The Libyan government announced today, Sunday, that it had foiled a plan for multinational forces loyal to the forces of retired Major General Khalifa Haftar to enter the capital, Tripoli, last Friday.
"In the past few days, we have received information that the multinational forces are planning on Friday to enter Tripoli," Libyan government forces spokesman Mohamed Kanounou said in a statement. He stressed that his forces were able to "absorb the shock, and contained the militants in a small enclave, before launching a counter-attack and stuning the illusion."
Kanounou indicated that among the results of the operation was the downing of a warplane on Saturday, to be the 15th in the number of casualties of the attacker.
Earlier Saturday, the Al-Wefaq government announced the shooting down of a Haftar fighter jet south of Tripoli, and the capture of its commander.
For his part, the UN Special Envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salameh, said that Russian support for Haftar's forces has increased the momentum of his attack on Tripoli during the past days.
He explained that the Russian military forces, whose personnel are called "mercenaries or young contractors", contributed to changing the strategic balance, and pointed out that since the Russians joined Haftar's forces, the attack on Tripoli has regained its strength.
He warned that if this continued, there would be a "bloodbath and more civilian casualties, more displaced people, and more suffering", and he did not rule out that Haftar's sudden entry into Tripoli would hinder efforts to prepare for the Berlin International Conference on Libya.
For weeks, Germany has been preparing for a conference on Libya that brings together international actors influencing the Libyan file, to discuss a political solution that ends the conflict in the country away from military solutions. It is expected to be held in the second half of December, or early next year.