UNSMIL calls to protect civilians after airstrikes in western Libya

Tripoli, May 26. The UN special mission in Libya (UNSMIL) today called for respect for national and international law and to protect the civilian population after the Government of National Unity (GUN) carried out airstrikes in the city of Zawiya ( west), which hosts armed groups backed by the rival Executive.

“The Mission will continue to closely monitor the situation. These events show the urgent need for Libya to unite and allow the responsible military and security institutions to provide security and stability to the Libyan people throughout the country,” the agency said in a statement. .

The parallel government appointed by Parliament and based in Sirte (center), assured that these attacks affected some public structures and caused panic among the civilian population, for which it warned that this “disproportionate use of force could trigger a war”. .

The GUN Ministry of Defense congratulated itself yesterday on the “success” of this operation, which is part of a military plan to “purify” the region of hideouts for criminal gangs and asked citizens for greater cooperation with the military forces.

However, local sources assure that these bombardments, carried out by drones, attacked military sites in the area of ​​Abu Surra (south of Zawiya) and others close to the port of Maya, thirty kilometers from the capital, belonging to armed militias and that in In recent weeks, there have been clashes over the control of fuel traffic and human trafficking.

This operation followed protests by Zawiya residents to demand improvements in security and to eliminate militias and criminal gangs operating in the city.

Parliamentarian Ali Abuzriba and brother of a leader of the Stability Support Agency (SSA) militia, accused the GUN of using Turkish aviation, as it has done on other occasions, and revealed that several citizens were injured during these attacks under the pretext of the fight against organized crime.

Currently, two parallel administrations share power in Libya: the Government of National Unity (GUN) of Abdelhamid Dbeiba, based in Tripoli; and a parallel Executive in Sirte, unilaterally appointed by Parliament in February 2022 and led by Osama Hammad, appointed last week to replace Fathi Bashaga.

After more than twelve years of transition, stalled over and over again by political divisions and armed conflicts, Libya hopes to hold presidential and legislative elections that are suspended indefinitely from the end of 2021. EFE

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