Tripoli, Sep 18 (IANS): Libya's parliament Thursday asked Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni to form a small crisis government, a parliamentary spokesman said.

Lawmakers demanded that Thinni submit a new cabinet with six ministers concentrating on foreign affairs, interior, defence, health, education and local governance issues, lawmaker Tariq Saqr al-Jorushi told Xinhua.

He added that 85 of the 103 members agreed on the decision.

On the previous day, the House of Representatives rejected Thinni's proposal of forming a big cabinet with 16 ministers.

Libya has been witnessing a drastic escalation of violence since May, when Islamist militants and secular-leaning government-allied militias engaged in deadly clashes in major cities like Tripoli, Benghazi and Gharyan.

On Monday, Thinni ruled out negotiating with any Islamist armed faction, especially the Libya Dawn alliance, saying the government would launch new assaults to wipe them out.

Thinni, along with most of the lawmakers, were forced to evacuate the capital to operate from the eastern town of Tobruk.