Libya, new military escalation
2020-05-09T18:54:04.487Z
An attack with more than 80 rockets destroyed a fuel depot and knocked out two civilian aircraft at Mitiga airport. In the last forty-eight hours 15 people have been killed under the violent bombings of Haftar against civilian quarters of the capital, including the area where the Italian embassy is located, touched yesterday by a rocket that fell a few tens of meters. As the world's attention is absorbed by the coronavirus health emergency, the Libyan conflict is escalating. The army of the Government of national agreement, recognized by the UN, in recent weeks has consolidated the defenses of Tripoli and recovered lost territories during the long siege of the forces of Cyrenaica, which began now twelve months ago. On April 13, the GNA recaptured Sorman, Sabratha and other smaller centers west of the capital, where it is now pressing on the Watyiah air base, crucial for the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army, which would have lost 70 men to resist the attack. Government forces have been targeting Trahuna with drones for days, a city in the hands of allied tribes of Cyrenaica; operation to which Haftar responded with the rain of rockets on the Mitiga airport, used for civil flights but also for military operations, in particular Turkish supplies. After Ankara's direct intervention in the conflict, decided in January, the power relations that indicated Haftar one step away from victory have changed. Erdogan in fact responded to Al Serraji's request for help, which has the Muslim Brotherhood as its main allies, sending drones, high-tech defense systems, armored vehicles, specialized personnel and thousands of militiamen already used in the conflict along the Syrian border. It is an alliance that has strongly influenced the Berlin peace conference, closed at the end of January without the signing of the two opponents, and the truce signed a few days earlier in Moscow thwarted. Haftar has indeed intensified the attacks to counter Ankara's aid, and Tripoli, after strengthening, has moved on to the counter-offensive. The UN and the European Union condemn military escalation and deplore, as they have been doing for months now, the involvement of civilian victims in the conflict. In these days, the Irini mission, decided by Brussels, on the basis of the Berlin agreements, to monitor the arms embargo becomes operational. In command will alternate Greece and Italy, which has responsibility for the first period with Admiral Fabio Agostini. But Tripoli does not like the mission, especially maritime, which accuses Europe of favoring in this way the army of Cyrenaica, which would continue to receive the aid of its allies by land and air (Arab Emirates, Egypt, Saudi Arabia ), while for the Turks it will be difficult to continue supplying the GNA by sea. Malta thinks the same way, and announces that it is slipping away from the mission. The next few weeks will therefore be crucial. If Irini works, it could affect the path of peace for which international diplomacies have been working for months. In the meantime, however, Libya remains on the brink of the abyss: oil plants have been paralyzed since 17 January. The faithful tribes in Haftar, asking for a fair distribution of profits, continue to block the country's main economic resource, with damages that now exceed 4.3 billion dollars.
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by Leonardo Sgura 09 May 2020An attack with more than 80 rockets destroyed a fuel depot and knocked out two civilian aircraft at Mitiga airport. In the last forty-eight hours 15 people have been killed under the violent bombings of Haftar against civilian quarters of the capital, including the area where the Italian embassy is located, touched yesterday by a rocket that fell a few tens of meters. As the world's attention is absorbed by the coronavirus health emergency, the Libyan conflict is escalating. The army of the Government of national agreement, recognized by the UN, in recent weeks has consolidated the defenses of Tripoli and recovered lost territories during the long siege of the forces of Cyrenaica, which began now twelve months ago. On April 13, the GNA recaptured Sorman, Sabratha and other smaller centers west of the capital, where it is now pressing on the Watyiah air base, crucial for the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army, which would have lost 70 men to resist the attack. Government forces have been targeting Trahuna with drones for days, a city in the hands of allied tribes of Cyrenaica; operation to which Haftar responded with the rain of rockets on the Mitiga airport, used for civil flights but also for military operations, in particular Turkish supplies. After Ankara's direct intervention in the conflict, decided in January, the power relations that indicated Haftar one step away from victory have changed. Erdogan in fact responded to Al Serraji's request for help, which has the Muslim Brotherhood as its main allies, sending drones, high-tech defense systems, armored vehicles, specialized personnel and thousands of militiamen already used in the conflict along the Syrian border. It is an alliance that has strongly influenced the Berlin peace conference, closed at the end of January without the signing of the two opponents, and the truce signed a few days earlier in Moscow thwarted. Haftar has indeed intensified the attacks to counter Ankara's aid, and Tripoli, after strengthening, has moved on to the counter-offensive. The UN and the European Union condemn military escalation and deplore, as they have been doing for months now, the involvement of civilian victims in the conflict. In these days, the Irini mission, decided by Brussels, on the basis of the Berlin agreements, to monitor the arms embargo becomes operational. In command will alternate Greece and Italy, which has responsibility for the first period with Admiral Fabio Agostini. But Tripoli does not like the mission, especially maritime, which accuses Europe of favoring in this way the army of Cyrenaica, which would continue to receive the aid of its allies by land and air (Arab Emirates, Egypt, Saudi Arabia ), while for the Turks it will be difficult to continue supplying the GNA by sea. Malta thinks the same way, and announces that it is slipping away from the mission. The next few weeks will therefore be crucial. If Irini works, it could affect the path of peace for which international diplomacies have been working for months. In the meantime, however, Libya remains on the brink of the abyss: oil plants have been paralyzed since 17 January. The faithful tribes in Haftar, asking for a fair distribution of profits, continue to block the country's main economic resource, with damages that now exceed 4.3 billion dollars.
