After a series of successes, the forces of the Libyan Union Government (GNA) announced, Thursday, June 4, now having control of the entire capital Tripoli and its suburbs. For more than a year, heavy fighting has pitted the GNA against the troops of Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the strong man from eastern Libya. 

"Our heroic forces have full control of the administrative boundaries of Greater Tripoli," said pro-GNA forces spokesman Mohamad Gnounou in a short Facebook statement. 

This announcement comes after several successes of GNA troops, an entity based in the capital and recognized by the UN, including the resumption of the international airport on Wednesday, in the hands of pro-Haftar since April 2019. 

Strong presence of pro-GNA fighters

"Our forces are continuing to advance, chasing terrorist militias from the walls of Tripoli," said Colonel Salah Namrouch, deputy defense minister of the GNA. 

"Some of their commanders fled to Bani Walid airport, southeast of Tripoli," he added on Facebook. Images circulate on social networks and on local television channels showing a strong presence of pro-GNA fighters in areas previously occupied by pro-Haftar. 

Marshal Haftar launched in April 2019 an offensive which aimed to quickly seize Tripoli. But fighting quickly got bogged down south of the capital, and Camp Haftar has suffered several setbacks in recent weeks. 

Bani Walid, a town 170 km south-east of Tripoli, saw the arrival around two weeks ago of many pro-Haftar fighters who fled the capital front, coastal towns taken over by pro-GNA and the base aerial view of Al-Watiya, 140 km south-west of Tripoli. 

Tripoli Airport Taken 

GNA forces regained control of Tripoli International Airport, which has been out of service since 2014, after heavy fighting on Wednesday. 

The announcement of the GNA comes as the UN announced the resumption on Wednesday of talks with the belligerent Libyans, suspended for more than three months. All previous attempts to establish a lasting ceasefire have failed. 

Libya has been in the grip of chaos since the fall of the regime of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, and the conflict has seen in the past year an increasing involvement of foreign powers. 

The GNA is thus supported militarily by Turkey, while Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Russia support the Haftar camp. 

Since April 2019, hundreds of people, including many civilians, have been killed in the fighting and some 200,000 people have fled. 

With AFP 

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