Militias call on Sarraj's Libyan government to cut ties with Emirates, Egypt and Saudi Arabia
The militia of Misrata - one of the main armed players to emerge from the riots in Libya in 2011 - has blamed the Presidential Council of the Government of National Accord (GNA) for not taking sufficient measures to cut ties with the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, as well as with any other country that supports the aggression against Tripoli, the Libyan newspaper The Libya Observer reported on Sunday. The city-state of Misrata is considered one of the biggest military powers in Libya and is an ally of the Tripoli government, which in turn is backed by Turkey.
In an official statement released on Sunday, the so-called Misrata Emergency Council has also urged the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (also known as UNSMIL) to "change its neutral stance", claiming that "the axis of evil formed by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Saudi Arabia continues to support Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar". In this statement they have also blamed Haftar and these countries for "being responsible for Libyan war crimes.
The conflict in Libya has become the new battleground between international powers. Ankara, the Tripoli government's main ally, has in recent weeks violated the ceasefire agreed to in order to reduce the impact of the coronavirus on the country. General Khaled al-Mahjoub, a senior official at the General Command of the Libyan Armed Forces, confirmed a week ago that the militias in Misrata received a new shipment of arms from Turkey, according to Al-Ain News. Since then the attacks have not stopped. This intervention by Turkey in Misrata is not viewed favourably by countries such as Saudi Arabia. In fact, last February, the Saudi foreign minister criticised external interference in the Libyan conflict, mentioning Turkey directly.
Misrata's statement was published after intense attacks between Haftar forces and the ANG on different fronts, especially Al-Wishka in eastern Misrata, for more than five days, The Lybia Observer explained. The ANG forces have been responsible for most of the attacks, except in Al-Khallatat, where Haftar's forces first started, according to officials of Operation Volcano of Fury. Similarly, on the Al-Wishka front, ANG forces and Haftar-led militias continue to fight with heavy artillery and air strikes despite the ceasefire agreed last week, according to the latest update published in various local media in the country.
The so-called Misrata Emergency Council has made these accusations a day after the Ministry of Justice of the Government of National Accord made a decision to release 466 prisoners from Ministry of Justice-controlled prisons in Tripoli in order to reduce overcrowding and the impact of the coronavirus. The Government of Libya is divided between the internationally recognized Tripoli-based National Accord Government and the rival Interim Government, based in eastern Libya and led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, commander of the National Liberation Army (LNA).
Since the beginning of the conflict, hundreds of civilians have lost their lives and at least 150,000 have been forced to leave their homes and live in crowded, unsanitary shelters, unable to return home, according to the international organization Human Rights Watch.