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By Marie-Louise Gumuchian and Jomana Karadsheh, CNN

updated 8:42 AM EDT, Mon May 5, 2014

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Tripoli (CNN) -- After a chaotic day that saw Libya pick a new prime minister only for the vote be declared invalid hours later, the volatile North African country appears to have a new premier -- the fifth in more than two years.

The General National Congress, Libya's transitional parliament, seemed to have selected a new prime minister on Sunday, choosing businessman Ahmad Mitig during a lively legislative session that saw several rounds of voting.

But almost as soon as Mitig was sworn in, the deputy speaker declared the election invalid.

On Monday, the Congress confirmed Mitig as Libya's new prime minister after approving his appointment.

"Ahmad Mitig was appointed head of the transitional government, and asked to form his cabinet and present it to the GNC for a confidence vote within 15 days," said a decision signed by Congress Speaker Nuri Abu Sahmein.

"This decision is in effect from date of publication ... and anything that contradicts it is nullified and all those concerned must implement it."

The resolution was numbered as "No. 38" and dated May 4 but published Monday.

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- The U.S. military has doubled the number of aircraft standing by in Italy if needed to evacuate Americans from the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, Libya, CNN has learned.

A decision to evacuate as violence in the Libyan capital grows is "minute by minute, hour by hour," a defense official told CNN on Monday.

Fierce fighting swept across the city Sunday after armed men stormed the country's interim Parliament. Sporadic bursts of gunfire and blasts could still be heard on the outskirts of the capital Monday evening.

The violence appeared to be some of the worst since the 2011 revolution that ousted longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi.

Turmoil in Libya: Fighting sweeps across Tripoli following violence in Benghazi

In a move that could further inflame an already tense situation, the speaker of the interim parliament, Nuri Abu Sahmain, who is backed by Islamist forces, ordered troops known as the "Central Libya Shield Forces" to deploy to the capital Monday, the Libyan state news agency LANA reported.

The forces, mostly from the city of Misrata, east of Tripoli, are considered to be among the most powerful Islamist-affiliated militias. They have had long-running rivalries with the heavily armed Zintan militias when both groups were based in the capital.

Meanwhile, the Saudi ambassador to Libya announced that his country's embassy and consulate in Tripoli closed Monday because of the violence, and the staff has left Tripoli, according to the official Saudi Press Agency. The sites will reopen when the situation stabilizes, Ambassador Mohammed Mahmoud Al-Ali said, according to the report.

Turkey took similar measures, shutting down its consulate in Benghazi, Turkey's semi-official Anadolu news agency reported.

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U.S. may evacuate embassy in Libya

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