The authorities in Libya’s capital announced Tuesday they were ceding power to a UN-backed unity government in an attempt to prevent further bloodshed.

The authorities in Libya's capital announced Tuesday they were ceding power to a UN-backed unity government in an attempt to prevent further bloodshed.

"We inform you that we are ceasing the activities entrusted to us as a legislative power," said the statement issued almost a week after prime minister-designate Fayez al-Sarraj arrived in Tripoli to assert the unity government's authority.

The statement, bearing the logo of the so-called National Salvation Government headed by Khalifa Ghweil, said the Tripoli prime minister, his deputy premiers and cabinet ministers were all stepping aside.

It said the Tripoli authorities took the decision to quit because they were determined to "preserve the higher interests of the country and prevent bloodshed and divisions" in the North African country.

The statement, received by AFP and published on the website of the justice ministry of the unrecognized Tripoli authorities, said that the Ghweil administration was "no longer responsible... for what could happen in the future".

Libya has had two rival administrations since mid-2014 when a militia alliance overran the capital, setting up its own authority and forcing the internationally recognized parliament to flee to the country's remote east.

Sarraj, a businessman from Tripoli, and his unity government have not yet received the endorsement of the government backed by the internationally recognized parliament in the east.