The Libyan capital, Tripoli, is witnessing a cautious calm after armed clashes between government brigades on Friday night, amid Western criticism, and demands for an investigation into those clashes, while armed militias controlling the Sidra oil port allowed an oil tanker to load on Friday.
Pictures published by the local media showed civilians in a state of panic, amid gunfire in a crowded area of the capital.
According to Anatolia sources, clashes erupted between the "Al-Nawasi Brigade" of the Government of National Unity, and the "Stability Support Agency", affiliated with the Presidential Council.
These clashes coincide with the intensification of the political crisis in the country, as the parliament, recently convened in Tobruk, appointed former Interior Minister Fathi Pashaga as prime minister, while the internationally recognized government of national unity headed by Abdel Hamid al-Dabaiba refuses to abandon its duties, and adheres to its right to administer the country’s affairs until Organizing elections.
And the German news agency reported that the area of clashes widened until a public park reached the center of the city, which is usually visited by families.
Random shooting now in the streets of #Tripoli.
pic.twitter.com/tXU98gm7PU
— Abdulqadir Sassi (@Abdulqadir_sasi) June 10, 2022
Invitations to investigate
Commenting on this, the President of the Supreme Council of State, Khaled Al-Mashri, demanded, in a Facebook post, both the Presidential Council and the Government of National Unity to open an immediate investigation into the armed clashes that occurred due to personal differences between its members, in which armed men from the fighting groups were injured and caused material damage to private property. .
Al-Mashri called for the publication of investigations into the clashes for public opinion and the punishment of those involved, describing these clashes as a disregard for the lives of citizens, in which undisciplined armed groups participated.
For his part, the Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity in Libya, Abdel Hamid Dabaiba, expressed his dismay at the clashes.
The official "Our Government" platform published a video clip of Dabaiba from his residence, while he was communicating by phone with the commander of the 444th Brigade Combat, Mahmoud Hamza, who oversaw the cessation of the fighting and the expulsion of families from the places where they sheltered from the fires of clashes.
Dabaiba received from the brigade's commander assurances that the clashes would stop and that no civilians were injured, stressing the brigade's supervision of removing them from their places of refuge and returning them to their homes.
Al-Dabaiba instructed the brigade to take what is necessary to preserve the lives of civilians in the capital, waving to arrest and punish those who attack civilians.
Western criticism
In turn, the United Nations Mission in Libya expressed its concern over the clashes that took place in the Libyan capital last night.
On Twitter, the Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General, Stephanie Williams, called for calm and the protection of civilians in Tripoli.
Williams appealed to all Libyans to do everything in their power to preserve the stability of the country, which she described as fragile, stressing that enough is enough, as she put it.
For his part, US Ambassador and Special Envoy to Libya Richard Norland, in a tweet on Twitter, threatened those he described as responsible for the armed clashes that took place in the capital, Tripoli, yesterday evening, that they would pay the price from the Libyan people as well as the international community.
Ambassador Norland: “Such clashes should not continue or escalate – those responsible for these clashes will pay the price for the Libyan people as well as the international community.”
https://t.co/XiOVHtsXjF
— US Embassy - Libya (@USEmbassyLibya) June 11, 2022
As for the head of the European Union delegation to Libya, Jose Sabadell, he said in a tweet via Twitter, "What happened (clashes) yesterday in the Tuesday market is a shame and a shock."
"The weapons were fired at a park where children run and play," the European official added, stressing that public places in Tripoli belong to families and not to armed men.
Sidra port open
In a related context, two engineers at the Libyan port of Sidra said today, Saturday, that the armed militias that are closing the port allowed an oil tanker to be loaded yesterday, Friday, but they added that the militants did not allow any other tanker to be loaded in the port.
Armed militias closed the Es Sider and Ras Lanuf ports on Thursday, which led to the halt of exports in an apparent expansion of the scope of the partial shutdown of the country's oil production.
The National Oil Corporation has not issued any comment so far.
The groups that are shutting down the oil facilities are demanding the head of the Tripoli-based government of national unity, Abdel Hamid Dabaiba, to hand over power to Fathi Bashagha, who was chosen by the eastern-based parliament to take over the post in March.
Oil-rich Libya has been divided politically and security since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, following a popular revolution.
Tripoli and Libyan cities in general are witnessing a proliferation of battalions, which occur among themselves from time to time, armed clashes, and the reasons are mostly due to areas of influence, political alignment, or sometimes individual problems.