TRIPOLI — Residents of
Libya’s capital
expressed shock and apprehension after weekend clashes between rival militias
that left more than 30 people dead and reignited fears of a renewed conflict.
اضافة اعلان
“It was a real war,” said local resident Manal,
whose name has been changed for safety reasons.
“I was afraid for my family. ... My baby woke up
many times because of the bombardments. I didn’t know when it would end,” said
the woman in her 40s, adding that she feared fighting would resume.
Calm seemed to prevail over Tripoli for a second day
Monday after the clashes — the worst violence in the capital since a landmark
2020 ceasefire.
The health ministry said 32 people were killed and
159 wounded, including an unspecified number of civilians, in the fighting that
began overnight Friday and stretched into Saturday, while dozens of buildings
were damaged.
Shops have now reopened, local authorities have
started clearing the debris and technicians have mobilized to restore power in
affected areas.
But as Libyans struggle with chronic instability and
unending political crises, some residents expressed surprise at the intensity
of the clashes in civilian areas.
‘Over’ for now
The fighting came after
months of mounting tensions between backers of rival Libyan prime ministers
Abdulhamid Dbeibah and Fathi Bashagha, whose administrations are vying for
control of the oil-rich North African country.
“I closed the
shutters, bolted the doors and spent the night in a windowless hall where we
took shelter to protect ourselves from the impact of any explosions,” Manal
said.
Dbeibah’s government was installed in Tripoli as
part of a UN-led peace process last year, while Bashagha was appointed by
Libya’s eastern-based parliament in February.
Local media and experts said Bashagha, a former
interior minister who is backed by east-based military strongman Khalifa
Haftar, had failed in what was his second attempt to dislodge his rival from
the capital in three months.
Fatma Mahmoud, a 37-year-old pharmacist, said she
was relieved to wake up Sunday morning to news that fighting had ended the
night before.
“It’s over — until one of (the armed groups) decides
to encroach on the other’s territory,” she said.
The rival executives traded blame for the fighting
between their respective militias.
“The people need to feel safe and it’s up to the
government to impose its authority on the militias,” said Mohammed Al-Nayli, a
33-year-old banker.
He said he wanted to see a “calm” Tripoli.
Situation ‘repeats itself’
Libya plunged into chaos
following the 2011 overthrow and killing of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in a
NATO-backed uprising, with myriad armed groups and foreign powers moving to
fill the power vacuum.
But instead of a peaceful transition to democratic
rule, the country has been mired in divisions between rival power bases in the
country’s east and west, fueled by foreign influence.
In July, clashes between rival groups in Tripoli
left 16 people dead.
Mahmoud, the pharmacist, deplored a situation that
“tends to repeat itself” with increasing violence.
“Some lost loved
ones, others are picking up the pieces of what was their house, not to mention
the trauma — children curled up in basements waiting for it to end,” she added.
The scene of two panicked children fleeing a combat
zone with their hands over their ears has prompted particular outcry.
“A 17-year-old child was killed and four children
were injured — one was only five years old. These violations against children
must stop,” UNICEF representative in Libya Michele Servadei said on Twitter.
The main mission of Dbeibah’s interim government was
to organize presidential and parliamentary elections that were supposed to take
place in December last year.
But the vote never took place due to the presence of
contentious candidates and deep disagreements over the polls’ legal basis
between rival power centers.
Bashagha says the mandate of Dbeibah’s Government of
National Unity has expired, but Dbeibah has insisted on only handing power to
an elected government.
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