Government of National Unity Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dabaiba said that the government will not take any step in cutting fuel subsidies until a national inquiry where "Libyans give their opinion."

He added that this file "has become a burden on the public budget and exhausted the state and the citizen and has become a source of livelihood for smugglers and brokers".

Dabaiba's comments came on Thursday morning during a meeting with mayors from western coastal and mountain municipalities.

He stressed that the government has taken a decision to study the file of cutting subsidies on fuel in all its aspects and said: "Caring for the citizen is the government's main goal and we are thinking about replacing subsidies to eliminate the status quo."