Armed Group Call for Uprising against ‘Turkish Occupation’ of Libya

Libyans gather at the Martyrs' Square in Tripoli on August 17, 2023 following recent deadly clashes. (AFP)
Libyans gather at the Martyrs' Square in Tripoli on August 17, 2023 following recent deadly clashes. (AFP)
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Armed Group Call for Uprising against ‘Turkish Occupation’ of Libya

Libyans gather at the Martyrs' Square in Tripoli on August 17, 2023 following recent deadly clashes. (AFP)
Libyans gather at the Martyrs' Square in Tripoli on August 17, 2023 following recent deadly clashes. (AFP)

An unidentified Libyan armed group has declared a “popular armed uprising” against the “Turkish occupation of Libya.”

The group accused Türkiye of “overreaching in its control over key Libyan areas”, including Al-Watiya Airbase, Sidi Bilal Port, and more recently, the vital Khoms Port.

“We announce that all locations occupied by the Turks are legitimate targets for the heroes of the uprising.”

In a statement published Monday by local media, the group said the Turkish bases and camps in Libya are “nothing short of the initial steps towards colonization, and an attempt to drag Libya back into a bygone colonial era.”

The uprising is aimed at informing the Turks that Libya will not be occupied again and its wealth and resources will not be robbed and that the Libyans should be allowed to determine their own fate.

The statement did not name the group.

The Government of National Unity, Presidential Council and Libyan National Army did not comment on the statement.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Ministry of Defense released on Tuesday images of a Turkish military frigate conducting training off the coast of Libya. The training included live-fire weapons tests and helicopter operations.



Tunisians Vote in Election, with Main Rival to Saied in Prison

A voter casts her ballot at a polling station during the presidential election in Tunis, Tunisia October 6, 2024. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
A voter casts her ballot at a polling station during the presidential election in Tunis, Tunisia October 6, 2024. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
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Tunisians Vote in Election, with Main Rival to Saied in Prison

A voter casts her ballot at a polling station during the presidential election in Tunis, Tunisia October 6, 2024. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
A voter casts her ballot at a polling station during the presidential election in Tunis, Tunisia October 6, 2024. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi

Tunisians began voting on Sunday in an election in which President Kais Saied is seeking a second term, with his main rival suddenly jailed last month and the other candidate heading a minor political party.
Sunday's election pits Saied against two rivals: his former ally turned critic, Chaab Party leader Zouhair Maghzaoui, and Ayachi Zammel, who had been seen as posing a big threat to Saied until he was jailed last month.
Senior figures from the biggest parties, which largely oppose Saied, have been imprisoned on various charges over the past year and those parties have not publicly backed any of the three candidates on Sunday's ballot. Other opponents have been barred from running.
Polls close at 6 p.m. (1700 GMT) and results are expected in the next two days. Political tensions have risen since an electoral commission named by Saied disqualified three prominent candidates last month, amid protests by opposition and civil society groups. Lawmakers loyal to Saied then approved a law last week stripping the administrative court of authority over election disputes. This Court is widely seen as the country's last independent judicial body, after Saied dissolved the Supreme Judicial Council and dismissed dozens of judges in 2022.
Saied, elected in 2019, seized most powers in 2021 when he dissolved the elected parliament and rewrote the constitution, a move the opposition described as a coup.