Libya, still civilian victims
2020-05-17T13:01:01.650Z
At least 7 civilians would have been killed and 17 others injured in the bombing of the university residence in Tripoli, used as a shelter for hundreds of displaced people from the peripheral neighborhoods of the capital, where armed clashes between the Libyan National Army of Haftar and the men have been raging for months of the Al Serraji National Agreement Government. Medical sources from the Libyan Ministry of Health report it, once again accusing Haftar of violating international conventions with indiscriminate attacks involving the civilian population. The command of the "Vulcano di Rabbia" operation, with which the government of Tripoli has been resisting the siege of the Cyrenaica forces for a year now, writes on its Facebook page that it had hit the Watiyah air base with drones, destroying two systems Russian air defense before they were installed. The operation room of Operation Dignity claims to have shot down one of these enemy drones in Al Ajilat. Still this morning heavy artillery bombings are reported on the areas of Al Hadabah and Abu Salim in the capital. Fighting continues in Ain Zara, Al Mashroa, Salah al Din. While the world's attention is drawn in by the Covid19 emergency, which officially records fewer than 70 cases in Libya, the conflict is constantly escalating. "It is a crazy strategy - said President FAyez Al Serraji - which reveals the weakness of Haftar, whose plan to seize power has come to an end". The GNA army, recognized by the UN, has managed to consolidate the defenses of Tripoli, regaining control of important territories lost during the twelve months of siege of the capital by the LNA. It has reconquered Sorman, Sabratha and other centers west of the capital, and does not ease the basic pressure of Watyiah, very important for the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army, which has lost a hundred men to maintain control. Government forces have been targeting the strongholds in the hands of the allied tribes of Cyrenaica with drones for days; while Haftar responds with new waves of bombings against Tripoli, in particular on the Mitiga airport, used for civilian 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 seemed to have brought Haftar one step away from victory have changed. Erdogan has sent drones, high-tech defense systems, armored vehicles, specialized personnel and thousands of militiamen already used in the conflict along the Syrian border, giving shape to the alliance signed last autumn with Serraji to come to the aid of the Muslim Brotherhood, strength policy that supports the National Accord Government. It is an alliance that first heavily influenced the Berlin peace conference, which closed in late January without the signing of the two opponents, and then thwarted the truce signed a few days earlier in Moscow. Haftar has in fact attempted to thwart Ankara's intervention, intensifying attacks against logistical installations; but Tripoli, after strengthening, went 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 this scenario, the Irini mission, decided by Brussels on the basis of the Berlin agreements, was launched on 4 May to monitor the UN arms embargo on Libya. The command is currently in Italian hands, with Admiral Fabio Agostini. In six months he will be entrusted to Greece. 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 and, less explicitly, Russia and France), while the naval blockade will complicate the arrival of Turkish aid to the GNA, which arrive essentially by sea. Malta, worried about possible retaliation in Tripoli through the reopening of the illegal migration routes, thinks the same way and has slipped away from the mission. The situation, in perspective, threatens to remove any prospect of peace and crystallize the armed confrontation, with the two contenders perched on their political and military positions. In the meantime, however, Libya remains on the brink of the abyss: so far the conflict has caused more than 1700 deaths, 17 thousand injured and over 200 thousand displaced. The coasts remain out of control, the preserve of men's trafficking organizations. And from 17 January all the oil plants in the country are paralyzed: the tribes loyal to Haftar, asking for a fair distribution of profits, continue to block the main Libyan economic resource, with damages that so far amount to 4.3 billion dollars.
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by Leonardo Sgura 17 May 2020 At least 7 civilians were killed and 17 others injured in the bombing of the university residence in Tripoli, used as a shelter for hundreds of displaced people from the peripheral neighborhoods of the capital, where armed clashes between the Libyan National Army have raged for months of Haftar and the men of the Al Serraji National Agreement Government. Medical sources from the Libyan Ministry of Health report it, once again accusing Haftar of violating international conventions with indiscriminate attacks involving the civilian population. The command of the "Vulcano di Rabbia" operation, with which the government of Tripoli has been resisting the siege of the Cyrenaica forces for a year now, writes on its Facebook page that it had hit the Watiyah air base with drones, destroying two systems Russian air defense before they were installed. The operation room of Operation Dignity claims to have shot down one of these enemy drones in Al Ajilat. Still this morning heavy artillery bombings are reported on the areas of Al Hadabah and Abu Salim in the capital. Fighting continues in Ain Zara, Al Mashroa, Salah al Din. While the world's attention is drawn in by the Covid19 emergency, which officially records fewer than 70 cases in Libya, the conflict is constantly escalating. "It is a crazy strategy - said President FAyez Al Serraji - which reveals the weakness of Haftar, whose plan to seize power has come to an end". The GNA army, recognized by the UN, has managed to consolidate the defenses of Tripoli, regaining control of important territories lost during the twelve months of siege of the capital by the LNA. It has reconquered Sorman, Sabratha and other centers west of the capital, and does not ease the basic pressure of Watyiah, very important for the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army, which has lost a hundred men to maintain control. Government forces have been targeting the strongholds in the hands of the allied tribes of Cyrenaica with drones for days; while Haftar responds with new waves of bombings against Tripoli, in particular on the Mitiga airport, used for civilian 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 seemed to have brought Haftar one step away from victory have changed. Erdogan has sent drones, high-tech defense systems, armored vehicles, specialized personnel and thousands of militiamen already used in the conflict along the Syrian border, giving shape to the alliance signed last autumn with Serraji to come to the aid of the Muslim Brotherhood, strength policy that supports the National Accord Government. It is an alliance that first heavily influenced the Berlin peace conference, which closed in late January without the signing of the two opponents, and then thwarted the truce signed a few days earlier in Moscow. Haftar has in fact attempted to thwart Ankara's intervention, intensifying attacks against logistical installations; but Tripoli, after strengthening, went 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 this scenario, the Irini mission, decided by Brussels, on the basis of the Berlin agreements, to monitor the UN embargo against arms in Libya was launched on 4 May. The command is currently in Italian hands, with Admiral Fabio Agostini. In six months he will be entrusted to Greece. 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 and, less explicitly, Russia and France), while the naval blockade will complicate the arrival of Turkish aid to the GNA, which arrive essentially by sea. Malta, worried about possible retaliation in Tripoli through the reopening of the illegal migration routes, thinks the same way and has slipped away from the mission. The situation, in perspective, threatens to remove any prospect of peace and crystallize the armed confrontation, with the two contenders perched on their political and military positions. In the meantime, however, Libya remains on the brink of the abyss: so far the conflict has resulted in more than 1,700 deaths, 17,000 injured and over 200,000 displaced. The coasts remain out of control, the preserve of men's trafficking organizations.And from 17 January all the oil plants in the country are paralyzed: the tribes loyal to Haftar, asking for a fair distribution of profits, continue to block the main Libyan economic resource, with damages that so far amount to 4.3 billion dollars.
