Misrata Militias Mobilize to Save Libya’s Sarraj

A member of the LNA is seen as he heads out of Benghazi to reinforce the troops advancing to Tripoli, in Benghazi, Libya April 7, 2019. (Reuters)
A member of the LNA is seen as he heads out of Benghazi to reinforce the troops advancing to Tripoli, in Benghazi, Libya April 7, 2019. (Reuters)
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Misrata Militias Mobilize to Save Libya’s Sarraj

A member of the LNA is seen as he heads out of Benghazi to reinforce the troops advancing to Tripoli, in Benghazi, Libya April 7, 2019. (Reuters)
A member of the LNA is seen as he heads out of Benghazi to reinforce the troops advancing to Tripoli, in Benghazi, Libya April 7, 2019. (Reuters)

Militias in Libya’s Misrata have amassed thousands of fighters to head to Tripoli and its surroundings to prop up embattled Government of National Accord (GNA) chief Fayez al-Sarraj against the offensive launched by Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar against the capital.

The operation is aimed at ridding Tripoli of terrorist and criminal gangs.

LNA commander of the western region operations, General Abdulsalam al-Hassi refused to disclose to Asharq Al-Awsat the timetable for completing the liberation of Tripoli.

He said that the army was not waging a regular war the end of which can be estimated.

“We are waging a guerrilla war,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, the GNA announced the launch of Operation Volcano of Anger to counter the LNA offensive.

It said that it was aimed at ridding Tripoli of all “outlaws”.

Hassi assured that his forces were marching steadily on the capital.

Everything is going according to plan, he said.

The GNA announced that 21 people have been killed and 27 wounded in the ongoing offensive. The LNA revealed that 14 of its soldiers were killed in the operation that it kicked off on Wednesday.

The Libyan Red Crescent has evacuated an undisclosed number of families from areas that are caught in the fighting.

In a sign of worsening security, a contingent of US forces supporting the US Africa Command evacuated Libya for security reasons, a US statement said.

AFRICOM spokesman John Manley, meanwhile, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the forces have not received any appeal for military support in Libya.

The Command has not direct contact with the GNA, he explained.

He added that the security situation was a cause for concern, reiterating the UN call for reaching a political solution to the crisis.

There can be no military solution to reach stability in Libya, said the agency last week.



Syrian Returns from Lebanon to Start under UN-backed Plan

FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
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Syrian Returns from Lebanon to Start under UN-backed Plan

FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo

Thousands of Syrian refugees are set to return from Lebanon this week under the first, UN-backed plan providing financial incentives, after Syria's new rulers said all citizens were welcome home despite deep war damage and security concerns.

Returning Syrians will be provided with $100 each in Lebanon and $400 per family upon arrival in Syria, Lebanese Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayed said. Transport is also covered and fees have been waived by border authorities, she said.

"I think it's a good and important start. We have discussed and are coordinating this with our Syrian counterparts and I think the numbers will increase in the coming weeks," Sayed told Reuters. A Syrian interior ministry spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

More than 6 million Syrians fled as refugees after conflict broke out in Syria in 2011, with most heading to Türkiye, Lebanon and Jordan. Lebanon has the highest concentration of refugees per capita in the world, hosting about 1.5 million Syrians among a population of about 4 million Lebanese.

Some 11,000 have registered to return from Lebanon in the first week, and the government targets between 200,000 and 400,000 returns this year under the plan, Sayed said.

The Lebanese government is focused on informal tented settlements in the country, where some 200,000 refugees live, she added, and may provide Syrian breadwinners who stay in Lebanon with work permits for sectors such as agriculture and construction if their families return to Syria.

UN agencies previously viewed Syria as unsafe for large-scale returns due to uncertainty over security and persecution by the government of Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled in December.

That has changed.

Since taking over, the new Syrian government has said all Syrians are welcome home. A UN survey from earlier this year showed nearly 30% of refugees living in Middle Eastern countries wanted to go back, up from 2% when Assad was in power.

"While the situation in Syria continues to rapidly evolve, (UN refugee agency) UNHCR considers the current context a positive opportunity for larger numbers of Syrian refugees to return home, or to begin considering return in a realistic and durable way," Ivo Freijsen, UNHCR Representative in Lebanon, told Reuters.

As of the end of June 2025, UNHCR estimated that over 628,000 Syrians had crossed back to Syria via neighboring countries since 8 December 2024, including 191,000 via Lebanon.