Tripoli prepares for imminent war as international pressure for peace grows

For the third consecutive day, dozens of convoys have arrived from the city of Misrata to the country's capital, which is already preparing for a more than likely internal civil war. 

According to the cabinet of Prime Minister-designate Abdul Hamid Mohamed Dbeibah, the executive is waiting for the ‘green light’ from its international allies to begin the conflict against the Special Deterrence Forces and other armed groups that support them. 

The same sources have indicated that the appointed minister's plans could have devastating consequences for the country. In fact, the possibility that the conflict could lead to a struggle between alliances, ideological, regional and territorial interests, which would return the country to a crisis similar to the one that erupted between 2019 and 2020. However, he emphasised that the country cannot afford a new armed conflict. 

He insisted that the country's influential forces must prioritise the voice of reason and help form an integral state with international capacity and confidence in the country, to such an extent that the attorney general and the country's judicial institutions have been urged to hold accountable those who are proven to be involved in inciting war or endangering the lives of citizens. 

At the same time, the mayors of the municipalities of Greater Tripoli have expressed their absolute opposition to armed demonstrations and military mobilisation. ‘Reconciliation is the only way to achieve stability and national unity,’ the mayors of Greater Tripoli said in a joint statement. 

Specifically, the resolutions issued by the United Nations Support Missions in Libya state that, if the escalation of the conflict cannot be avoided, the majority of the country's civilian population should be evacuated. European entities have also stated that Dbeidah must ‘stop the bloodshed and block the entry of more weapons into the capital’. 

However, the executive branch fears that any actions taken by the Dbediah government could cost it control, which would then fall into the hands of the opposition. In response, the designated minister indicated, despite criticism from the mayors, that these movements cannot be isolated from possible political and security agreements. 

Along the same lines, Saleh Fatima, a member of the National House of Representatives, said that Parliament must take measures to prevent the conflict from escalating and to reach an agreement in accordance with numerous UN resolutions, while the military presence continues to increase. 

As a result, one of the main armed groups fighting Dbeidah, the Mukhtars, expressed in a video their deep concern ‘about the resurgence of unrest, mobilisation and armed demonstrations in our capital, Tripoli, and its suburbs, which are terrorising the general population and the city's residents’.