Tripoli - Saba:
News reports indicated that the Libyan capital, Tripoli, has been witnessing a dangerous escalation in the intensity of clashes since Wednesday morning between security and military formations affiliated with the unity government, on the one hand, and others affiliated with the Deterrence Force to Combat Organized Crime, on the other.
Reports indicated that the clashes, in which heavy and medium weapons were used, extended to densely populated areas, including streets belonging to the municipalities of Tripoli Central and Ain Zara, as well as the vicinity of the Souq al-Juma municipality and other scattered neighborhoods, further complicating the humanitarian and security situation.
The reports indicated that as the fighting intensified, families trapped in the fighting areas appealed to the relevant authorities to open safe corridors and allow them to leave to more areas. Meanwhile, the Libyan Red Crescent announced a state of maximum alert, noting that it had received a large number of distress calls, given the difficulty of field movement and the lack of safe routes. It called for the provision of safe corridors to enable them to provide aid and evacuate stranded families.
The fighting resulted in extensive damage to public and private property, with a number of homes and vehicles severely damaged. Official authorities have yet to announce the final death toll.
In this regard, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), along with a number of diplomatic missions, called for an immediate and unconditional cessation of hostilities, stressing that the ongoing clashes deepen instability and threaten to spread the violence to other areas.
These developments come after escalating security tensions in Tripoli over the past two days following military operations carried out by the Ministry of Defense affiliated with the Government of National Unity. These operations resulted in the seizure of the headquarters of the Stabilization Support Apparatus, affiliated with the Presidential Council, and the killing of the head of the apparatus, Abdul Ghani Al-Kikli, in an incident that sparked the ongoing clashes.