Hassan Al-Werfalli (Benghazi, Cairo)
Clashes with heavy weapons erupted between armed brigades on the airport road in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, at dawn yesterday.
The clashes began when patrols of the “Directorate Support Force” group passed by in the vicinity of the road, where forces belonging to battalions from the city of Al-Zawiya were recently stationed, which took the initiative to open fire on those patrols, according to the sources.
The region is witnessing a rise in security breaches and an increase in the number of theft and kidnapping crimes recently, according to local sources, who indicated that the “Directorate Support Force” managed to control an armed car of the Zawiya Brigades.
The sources suggested that the differences over the areas of influence and control were the driving force behind these clashes, especially that the two sides supported the national unity government, pointing to the arrival of armed elements affiliated with other brigades with the aim of separating the conflicting parties.
This comes in conjunction with a state of tension in the “Tajoura” region, after a youth movement in the city put demands to the Prime Minister of the National Unity Government, Abdul Hamid al-Dabaiba, and gave her 72 hours to approve its implementation, threatening to resort to blocking roads and escalating the situation to obtain their rights.
In his statement, the movement called for the necessity of delivering the waters of the “artificial river” to Tajoura, paying the salaries of those who were recently appointed from Tajoura, supporting service and health institutions in Tajoura, supporting the Tajoura Security Directorate, military units and municipal guards in the region, and activating the security services as required.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister-designate from the House of Representatives, Fathi Bashagha, said he would announce a plan soon that would focus on what “achieves stability, peace and prosperity and ensures the country’s access to simultaneous, free and fair presidential and legislative elections.”
In a post on his Facebook page yesterday, Bashagha added that he had “held fruitful and constructive meetings with friendly and brotherly countries,” continuing: “I highly value the positivity we have seen and readiness for cooperation and joint action” with those countries. He continued, “We will rise in Libya on the basis of democracy, and based on the will of the Libyan people, who deserve to live in economic and social peace and tranquility.” In another context, the President of the Libyan Presidential Council, Muhammad Al-Manfi, met yesterday evening in New York, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on the sidelines of the 77th regular session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The meeting dealt with the latest developments in the political situation in Libya, the parliamentary and presidential elections, and national reconciliation.
During the meeting, the Turkish president affirmed his support for the steps of the Libyan Presidential Council that seek to achieve peace and stability in Libya.
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