Libya: US Command Africom also leaves the African country

The president of the council Giuseppe Conte from Vinitaly spoke of Libya: "We have been following the Libya dossier for some time and we are also following it in the last stages. It is an evolution that worries us and I must confess that it does not leave us completely surprised because obviously, following the evolution, we had grasped this possible evolution. We are certainly trying to speak to General Haftar and the other interlocutors about the need to avoid armed conflict, we cannot afford a civil war". Eni employees left Libya days ago, as there are no necessary security measures.

Due to the growing unrest in Libya, a contingent of US forces in support of the US command in Africa (Africom) was temporarily relocated from the country in response to security conditions on the ground. This was reported in a press release from Africom. "The realities of security on the ground in Libya are becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable“Said the general Thomas Waldhauser, commander of Africom. "Even with an adjustment in strength, we will continue to remain agile in support of the existing US strategy", he added. Meanwhile, photos of US naval units that were transferring personnel from Janzur, west of Tripoli, have appeared in the media.

The situation on the ground

As reported by the Italian Nova news agency, four days after the start of the clashes in Tripoli between the forces loyal to the government of national agreement of Prime Minister Fayez al Sarraj and the Libyan national army of General Khalifa Haftar, the executive supported from the United Nations launches the counter-offensive "Volcano of anger" (Barkan al Ghadhab) against the strong man of Cyrenaica. In support of Sarraj's forces, which enjoys the support of Misrata, the militias “Al Bunian al Marsus” arrived, which in 2017 had defeated the Islamic State from Sirte. So far the clashes have caused 21 deaths and 27 injuries, according to data released today by the Ministry of Health of Tripoli. In the last few hours the clashes have concentrated near the former Tripoli airport and in the Saraj and Edraiby areas, about 9 kilometers southwest of the capital.

Also today, despite the announcement of a no-fly zone on the west of Libya by Haftar, the forces of Tripoli have hit the old airport of the city, where there are men of the LNA, but that in the last hours, according to " al Arabiya ", would return under the control of Sarraj.

For their part, Haftar's forces fired Grad missiles. According to the Libya Observer website, Haftar's forces conducted an aerial bombardment of Naqliya, on the road to the airport, where vehicles of the Presidency Council were destroyed.

According to what was declared by the spokesman of the LNA, Ahmed al Mismari, 18 soldiers from Haftar have died in the latest clashes. Today the United Nations support mission in Libya (Unsmil) asks the armed formations deployed in the areas of Wadi al Rabia, Al Kalikh, Qasr bin Ghashir and Al Aziziya, in Tripoli, to respect the humanitarian truce of two hours (between 16 and 18 pm) to allow the evacuation of the wounded and the civilian population by the emergency services. The appeal seems not to have been heard. Today, the unrecognized interim government of Al Bayda called on the international community to support LNA operations to end the chaos in Libya.

Yesterday, April 6, during a televised statement, Sarraj accused Haftar of violating the political agreement reached in 2015 in Skhirat, by launching a military operation on Tripoli. "We have reached out for peace, but the aggression of Haftar's forces, the declaration of war against our cities and the capital and its violation of political agreements, will make us steadfast and give us strength," he said. The Tripoli chief executive called on all Libyans to act in the national interest, prioritize the political solution and reject violence. "When we hosted the UN secretary general in Tripoli, we were surprised by Haftar's military mobilization, after the progress towards a political solution," added Sarraj, referring to the decision to hold the Ghadames conference from 14 to 16 April. Finally, he called on the interaction community not to look at attackers and those who defend the civil state alike, and called on countries that support Haftar to end their support. On April 6, Sarraj summoned the French ambassador to Tripoli, Beatrice du Hellen, to protest Paris's alleged support for militias backing Haftar. Sarraj formally asked the ambassador to report his protest to his government and the French president, Emmanuel Macron.

 

Libya: US Command Africom also leaves the African country