force.

The European Union expressed great concern about the situation in Libya. The US is considering the possibility of closing its embassy in Libya. At Monday’s press briefing, Michael Mann, a spokesperson for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, said the EU is calling on all parties involved to avoid using force and try to build consensus to ensure a transition to a stable democracy in Libya.