TRIPOLI —
Libya’s capital was rocked on Tuesday morning by
gunfights between backers of two rival administrations, threatening another
escalation in the war-torn North African country.
اضافة اعلان
Supporters of Bashagha, a government endorsed by Libya’s parliament and
Haftar’s LNA, had tried to move into the western city of Tripoli by force,
sparking pre-dawn clashes with armed groups supporting
UN backed interim Prime
Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah.
Hours later they pulled out, citing the “security and safety of citizens”,
as the UN, EU, and US appealed for calm. There were no immediate reports of
casualties from the fighting, but AFP correspondents saw burned-out cars and military
convoys on a major thoroughfare later on Tuesday morning.
Bashagha’s press service announced overnight “the arrival of the prime
minister of the Libyan government, Mr Bashagha, accompanied by several
ministers, in the capital Tripoli to begin his work there”. His arrival sparked
a battle that raised fears of a return to the chaos that followed a 2011 revolt
that toppled dictator Mummar Gaddafi and to the all-out conflict that gripped
the capital when pro-Haftar forces attacked in 2019–2020.
Several hours later,
Bashagha’s camp announced that he and his ministers
had “left Tripoli to preserve the security and safety of citizens”. Dbeibah’s
defense ministry said it would respond “with an iron fist” to anyone “attacking
security and the safety of citizens”.Local media later broadcast footage of
Dbeibah meeting members of the public in the streets of the capital. The
education ministry announced that schools would be closed for the time being.
Libya expert
Emadeddin Badi said Bashagha’s move had been “a failed
attempt at a fait accompli” and he had “lost a large proportion of his
constituency in his hometown of Misrata, tarnished his anti-crime brand and now
tanked his popular support.” The UN’s top in-country official, Stephanie
Williams, in a tweet urged all sides to maintain calm, including avoiding
“inflammatory rhetoric”.
Bashagha said he would deliver a “unity speech to the Libyan people” on
Tuesday evening, and his interior minister Issam Abu Zariba called on “all
security forces and concerned parties to cooperate” in ensuring a smooth
transition.
Pro-Bashagha armed groups had already deployed in March on the edges of
the capital, raising fears that a fragile ceasefire in place since October 2020
would collapse.
EU
foreign affairs chief
Josep Borrell said on Tuesday the situation had become
“very grave”. Whilst the US embassy urged “all armed groups to refrain from
violence and for political leaders to recognize that seizing or retaining power
through violence will only hurt the people of Libya”.
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