Clashes erupted in the Libyan capital Tuesday morning as the newly elected prime minister, FathiBashagha, tried to take over the government but was forced to withdraw by rivals who refused to withdraw Bashagha entered Tripoli overnight after two months of tensions between the Libyan authorities, but withdrew hours later as war broke out.
The crisis threatens Libya to return to war long after two years of comparative peace, or to revert to divisions between the eastern Bashagha-backed government and the Tripoli administration under Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah. Political tensions have already led to the closure of Libya’s oil fields, reducing its main source of foreign exchange by half. Diplomatic diplomacy or laying the groundwork for new elections makes slow progress.
Heavy artillery and gunfire echoed
Speaking in the center of the coastal city of Sirte, where parliament last week said he should suspend his government when he could not work in Tripoli, Bashagha said he would not use violence to take over the capital. He said he entered Tripoli unarmed but was attacked by Dbeibah-linked soldiers. Dbeibah accused Bashagha of entering Tripoli with soldiers “as an illegal illegal group trying to enter the capital in the dark”.The sound of heavy artillery and gunfire echoed throughout Tripoli on Tuesday morning. Schools have been canceled and traffic congestion has been slow, but clashes erupted after Bashagha’s withdrawal. “I do not think things will ever return to a cool and stable state,” said Libyan expert JalelHarchaoui, adding that Dbeibah may be trying to put pressure on the Tripoli-affiliated Tripha teams.
However, a wide-ranging conflict seems unlikely, he said, given the immediate withdrawal of Bashagha from Tripoli. With neither side able to launch a full-blown war, Libya seems to be a long way off, as Dbeibah is entrenched in Tripoli and its enemies could not defeat it.That could increase the closure of large oil facilities by eastern Libyan forces detained by KhalifaHaftar, a supporter of Bashagha.
In Washington, a spokesman for the US Department of State said the department was “deeply concerned” about the violence and urged all armed groups to refrain from violence. Libya has had little security since 2011 the NATO-backed uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi and its split in 2014 between the eastern and western factions ahead of the 2020 peace agreement brought under the fragile Dbeibah coalition government.
Election process
The December election process was marred by tensions between the main parties and the candidates. In addition, parliament, which had sided with the east during the war, decided to appoint new leaders. The Prime Minister of the Union Government, Dbeibah, has overturned a parliamentary motion stating that his administration is still in power and that he will only step down after the election.
BASHAGHA
Bashagha, a former interior minister like Dbeibah from the mighty coastal city of Misrata, has repeatedly said he would enter Tripoli without violence. His earlier attempts to do so have resulted in his motorbike being blocked by rival factions.Last week, parliament said the Bashagha government could still operate in Sirte, a central town near the cold-blooded coalition between eastern and western groups.Diplomacy has focused on negotiations between parliament and the Tripoli-based legislature to build on another attempt to resolve the Libyan conflict by holding elections.
