Libya's supreme court rules June parliamentary elections unconstitutional

In this Monday, Nov. 3, 2014 photo, A Libyan military soldier talks on a walkie-talkie outside an empty damaged building that was used by Islamic militias during heavy clashes in Benghazi, Libya. Clashes in Benghazi have killed at least 210 people since government troops backed by armed civilians started a campaign in mid-October to retake the city from Islamist militias. (AP Photo/Mohammed El-Sheikhy) (The Associated Press)

In this Monday, Nov. 3, 2014 photo, Libyan military soldiers inspect a damaged empty site that was used by Islamic militias during heavy clashes in Benghazi, Libya. Clashes in Benghazi have killed at least 210 people since government troops backed by armed civilians started a campaign in mid-October to retake the city from Islamist militias. (AP Photo/Mohammed El-Sheikhy) (The Associated Press)

CAIRO – Libya's Supreme Court has ruled that the June election that produced the internationally recognized legislature and government was unconstitutional.

The ruling on Thursday will almost certainly plunge the country deeper into crisis. The parliament elected in June has appointed a government that has been fighting Islamic militant groups and seeking to restore law and order in the vast, energy-rich North African nation.

The elected parliament sits in the city of Tobruk in the far east. Islamist-allied militias control the capital Tripoli, where a rival Islamist-dominated parliament remains in place despite an expired mandate.

Libya has been gripped by unrest since the 2011 uprising that toppled dictator Moammar Gadhafi, as the weak central authorities have struggled to reign in regional, ideological and other militias who control much of the country.