Libya’s GNA Accused of Committing ‘Revenge Killings’

Smoke rises during heavy clashes between rival factions in Tripoli, Libya, August 28, 2018. REUTERS/Hani Amara
Smoke rises during heavy clashes between rival factions in Tripoli, Libya, August 28, 2018. REUTERS/Hani Amara
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Libya’s GNA Accused of Committing ‘Revenge Killings’

Smoke rises during heavy clashes between rival factions in Tripoli, Libya, August 28, 2018. REUTERS/Hani Amara
Smoke rises during heavy clashes between rival factions in Tripoli, Libya, August 28, 2018. REUTERS/Hani Amara

Forces loyal to Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA), which is based in the capital Tripoli, have been accused of committing revenge killings in eight cities recently seized from the Libyan National Army (LNA).

Located on Tripoli’s western coast, the cities were captured by the GNA in battles with the LNA that is led by Khalifa Haftar, who controls much of Libya.

Ali Mesbah Abu Sabiha, the head of the Supreme Council of Tribes and Libyan Cities in the Southern Region, slammed on Tuesday GNA leader Fayez al-Sarraj, accusing him of praising his forces, mostly made up of illegitimate groups, after they entered cities west of Libya.

He said Sarraj has failed to “mention any blames on the killings and damages to private and public properties.”

Abu Sabiha added: “Based on the two Geneva agreements, this is considered an ugly and full-scale war crime. You and your forces will be the first accused of committing such crimes.”

Secretary-General of the Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR) in Libya Abdul Moneim al-Horr ruled out his knowledge about “massacres” in the captured cities.

However, he told Asharq Al-Awsat that a number of violations were committed, like theft, looting, and torching private properties and security and military headquarters.

Three strategic coastal cities - Sabratha, Surman, al-Ajaylat - located between Tripoli and the Tunisian border, are among the towns captured by Sarraj’s forces.



Israeli Forces Have Completed Encirclement of Gaza’s Rafah, Military Says

 Displaced Palestinians flee from east to west of Gaza City after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders in the area, Friday April 11, 2025. (AP)
Displaced Palestinians flee from east to west of Gaza City after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders in the area, Friday April 11, 2025. (AP)
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Israeli Forces Have Completed Encirclement of Gaza’s Rafah, Military Says

 Displaced Palestinians flee from east to west of Gaza City after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders in the area, Friday April 11, 2025. (AP)
Displaced Palestinians flee from east to west of Gaza City after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders in the area, Friday April 11, 2025. (AP)

Israeli forces have completed the encirclement of Gaza's Rafah, the military said on Saturday, part of an announced plan to seize more areas of the enclave, accompanied by large-scale evacuations of the population.

The military has issued repeated evacuation warnings to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians across Rafah since it resumed operations in Gaza on March 18, forcing them into a diminishing space limited by the sea.

Israel said on April 2 that troops had begun seizing an area it called the Morag Axis, a reference to a former Israeli settlement once located between the cities of Rafah and Khan Younis, in southern Gaza.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have since fled Rafah, a 60 square km area that borders Egypt to the south.

"Over the past 24 hours, the 36th Division's troops completed the establishment of the Morag route, separating Rafah and Khan Younis," the military said on Saturday.

The Israeli offensive in Gaza was launched after Palestinian group Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

More than 50,000 Palestinians have since been killed in the offensive, according to health authorities in the Hamas-run enclave. Most of the population has been displaced and much of Gaza is in ruins.

Israel restarted the offensive in March after effectively abandoning a ceasefire in place since January. The campaign will continue, it says, until the remaining 59 hostages are freed and Hamas is stamped out of Gaza.

Hamas says it will free hostages only as part of a deal that will end the war and has rejected demands to lay down its arms. A Hamas delegation was expected in Cairo over the weekend to discuss new truce proposals, according to a source in the group.