Death toll from clashes between militias in Libya's capital rises to 16

MADRID, 23 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) -

At least 16 people have died and 34 have been injured in the clashes that began on Thursday night in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, and led by opposing militias amid the rise in tensions due to the political crisis and the deepening of the crisis. economic.

The spokesman for the Emergency and Ambulance Service, Osama Ali, has reported the increase in victims in the updated balance of this Friday night, according to the media 'Alwasat'.

The figures increase by six fatalities and nine injured, compared to the latest data. Among the deceased, there would be at least six civilians and a child.

The attacks involve two groups: the so-called RADA Special Dissuasion Force (FED-RADA), led by Abdul Rauf Kara, former combatants against Gaddafi and now converted into a parapolice force, who have launched a large-scale attack in controlled places by the Revolutionary Brigade of Tripoli (BRT), led by Ayub Abu Ras, close to the Unity Government of the capital.

Sources from the 'Libya Observer' portal have indicated that the clashes began after the kidnapping of a senior RADA commander by a group affiliated with the Revolutionary Brigade, two militias that operate within the welter of armed groups that have swarmed Tripoli practically since the fall of Gaddafi in 2011.

After a few hours of calm, the fighting started again on Friday afternoon in the latter area. People caught in the middle of the fighting have sought shelter in wedding halls and several residents have asked for a safe corridor to escape the fighting as shells rain down indiscriminately on residential areas.

For its part, the Presidential Council has published a statement in which it has asked the parties to "end the fighting and immediately return to their positions", before demanding that the Prosecutor's Office "open an exhaustive investigation into the causes of clashes".

"The Ministries of Defense and Interior of the Government of National Unity must take the necessary measures to impose security in the capital", he indicated, just a few days after senior military officials of the opposing administrations held an infrequent meeting in Tripoli in who asked to proceed to the unification of the hand chain to try to move towards a solution to the crisis.

The talks on the military track are part of a three-way process promoted to try to end the conflict in the country, deepened after the postponement of the presidential elections scheduled for December 2021. The House of Representatives, based in the east, affirmed After that, the mandate of the Prime Minister of Unity, Abdul Hamid Dbeibé, had expired and he appointed Fazi Bashaga as his replacement.

The unity government has rejected the decision of the House of Representatives, which represents a setback for the efforts to end the conflict, and has maintained that Dbeibé will remain in office to implement his new 'road map', which contemplated the holding of legislative elections in June, preceded by a constitutional referendum that generates a legal framework for holding the elections, although this has not taken place.

Dbeibé was elected as prime minister by the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) in February 2021, thereby replacing the then unity prime minister, Fayez Serraj, who agreed to cede his powers after the consultation process, initiated after a ceasefire agreement after the Tripoli authorities rejected the military offensive launched in April 2019 by General Khalifa Haftar, aligned with the authorities based in the east.