Armed group seizes Libyan government headquarters

Eight days separated the Libyan people from their electoral dream. The efforts of the international community have always had a goal that, as the date approaches, seems to be fading. The 24th of December was marked in red on the calendars of all the countries that did their part to bring about a democracy that is suffering a terrible blow with little more than a week to go before the big day. An armed group was deployed in the early hours of Wednesday to Thursday morning in Tripoli, laying siege to several government offices, including the headquarters of the Presidential Council, the government and the Ministry of Defence.

Mohamed Menfi, chairman of the Presidential Council, was moved to a safe place for fear of kidnapping, sources in the capital told Al-Sharq media. The group of insurgents seized the Council headquarters overnight on Wednesday and armed men are currently in control of the area surrounding the building. Local media reported clashes between members of the revolutionary group - according to Al-Sharq sources, loyal to Abdel Basset Marwan - and the forces securing the Presidential Council.

This attack could have its origin in the decision to remove Basset Marwan himself as head of the Tripoli military district command, being relieved by Abdel Qader Mansour. Moreover, at the same time as the seizure of the various headquarters, activists in the Misurata region - in the north of the country, near Tripoli - released a video showing a speech by Salah Badi, leader of Al Samoud, one of the armed groups in western Libya, in which he claimed that he was coordinating with other groups to besiege state institutions in order to curb democratic efforts.

Badi has a long list of UN Security Council sanctions behind him for his "leading role in the fighting (...) in Tripoli, which began on 27 August 2018, in which at least 115 people, mostly civilians, were killed". Already at the time, the UN accused him of trying to "systematically undermine the achievement of a political solution in Libya by supporting the armed resistance". Now, more than three years later, it is still in the same position, trying to put an end to months of work that are, or at least were until this attack, culminating in the elections scheduled for Friday 24 December.

Some of the groups mentioned by Salah Badi were part of the attack in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Shatt, Al-Sikka and Abu Sitta roads, leading to the seat of the government presidency and Tripoli City Hall, were cut off by other groups coordinated by Badi. At this moment, the armed militias are still in control of government buildings and have assured through a communiqué that "there will be no presidential elections in Libya. We will close all state institutions in Tripoli". The Al Samoud leader intends to put an end to the democratic process and prevent the transition to a new government, while the international community watches his efforts come to nothing.