The UN urges “engage in genuine dialogue to break the current political deadlock and not use force to resolve their differences”
Libya is at risk of suffering a “civil war in the coming hours,” the unity government of the country, based in Tripoli, said yesterday, calling for the general mobilization of the population in light of the fighting last day between rival militias and the advance of troops loyal to the government. Clashes between armed groups in the capital left at least 12 dead and 87 injured from Friday to yesterday, a figure that rose to 32 dead and 159 injured this Sunday, according to a new health ministry statement.
The fighting, involving heavy and light weapons, is between the two governments that have been battling for power in Libya since March. One is located west of Tripoli and has been led by Unity Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibe since 2021, the result of a United Nations-led peace process following a previous cycle of violence. The other is headed by former Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha, based in Sirte (at the center of the country’s coastline), and is backed by Marshal Khalifa Haftar, a strongman from the east.
The unit’s Libyan prime minister accused external and internal actors of being behind the attacks. “We want elections, and whoever wants to rule Libya through coups, weapons and fire, we tell him he is dreaming,” he told The Libya Observer newspaper. His words come after a drone offensive. The Joint Operations Force (FOC) of the Government of National Unity reported the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to attack a military convoy of the armed forces of the armed group affiliated with Usama Juwaili. The latter, for his part, specified that, despite the fact that some of his units have been attacked and have responded militarily, “no one” would be so “reckless” as to use drones, as “this would radically change the rules of engagement” .”
The West has begged the authorities to refrain from taking measures that would increase violence. The UN mission in the country yesterday called for “an immediate cessation of hostilities”, citing “ongoing armed clashes, including medium and heavy indiscriminate shelling of civilian-populated neighborhoods” that had damaged hospitals. This Sunday, the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, urged “engage in a genuine dialogue to address the current political deadlock and not use force to resolve their differences”.
The US embassy, for its part, said it was “very concerned” about the clashes. In addition, Egyptian negotiators have launched an emergency initiative to achieve a ceasefire between the parties and prevent Tripoli from returning to civil war at the last minute.
This country has been in crisis for more than a decade and in repeated episodes of armed conflict after the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi during a NATO-backed insurgency in 2011. Since then, there have been a dozen governments and no presidential elections held by strong differ.
The House of Representatives, based in the east, ended Dbeibe’s mandate due to the postponement of the presidential elections in December and finally appointed Bashaga, at the beginning of a conflict that has spread to the area’s energy sector, essential for supporting the economy of a country ruined by years of civil war. Bashaga tried twice to take control of Tripoli (16 people were killed and about 50 injured on July 22) before giving up to avoid a serious armed struggle. Dbeibe came to power after the landmark 2020 ceasefire, which ended a year of fighting between troops from Tripoli and from the east of the country, led by rebel Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
Source: La Verdad
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