Libyan Army Promises to ‘Liberate’ Tripoli if Dialogue Fails

Members of the Libyan army's special forces celebrate after the liberation of the last region of Islamist militants in their last stronghold in Benghazi, Libya, July 5, 2017. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori
Members of the Libyan army's special forces celebrate after the liberation of the last region of Islamist militants in their last stronghold in Benghazi, Libya, July 5, 2017. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori
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Libyan Army Promises to ‘Liberate’ Tripoli if Dialogue Fails

Members of the Libyan army's special forces celebrate after the liberation of the last region of Islamist militants in their last stronghold in Benghazi, Libya, July 5, 2017. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori
Members of the Libyan army's special forces celebrate after the liberation of the last region of Islamist militants in their last stronghold in Benghazi, Libya, July 5, 2017. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori

General Ahmad al-Mesmari, spokesman for Libyan National Army, accused politicians of involving the country in several crises and resting in Tunisia hotels to propagate themselves. He promised to liberate Tripoli from “militias” and to put an end to the division in case the dialogue failed.

The Libyan High Council of State referred failures of the second dialogue tour in Tunisia to the parliament. Omar Boushah, member of the dialogue committee on the High State Council, said to Asharq Al-Awsat: “We found ourselves negotiating contradictory agendas and blocs.”

Mesmari said that the army is moving on with what it pledged months ago in granting politicians until December 17, adding that Tripoli has become ready to receive the armed forces.

The armed forces succeeded in sidelining blocs in the Western region that have showed intention to join the army, and the situation there is heading towards eradication terrorism, added Mesmari -- he stressed that Libya can’t be safe but through the Arab armed forces.

Mesmari accused politicians without naming them, saying: “You are the reason behind the deterioration of the situation. You aided the foreigners in Libya and you made the country open infront of Qatar, Sudan and Turkey.”

There is a coordination with Egypt on the joint Libyan border to avoid smuggling of ISIS members, weapons and drugs, Mesamri noted. Egyptian armed forces spokesperson Tamer el-Rifai said last September that an agreement has been made with Libyan militants to embark on forming joint technical committees to discuss mechanisms and procedures to unite the Libyan military institution.

Libyan Military Commander Khalifa Haftar stated earlier, “We assure our people in the capital of all Libyans that your demands of an army, police and dismissal of criminal gangs have reached to us.” Further, U.N. Libya envoy Ghassan Salame resumed his tours in Tripoli and met several political parties.



Lebanon Security Source Says Hezbollah Official Targeted in Beirut Strike

Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
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Lebanon Security Source Says Hezbollah Official Targeted in Beirut Strike

Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

A Lebanese security source said the target of a deadly Israeli airstrike on central Beirut early Saturday was a senior Hezbollah official, adding it was unclear whether he was killed.

"The Israeli strike on Basta targeted a leading Hezbollah figure," the security official told AFP without naming the figure, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

The early morning airstrike has killed at least 15 people and injured 63, according to authorities, and had brought down an eight-storey building nearby, in the second such attack on the working-class neighbourhood of Basta in as many months.

"The strike was so strong it felt like the building was about to fall on our heads," said Samir, 60, who lives with his family in a building facing the one that was hit.

"It felt like they had targeted my house," he said, asking to be identified by only his first name because of security concerns.

There had been no evacuation warning issued by the Israeli military for the Basta area.

After the strike, Samir fled his home in the middle of the night with his wife and two children, aged 14 and just three.

On Saturday morning, dumbstruck residents watched as an excavator cleared the wreckage of the razed building and rescue efforts continued, with nearby buildings also damaged in the attack, AFP journalists reported.

The densely packed district has welcomed people displaced from traditional Hezbollah bastions in Lebanon's east, south and southern Beirut, after Israel intensified its air campaign on September 23, later sending in ground troops.

"We saw two dead people on the ground... The children started crying and their mother cried even more," Samir told AFP, reporting minor damage to his home.

Since last Sunday, four deadly Israeli strikes have hit central Beirut, including one that killed Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif.

Residents across the city and its outskirts awoke at 0400 (0200 GMT) on Saturday to loud explosions and the smell of gunpowder in the air.

"It was the first time I've woken up screaming in terror," said Salah, a 35-year-old father of two who lives in the same street as the building that was targeted.

"Words can't express the fear that gripped me," he said.

Saturday's strikes were the second time the Basta district had been targeted since war broke out, after deadly twin strikes early in October hit the area and the Nweiri neighbourhood.

Last month's attacks killed 22 people and had targeted Hezbollah security chief Wafiq Safa, who made it out alive, a source close to the group told AFP.

Salah said his wife and children had been in the northern city of Tripoli, about 70 kilometres away (45 miles), but that he had to stay in the capital because of work.

His family had been due to return this weekend because their school reopens on Monday, but now he has decided against it following the attack.

"I miss them. Every day they ask me: 'Dad, when are we coming home?'" he said.

Lebanon's health ministry says that more than 3,650 people have been killed since October 2023, after Hezbollah initiated exchanges of fire with Israel in solidarity with its Iran-backed ally Hamas over the Gaza war.

However, most of the deaths in Lebanon have been since September this year.

Despite the trauma caused by Saturday's strike, Samir said he and his family had no choice but to return home.

"Where else would I go?" he asked.

"All my relatives and siblings have been displaced from Beirut's southern suburbs and from the south."