BENGHAZI: A self-declared prime minister said Thursday that his forces have seized at least three ministries in Libya’s capital, announcing what appeared to be a miniature coup after what he described as a yearlong failure of the current U.N.-backed premier.

Khalifa Ghwell said by phone from Tripoli that his forces control the ministries of Defense, Labor and the “martyrs and the wounded.” His so-called National Salvation government was formed by the outgoing Parliament after a disputed 2014 transfer of power that led to the establishment of rival governments, each backed by an array of militias.

The U.N. helped establish a third government in Tripoli last year under Fayez al-Sarraj, a Western-backed technocrat, hoping he could unify Libya and lead the fight against Islamist extremists.

A spokesman for Sarraj’s government dismissed the moves, saying “they are trying to sow chaos but they have no means to control.” He said the ministries Ghwell claimed to have seized are either under maintenance, not controlled by Sarraj’s government, or were seized briefly before being let go. “This is nothing more than a media hoax,” Ashraf Tulty said. “They are trying to sabotage the only internationally recognized government in Libya.”

In a televised speech, Ghwell declared that all the past arrangements brokered by the U.N. are “invalid,” and described Sarraj’s government as “expired.” Referring to his forces as the “Presidential Guard,” he ordered them to secure the capital and warned other militias to stand down. He also called for new talks among Libyan factions without foreign mediators.

“We are the ones with legitimacy,” Ghwell said. “We extend our hands to our Libyan rivals,” he added, saying “God’s Shariah will rule among us,” without elaborating.

Ghwell’s earlier government was closely allied with Islamist groups, including some hard-line factions.

He said conditions have gone “from bad to worse” in the year since Sarraj’s government was formed, as Libya has grappled with a financial crisis. Libyans line up in front of banks for days in order to get cash.

The cash crisis stems from a dispute between Sarraj and the head of the central bank, who has declined to release funds needed to run the U.N.-brokered government since March, when Sarraj arrived aboard a vessel to Tripoli. Only this month, the central bank approved a $26 billion annual state budget.

“We gave him a year, and when he failed, we decided to return [to power],” Ghwell told the AP. When pressed for details, including on how he plans to fund his Cabinet, he replied: “Wait, and you will see what happens in the coming days.”

The internationally recognized Parliament, based in Libya’s far east, does not recognize the authority of Sarraj or Ghwell. It is closely allied with Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, whose forces have been battling Islamist militants in recent years.