Libyan Interior Minister Fawzi Abdelali has resigned after coming under fire for failing to keep law and order in the country. The resignation is not surprising because ministers are expected to leave when their presence in office makes no discernible difference to the ministry they are heading. Fawzi Abdelali resigned not only because he failed to perform, but also because he thought he would not be able to. And that sends ominous signals about the current situation in Libya.

The trigger for the resignation was the demolition of what is called Sufi shrines. Attackers, described as Islamists by some officials, bulldozed shrines in the western city of Zlitan on Friday and the capital Tripoli on Saturday. The demolitions took place as policemen looked on helplessly. Not that they didn’t want to act, they were unable to do so for fear of reprisals.

Restoring security is the biggest challenge Libya’s new rulers are facing today, a year after a popular revolution ousted Muammar Gaddafi. Armed groups are roaming the streets and sometimes are more powerful than the security forces, sowing chaos and fear among people and causing serious doubts about the ability of the government to disarm them and bring lasting peace to the country. There is no powerful central command, and Tripoli’s writ doesn’t run all over the country in equal measure. The fact that the security situation has deteriorated after a new government came to power, which was elected through widely praised democratic elections to the General National Congress, speaks of the inability of the new government to discharge its duties. Reacting to the situation, Prime Minister Aberrahim Al Keib said Libya still needed to set up a fully organised police. As the new prime minister, it’s his duty to set up the police and disarm the armed groups. Any delay can undo the gains which the country has made after the overthrow of Gaddafi and can cause sectarian clashes which will undermine the country’s social fabric.

Like other Arab countries, Libya too is a tribal society where allegiance to tribes is sometimes more than the adherence to a central political structure. And compounding the woes of the new government is the fact some regions are clamouring for autonomy, weakening the authority of Tripoli. The government has so far failed to placate the tribes, disarm groups and bring them under a single system. The failure points to the complexity of their task and also the dangers which Libya is facing.

The new government should waste no time and crack down on armed groups and confiscate the guns circulating in the country. Any delay or failure to do so will bring chaos.