The forces of the Libyan National Accord government announced that they had repulsed an attack by the forces of retired Major General Khalifa Haftar, west of the city of Sirte, in parallel with their destruction of an operating room of the Russian company "Wagner" south of Tripoli, while loyal to Haftar cut off electricity and water to several areas in Libya.
Mustafa al-Majei, spokesman for the media center for the "Barkan Al-Ghazib" operation of the Al-Wefaq government, said that their forces were able today to repel an attack by Haftar forces in the Al-Washeka area, which is located on the coastal road between Misurata (200 km east of Tripoli) and Sirte (4,540 km east of the Libyan capital). ).
Al-Mujai added that their forces are still stationed in their positions, and did not incur any losses, stressing that Haftar's forces suffered losses in return, while repelling the attack.
Sites loyal to Haftar reported that their forces were advancing towards the Abu Qurain area, located to the west (east of Misrata), but Libyan sources denied any change in the position of the front there.
Activists have also talked about the mutual bombing of planes and artillery between the two parties, and they quoted sites loyal to Haftar dead and destroyed two vehicles of his forces as a result of being targeted by Al-Wefaq government forces.
In the axes south of the capital, activists stated that the artillery of the Al-Wefaq forces targeted today an operating room of the Russian "Wagner" company supporting the Haftar forces in the Salah al-Din area, and the same sources confirmed the destruction of the room equipped with advanced equipment and technologies for communications, jamming and control.
The planes of the Al-Wefaq government launched several raids on Thursday evening against military targets in the city of Tarhuna (80 km southeast of Tripoli), and activists said that the shelling had killed several militants loyal to Haftar.
Earlier, Al-Wefaq march planes bombed the Al-Wataya Air Force Base (west of the country), which also resulted in the death and injury of Haftar's forces.
On Thursday evening, Haftar forces bombarded from their positions south of Tripoli, the city's port, which resulted in the destruction of administrative offices, according to Libyan sources.
Denounce the escalation
Politically, the Acting UN envoy to Libya, Stephanie Williams, said that the ongoing escalation of the war in Libya is weakening the state's ability to deal with the outbreak of the Corona virus, while foreign powers continue to intervene in violation of the arms embargo.
In an interview with Bloomberg News, Williams described the current military escalation as reckless and inhumane behavior.
She added that every call for a truce - even when both parties accept it - leads to an escalation, whether by the parties to the conflict or their supporters from foreign powers.
The United Nations had called on both parties to the conflict in Libya to stop military operations, and while the Al-Wefaq government welcomed the invitation, Haftar's forces continued to target civilian facilities in Tripoli, including hospitals and the civilian airport of Maitika.
| A Libyan student looks at candlelight books during a previous blackout in Tripoli (Reuters) |
On the other hand, the Libyan National Accord government said that Haftar's forces cut a gas pipeline located south of the capital, Tripoli, which led to a complete blackout of large areas in western and southern Libya.
In a statement released today, the media center for Operation "Anger Volcano" said that Haftar's forces closed the gas pipeline valve in the area of Sidi Al-Sayeh (south of Tripoli) on Thursday, which feeds power stations south and west of the capital.
The center added that it resulted in complete darkness that affected the cities of Tripoli, Misrata and other cities in the south, which are under the control of Haftar's forces.
For its part, the Libyan General Electricity Company said that the closing of the gas pipeline valve in the Sidi Al-Sayeh area had caused the loss of a thousand megawatts of electricity, and described the situation of the electricity grid as tragic.
She added that she is working since yesterday evening to rebuild the electricity network, noting in this regard to the return of gas units in power stations located in Al-Zawiya, the western mountain (west) and Ubari (south).
The valve cut-off comes days after the loyalists of the Al-Hasouna system’s closed system rivers, which supply the Libyan capital with water, are closed.
The Anatolia news agency said today that the neighborhoods of the capital, Tripoli, are currently experiencing power outages and water.
Libyan websites said that the mayor of Al-Shweref Municipality (center) - appointed by the government loyal to Haftar in the Libyan east - was the one who closed the water pumping system to pressure the Al-Wefaq government to release his brother, who was captured in battles south of Tripoli.