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Libyan Mediation Succeeds in Halting Tripoli Clashes

Trans-Mediterranean Migration Forum in Tripoli, Libya (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Trans-Mediterranean Migration Forum in Tripoli, Libya (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Libyan Mediation Succeeds in Halting Tripoli Clashes

Trans-Mediterranean Migration Forum in Tripoli, Libya (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Trans-Mediterranean Migration Forum in Tripoli, Libya (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Local mediation efforts successfully stopped sudden heavy fighting in Tajoura, a coastal suburb east of Libya's capital, just hours before the “Trans-Mediterranean Migration Forum” began.

The Forum, launched by Libya’s interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah on Wednesday in Tripoli, saw a brief scuffle between the Stabilization Support Agency and guards of Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby.

The incident, caught on local media, showed a disagreement between security personnel securing the forum and Deby’s guards. This led to a short interruption in the live broadcast. Security sources said Deby’s guards refused to hand over their personal weapons to Libyan security at Mitiga Airport upon arrival.

Footage showed a brief physical altercation between Dbeibah’s and Deby’s guards, but it was quickly resolved.

The Forum aims to formulate a unified vision that enhances cooperation and coordination between the countries concerned, in order to develop the foundations of European-African sustainable economic and trade relations, said Dbeibah.

Dbeibah also called for reallocating the funds currently used to manage irregular migration flows toward financing development projects in African countries, according to the official Libyan News Agency LANA.

“Let us implement real projects that lead to the stability of the people of these countries in their regions,” he said.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that her country considers resolving the migration issue a priority, noting that large numbers of irregular migrants require intensifying efforts with the countries in the region.

In another development, a spokesperson for the Tajoura Revolutionaries Gathering told Asharq Al-Awsat that Dbeibah did not mediate the clashes in Tajoura on Tuesday night.

The fighting was between the Sabriya al-Rathimi Brigade and the al-Buqra Brigade, led by Bashir al-Buqra, reportedly due to fatwas from the dismissed Grand Mufti Sadiq al-Ghariani.

The spokesperson, who asked to remain anonymous, said the conflict was resolved by Mohammed al-Maamari, commander of the Fatah Makkah Brigade Tajoura, Abdel Rahim bin Salem, commander of the Tajoura Lions Brigade, and the Tajoura Council of Elders and Sheikhs.

The Tajoura Revolutionaries Gathering announced that the sheikhs and elders successfully mediated the dispute.

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UN Humanitarian Chief Urges Massive Aid Boost for Syria

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher (R) said he received "the strongest possible reassurances" from Syria's interim prime minister Mohammad al-Bashir that aid workers would have the necessary access on the ground. SANA/AFP
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher (R) said he received "the strongest possible reassurances" from Syria's interim prime minister Mohammad al-Bashir that aid workers would have the necessary access on the ground. SANA/AFP
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UN Humanitarian Chief Urges Massive Aid Boost for Syria

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher (R) said he received "the strongest possible reassurances" from Syria's interim prime minister Mohammad al-Bashir that aid workers would have the necessary access on the ground. SANA/AFP
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher (R) said he received "the strongest possible reassurances" from Syria's interim prime minister Mohammad al-Bashir that aid workers would have the necessary access on the ground. SANA/AFP

Visiting UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher called Wednesday for a massive aid boost for Syria to respond to "this moment of hope" after the ouster of longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad.
"Across the country, the needs are huge. Seven in 10 people are needing support right now," Fletcher told AFP in a telephone interview as he visited Syria.
"I want to scale up massively international support, but that now depends on donors. The Syria fund has been historically, shamefully underfunded and now there is this opportunity," he said.
"The Syrian people are trying to come home when it's safe to do so, to rebuild their country, to rebuild their communities and their lives.
"We have to get behind them and to respond to this moment of hope. And if we don't do that quickly, then I fear that this window will close."
Half of Syria's population were forced from their homes during nearly 14 years of civil war, with millions finding refuge abroad.
UN officials have said a $4 billion appeal for Syria aid is less than a third funded.
"There are massive humanitarian needs... water, food, shelter... There are needs in terms of government services, health, education, and then there are longer term rebuilding needs, development needs," Fletcher said.
"We've got to be ambitious in our ask of donors.
"The Syrian people demand that we deliver, and they're right to demand that we deliver," he said. "The world hasn't delivered for the Syrian people for more than a decade."
'Test for all'
As part of his visit, Fletcher met representatives of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the opposition group which spearheaded the offensive that toppled Assad, including its leader Ahmed al-Sharaa and interim prime minister Mohammad al-Bashir.
Fletcher said he received "the strongest possible reassurances" from Syria's new administration that aid workers would have the necessary access on the ground.
"We need unhindered, unfettered access to the people that we're here to serve. We need the crossings open so we can get massive amounts of aid through... We need to ensure that humanitarian workers can go where they need to go without restriction, with protection," he said.
"I received the strongest possible reassurances from the top of that caretaker administration that they will give us that support that we need. Let's test that now in the period ahead."
Assad's government had long imposed restrictions on humanitarian organizations and on aid distribution in areas of the country outside its control.
Fletcher said that the coming period would be "a test for the UN, which hasn't been able to deliver what we wanted to over a decade now... Can we scale up? Can we gain people's trust?
"But it's also a test for the new administration," he added. "Can they guarantee us a more permissive environment than we had under the Assad regime?
"I believe that we can work in that partnership, but it's a huge test for all of us."