Libya’s recognised government will continue a military campaign to claim back the capital Tripoli, Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni said yesterday.
Libya is divided between two governments since a group called Libya Dawn seized Tripoli in August after a month-long battle with a rival group, setting up its own parliament and government.
Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni has been forced to work from Tobruk in the East where the elected House of Representatives is also based, part of turmoil three years after the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi.
Al-Thinni told Dubai-based TV channel al-Arabiya his forces were advancing on Tripoli from the west and would also seize the main border crossing to Tunisia.
“Our troops are moving towards Tripoli to liberate it,” he said, claiming his forces had seized a town west of the capital. Al-Thinni’s forces, allied to a former general and tribesmen in Zintan in the western mountains, have launched air strikes on Tripoli.
Our troops are moving towards Tripoli to liberate it
The rival Tripoli government, accused by its opponents of relying on Islamists, says Egypt and the United Arab Emirates help al-Thinni with the air strikes. Al-Thinni has denied this.
When asked whether Saudi Arabia and the UAE were offering humanitarian assistance, al-Thinni said in the television interview: “Our brothers in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and our brothers in Egypt are ready to fulfill what the government and House of Representatives demand.”
On Monday, UN Special Envoy Bernadino Leon said he planned to launch next week a new round of peace talks to bring together both conflict parties.
Leon said talks would this time also include the rival parliament based in Tripoli to widen a dialogue which has failed to make progress.
Meanwhile, fighting in Libya’s eastern city of Benghazi and in the west of the country has displaced tens of thousands since the summer and disrupted medical and health services, the International Committee of the Red Cross said yesterday.
Three years after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya is struggling with instability as two rival administrations compete for power and competing armed factions skirmish for control of territory across the North African state.
Conflict in Benghazi between Islamist militias and forces who have sided with Libya’s internationally-recognised government in the east forced tens of thousands to leave the city and displaced more inside, the Red Cross said.
“Services at the main hospitals have been severely disrupted by the unsettled security conditions, the departure of foreign workers and the acute shortage of medical supplies,” said Antoine Grand, head of the Red Cross Libya delegation, who is based in Tunis.
The Red Cross said fighting to the south and west of Tripoli, in the western part of Libya, and in Sabha and Ubari in the south, is also displacing residents.
Conflict has caused frequent fuel, power and water shortages, increased food prices and damaged infrastructure. The Red Cross said deteriorating security also made it difficult for humanitarian organisations to reach victims.
Most foreign governments and international organisations pulled their staff and diplomats out of Libya over the summer when a faction called Libya Dawn drove rivals out of the capital and set up its own self-declared government in Tripoli.
Libya’s elected House of Representatives and the government of Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni is now operating out of the east. The United Nations plans to hold talks to bring the two factions to the negotiating table.