General mobilization in Libya before the possibility of an imminent civil war

The Libyan Unity Government, which is based in the country’s capital, Tripoli, called this Saturday for the general mobilization of the population in the face of the fighting that has broken out in recent hours between rival militias and the advance of forces loyal to the Parallel administration in the east of the country, which threatens to drag the country “into civil war in the next few hours.”

“We Call On All Libyan Men And Women In The Capital Tripoli And In All Libyan Cities To Take A Serious And Genuine National Position Against Anyone Who Wants To Start A War Inside The Capital To Achieve Or Preserve Personal Gain” , said the prime minister of unity, Abdul Hamid Dbeibé.

The fighting, with heavy and light weapons, between the two governments that have been vying for power in Libya since March (the so-called Support and Stability Force, under the orders of the Unity Executive, against militias led by Haitem Tajouri) have resulted in moment with at least 12 dead and 87 injured, according to the latest balance published by the Ministry of Health of the Government of National Unity.

To this situation must be added the advance of a convoy of forces loyal to the self-proclaimed prime minister of the east of the country, Fazi Bashaga, who were fighting yesterday to advance towards the center of the capital after trying to take control of the Janzour entrance, in the west of the city. The fighting inside Tripoli is now concentrated in the Zawiya and Al-Jumuriya neighborhoods, the scene of “major fires”.

Another large convoy of more than 300 vehicles belonging to Bashaga is also known to have left Zliten, 150 kilometers east of the capital, along the coastal highway. Bashaga has lived for weeks in Misrata, near this town.

The UN, the United States and the United Kingdom have implored the authorities to refrain from taking measures that increase violence, while the president of the Transitional Presidential Council, the body recognized by the United Nations to manage the transition process in Libya, Mohamed Menfi, has been forced to bring forward the end of his official visit to Tunisia to return to the country urgently.

international concern

Specifically, the UN mission in the country called for “an immediate cessation of hostilities,” citing “ongoing armed clashes, including medium and heavy indiscriminate shelling of neighborhoods populated by civilians” that had damaged hospitals. Meanwhile, the US Embassy said it was “very concerned” about the clashes.

In recent hours, sources collected by Al-Arabiya television reported that Egyptian negotiators have launched an emergency initiative to achieve a ceasefire between the parties and prevent Tripoli from ending up again immersed in a civil war at the last minute. .

Libya has been in crisis and repeated episodes of armed conflict for more than a decade after the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011.