Armed clashes erupted today, Saturday, in the outskirts of the Libyan city of Misurata, between armed factions near the main coastal road leading to the capital, Tripoli, where a cautious calm prevails, after armed clashes resulted in dozens of deaths and injuries.
The Joint Operations Force of the Government of National Unity - headed by Abdel Hamid al-Dabaiba - said that its patrols in the city of Misurata were attacked today by groups they described as outlaws in the Zureik area, west of the city.
The affiliated force issued a statement today, saying that an armed group affiliated with the Prime Minister, appointed by the House of Representatives in Tobruk, Fathi Bashagha, was carrying out an "unauthorized arrest" on the coastal road, and when the patrols assigned to official work missions passed, the armed group's forces opened fire directly on the patrols. This resulted in injuries to members of the force.
The force indicated that it dealt directly with the shooting, as it clashed and evacuated the place, pointing out that the members of the armed group fled to the surrounding farms.
And she added, "These provocative acts have a clear goal and cannot be silenced about them."
The city of Misurata (210 kilometers east of Tripoli) is witnessing some security tensions due to the arrival of Pashaga from Sirte to the city last Wednesday, without announcing the program of his sudden visit.
Following Bashagha's arrival, Libyan media reported that an armed force loyal to Dabaiba had demanded that Bashagha "define the status of his visit to the city, or else leave it."
The Joint Operations Force had previously arrested a number of Bashagha government ministers last March while they were passing through the city on the way to Tobruk to take the legal oath before the House of Representatives, before releasing them later.
And the German news agency quoted eyewitnesses in the city who witnessed the events of Pashaga's arrival, that "after his arrival (Pashaga), armed men belonging to the joint force approached his house in the Bazina area, and demanded him to leave the city in the event that he visited it in his capacity as prime minister, before they retreated after a number of people gathered His armed supporters, which prompted social components in the city to intervene and end the tension.
calm in the capital
In the capital, Tripoli, a general calm prevails in all neighborhoods of the city today, after the clashes stopped yesterday evening, Friday, while there is still some security presence, especially by members of the 444th Brigade, which deployed its elements in large parts of the capital.
The Libyan Ministry of Health announced today, Saturday, that 16 people were killed and 52 wounded as a result of the clashes that took place in the capital, Tripoli, between the Special Deterrence Force and the presidential guard, "the former Tripoli Revolutionaries Brigade."
The clashes began in the municipality of Ain Zara in Tripoli, the first night of Thursday, and expanded to include some other neighborhoods, and ended on Friday evening between the Special Deterrence Force and the Presidential Guard.
In this context, the UN Adviser to Libya, Stephanie Williams, condemned the "horrific acts of violence in Tripoli, which claimed the lives of civilians, including children."
During her meeting with Prime Minister Khaled Al-Mashri, Williams stressed the need to complete the constitutional process with the House of Representatives to implement the elections as a matter of urgency.
A political conflict has been raging in Libya since last March between the National Unity Government headed by Abdel Hamid Dabaiba and the government of Fathi Bashagha.
The Dabaiba government refuses to hand over power to Bashagha, and insists on clinging to the exercise of its duties until elections are held.