File image.
On May 18, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) announced the formation of a “truce committee” in cooperation with Libya’s Presidential Council following deadly clashes and protests in the capital, Tripoli.
In a statement, UNSMIL said that a ceasefire reached on May 14 remains fragile, stressing that the committee will focus on ensuring its permanence and enhancing civilian protection.
The truce committee, chaired by Libya’s Chief of the General Staff, Mohamed Al-Haddad, has already held its first meeting.
The Presidential Council, said in a statement of its own that its head Mohamed al-Menfi, met with Hanna Tetteh, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and the head of UNSMIL, Haddad and Libyan army special forces commanders to assess the latest developments in Tripoli.
Last week, clashes broke out in Tripoli after Abdel Ghani al-Kikli, also known as “Gheniwa”, the head of the powerful Stability Support Authority (SSA) militia group that is backed by the Presidential Council, was assassinated.
Gheniwa was killed on May 12 inside a base controlled by the 444th Brigade, led by Mahmoud Hamza, a militia leader aligned with the internationally-recognized Government of National Unity (GNU). Syrian mercenaries, who were brought to Libya in 2020 by Turkey, were reportedly involved. The clashes that followed left at least six dead on the first day.
The first round of clashes came to a halt on May 13, with GNU head Abdul Hamid al-Dbeibah, a close ally of Turkey, declaring a military operation had dismantled “irregular” militias. However, the fighting resumed early on May 14, with at least one person killed.
By May 15, a ceasefire was announced, marking the end of the SSA. However, protests against Dbeibah broke out in Tripoli. Three ministers resigned from the GNU on the same day.
Libya plunged into chaos following a NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
The country is now split between the GNU in the west, which is supported by an array of militia groups and Syrian mercenaries, and a rival government based in Benghazi in the east, backed by the House of Representatives and the Libyan National Army (LNA).
The latest events were seen as an attempt by Dbeibah to consolidate power in western Libya. Interestingly, NBC News reported amid the events that the United States was working with some side in Libya to permanently relocate as much as one million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, which is currently being invaded by Israel.
Also amid the event, Libyan media reported mobilization in the ranks of the LNA, which is led by Marshal Khalifa Haftar. The ambitious commander could be seeing in the current tensions in Tripoli a chance to expand its influence into the west.
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