Libya, Haftar's offensive and Sarraj's counterattack

Libya is a country that sails like a boat adrift and whose future depends, in large part, on Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. Since Gaddafi's assassination in 2011, this nation has been in a state of chaos and stability. Haftar's forces, backed by the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, have this week attacked the ranks of the National Accord Government (NAG), an executive supported by Turkey.  While the Libyan National Army under Field Marshal Haftar has continued its offensive to free Tripoli from pro-government militias legitimised by the international community, the GNA's interior minister, Fathi Bashagha, has announced that his government will change its strategy from a defensive to a more combative one, in order to expel Haftar's forces from Tripoli.  

General Ahmed al-Mismari, the spokesman of the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army has confirmed the killing of at least 35 ANG soldiers and the same number of wounded on the Salah al-Din front in the Libyan capital. The strategy of Haftar's forces is based on exhausting the capacities of the militias of the Executive led by Fayez Sarraj.  Likewise, al-Mismari has warned during a press conference of the “artillery of the Sarraj Government” that threatens the residential neighbourhoods of the area of Qasr Bin Ghashir, south of Tripoli, and has pointed out that “clashes are taking place in the area of Al-Hadba”. In addition, he has reported that the Egyptian terrorist Abu Al-Jazqan of the Al-Nusra front of Al-Qaida is in Tripoli. 

Al-Mismari made these statements after one of North Africa's most prominent terrorists, Egyptian Hisham al-Ashmawy, who is accused of carrying out several attacks against the Egyptian army and police, as well as the attempted assassination of former Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim, was executed on Wednesday, according to reports from the armed forces and the prisoner's lawyer.

During this press conference he criticised the fact that Sarraj's decision to bring Syrian soldiers, allies of the Turkish president, to fight in Tripoli has cost the Central Bank enormous amounts of money. The British Guardian newspaper issued a report - as explained by Al-Mismari - that confirms that the Syrian fighters signed a series of contracts that establish that their salaries amount to 2000 dollars a month; salaries that would supposedly be paid by the GNA.

For his part, the GNA's Minister of the Interior, Fathi Bashagha, has confirmed that they will change their strategy from a defensive to a more combative one in order to expel Haftar's forces from Tripoli.  Bashagha told Reuters of his intention to take steps to remove Haftar from the capital, after indicating that the Libyan National Army forces had attacked Tripoli and Al-Maiteqa international airport with 60 missiles during the past week.

Fathi Bashagha admitted that “his hopes for a continued ceasefire have been dashed” and called on the United States and the United Kingdom to “put pressure on the countries that support Haftar to end the humanitarian crisis in Tripoli”. Mitiga airport authorities announced on Monday that they were suspending air travel to the airfield after it was attacked by Haftar militia with BM-21 Grad rockets, according to the Middle East Monitor.

GNA forces on Thursday acknowledged attacking artillery batteries of Haftar forces in the south of the capital, Tripoli. In a statement, the center of Operation Volcano of Fury, a military campaign launched by GNA forces, reported that they had attacked the Haftar artillery batteries that bombed Mitiga International Airport on Tuesday, according to the Turkish news agency Anadolu.

At the same time, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin has criticised Haftar and the militias loyal to him for continuing to violate the ceasefire, according to The Lybian Observer. He also urged the international community to seek a peaceful solution to the Libyan question and recalled that his country is on the side of the legitimate and internationally recognised government of Libya, to which it will continue to give its full support.

More than eight years after the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya continues to be the victim of serious political crises, social divisions and economic problems. Armed violence has displaced thousands of families, damaged the country's basic infrastructure and severely affected access to basic services for the most vulnerable. According to the UN's Humanitarian Needs Assessment 2020, the conflict has affected approximately 1.8 million people, including 268,000 children.