Libya's prime minister-designate Abdul Hamid Dbeibah names 35-member unity Cabinet

Parliament is expected to convene on March 8 to consider Mr Dbeibah's proposed ministers

Libya's prime minister-designate Abdul Hamid Dbeibah has proposed a 35-member unity Cabinet that will need parliament's approval. AFP

Libya's prime minister-designate Abdul Hamid Dbeibah has proposed a large unity cabinet with 35 members, his office said on Friday, ahead of a planned parliament meeting on Monday to debate ratifying his government.

The Cabinet list has been subject to intense negotiation among Libya's warring factions and powerful regional and political leaders, but an official said talks continued over whether to reduce the number of ministers.

Two slightly different versions of the list shown to Reuters by Libyan officials named a former culture minister, Lamia Bosidera, as foreign minister and Khaled Mazen as interior minister.

Mr Dbeibah would act as defence minister according to the Cabinet lists, which include two deputy prime ministers from the east and west of Libya.

Mr Dbeibah was selected via a UN talks process in Geneva early last month to head an interim unity government to oversee the run-up to a planned election at the end of this year.

Libya has been split for years between the UN-recognised Government of National Accord in Tripoli and the House of Representatives based in Tobruk in eastern Libya.

The divided parliament aims to meet on Monday in Sirte, a frontline city held by the Libyan National Army supporting the eastern government. However, some western-based members of parliament have cast doubt on attending, citing the presence of Russian mercenaries there.

An LNA source said the mercenaries had pulled back from the frontlines and the airport. The main coast road across the frontline at Sirte has not yet opened, although some members of parliament had said they expected it would be on Saturday.