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.



Israel Continues Ground Operation in South Lebanon with Incursion in Shebaa

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of al-Khiam on October 13, 2024. (AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of al-Khiam on October 13, 2024. (AFP)
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Israel Continues Ground Operation in South Lebanon with Incursion in Shebaa

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of al-Khiam on October 13, 2024. (AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of al-Khiam on October 13, 2024. (AFP)

Israel opened on Tuesday a new front in southern Lebanon in the Shebaa Farms in the east. Israel is already operating in the eastern sector, where it is trying to advance in border villages, and the western sector, where it is engaged in heavy fighting with Hezbollah on the outskirts of the town of Aita al-Shaab.

Israel radio said the Fifth Brigade has joined the ground operations in the South, carrying out a limited incursion in Shebaa.

Shebaa is located on the foothills of Jabal al-Sheikh mountain and extends to the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

The Lebanese government says Israel has been occupying Shebaa, as well as the Kfar Shouba Hills and northern sections of the village of Ghajar, since 1976.

Hezbollah had kicked off his “support front” with Hamas in Gaza in October 2023 by launching attacks on Israeli military positions in Shebaa.

Military experts say that Shebaa’s elevated position protects it from sophisticated attacks. This is especially true for the Arqoub region, which is predominantly Sunni and Druze. Hezbollah has been targeting the area with rockets daily since the beginning of the conflict.

The experts added that the elevation facilitates ground offensives from Israel. Its barren terrain also makes it difficult for Hezbollah to take position there as there is no vegetation in which its fighters can hide.

The position can also be a weakness for the Israeli forces because their military vehicles are exposed to rocket fire from Lebanon, they added.

By opening the Shebaa front, Israeli forces would now be operating along the entire southern border with Lebanon, stretching around 100 kms.

The experts believe that the incursion is an attempt to make up for Israeli forces’ failures in advancing in Kfar Kila and al-Adaisseh, and that they are trying to reach the town of al-Khiam, which had come under heavy raids in recent days.