The Libyan Government’s militiamen crimes in the sights of the United Nations

The United Nations draws attention to the crimes committed by Turkey and its allies in western Libya. The international organisation's mission to the North African country (Unsmil) has condemned a series of actions perpetrated by Fayez Sarraj's Government of National Accord (GNA) militia. Similarly, it has singled out the troops of the Libyan National Army (LNA) of rebel marshal Jalifa Haftar for their indiscriminate bombing of various neighbourhoods in Tripoli.

In an official statement, the Unsmil is alarmed by the “intensification of fighting” seen on the previous day, which is putting the lives of many civilians at risk and could lead to a new wave of internal population displacement.

The official mission's press release focuses mainly on recent events on the western edge of the Libyan coast around the town of Surman. There, GNA forces took advantage of the town' s seizure to free more than 400 prisoners who were associated with terrorist groups, in particular the Daesh branch in the North African country.

Unsmil also condemned the practices of looting, pillaging and murder perpetrated by the militia, which burned down many public and private properties as they recovered parts of the territory. The mission says it is monitoring all these activities and warns that if proven, they could constitute “serious violations of international humanitarian law”.

It should be recalled that the combat units of the GNA are mostly composed of mercenaries from the war in Syria. Many of them are terrorists who have served in Daesh or in the al-Nusra Front and have been transferred to North Africa by Turkey, which has also deployed its own military on the front line. It is considered very likely that the UAVs (drones) provided by Ankara were a decisive factor in making the recent Tripoli campaign possible.

The alleged crimes perpetrated by GNA members had previously been reported by representatives of the parliament established by the GNA in Khalifa Haftar in the eastern city of Tobruk. Libyan politician and writer Izz al-Din Aqil, chairman of the Coalition Republican Party, has referred to the presence of internationally sought-after human traffickers in the towns of Sabratha and Surman.

Aqil, in statements to the Emirate newspaper Al-Ain, accuses Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Turkish government of sponsoring the arrival of these migrant traffickers, such as Abdul Rahman Milad and Ahmed al-Dabbashi, on the Libyan coast.

In the recent line defended by the General Secretary António Guterres, the Unsmil has called on both parties in conflict to agree to a permanent ceasefire, at least while the global pandemic of the coronavirus lasts. However, the mission is now in a very complicated position, as Ramtane Lamamra, former Algerian Foreign Minister, has resigned from leading the mission following the resignation of Lebanon's Ghassan Salamé.

It is therefore most likely that a truce agreement will not be reached between the parties. Recently, Ahmed al-Mismari, one of the LNA's official spokespersons, stated that its armed forces were in "total war" against Turkey. In his speech, al-Mismari stressed the weak situation that Turkish contingents are currently facing: “The Syrian mercenaries in Libya are experiencing great losses, and Turkish intelligence is prepared to spread any hoax in order to distract attention from their heavy casualties”. Indeed, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has been reporting that more than 190 mercenaries deployed by Turkey have already been killed in action in Libya.

However, it does not seem that there will be any less of an escalation on Erdogan's part either. Over the past week, the Greek Coast Guard has been monitoring several ships that had departed from the Turkish coast for North Africa. They are believed to be carrying shipments of arms, ammunition and logistical equipment.

One of them is the 'Grace A', a Cameroon-flagged cargo ship that left the Turkish port of Mersin in the south of the country. It belongs to a Lebanese-based company and was last located near the coast of Cyprus, according to the Greek newspaper Kathimerini. Its final destination is suspected to be the Egyptian port of Alexandria, according to reports by the Greek intelligence services. From there, it is thought that the shipment will be smuggled into Libyan territory, which would constitute a violation of the arms embargo on the country.

In addition, eyewitnesses claim to have witnessed, in the last few hours, the arrival of a large shipment of Turkish military equipment in the port of Khoms, under the GNA's control.

Libya has been in a state of civil war practically since the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. For about a year now, tension has risen due to the campaign launched by the LNA in Haftar to recover the entire territory from the hands of Fayez Sarraj's GNA. Since then, Libya's drama has become an embodiment of international interests, with Turkey playing a prominent role as part of its international expansionist policy.