GNA Threatens Haftar with the ICC

Part of the damage to the front of the Mitiga International Airport during the fighting in Tripoli (Reuters)
Part of the damage to the front of the Mitiga International Airport during the fighting in Tripoli (Reuters)
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GNA Threatens Haftar with the ICC

Part of the damage to the front of the Mitiga International Airport during the fighting in Tripoli (Reuters)
Part of the damage to the front of the Mitiga International Airport during the fighting in Tripoli (Reuters)

Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) Foreign Minister Mohamed Siala called on The Hague’s International Criminal Court (ICC) to take necessary measures to investigate rocket attacks on Mitiga International Airport.

Labeling the attacks a war crime, Siala accused the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Gen. Khalifa Haftar of carrying them out.

In a letter to the ICC, Siala accused LNA forces of violating international and human rights laws, killing and maiming prisoners and of attacking diplomatic missions.

In other news, the LNA boosted the number and quality of forces participating in the fight in the country’s capital, Tripoli. GNA forces, on the other hand, focused their attacks on the Okba Ibn Nafa Air Base, located west of the capital.

This is the second time in a month that the LNA dispatched reinforcements to Tripoli, where its forces have been fighting a battle to liberate the capital since April 4, 2019.

The deployment of new forces coincided with LNA Spokesman Ahmed Al-Mismari releasing a motivating voice recording to boost the morale of forces fighting on the frontlines to free Tripoli. It is the second recording in a week in which Mismari urges fighters to revolt against GNA’s Fayez al-Sarraj and Fathi Bashagha, whom he accused of treason and corruption.

Mismari also accused the GNA of selling out the country’s resources to Turkish occupation and loyalist militias.

On the ground, the battles were renewed between GNA and LNA forces on several axes inside the capital. Clashes especially erupted near the airport road south of the city.

GNA Spokesman Col.Mohammed Qanounou said that air forces targeted early Wednesday to shipments intended for LNA forces around 200 kilometers away from the capital. He also announced launching three strikes within 24 hours against LNA targets.

Local media loyal to the GNA quoted unidentified sources as saying that its forces destroyed a Russian air defense system in an air strike in the Shweref area that was on its way to Tarhuna.



Qatar and Jordan Pledge Support to Syria

23 December 2024, Syria, Damascus: Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi (L) meets with Syria's new de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa. (Petra/dpa)
23 December 2024, Syria, Damascus: Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi (L) meets with Syria's new de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa. (Petra/dpa)
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Qatar and Jordan Pledge Support to Syria

23 December 2024, Syria, Damascus: Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi (L) meets with Syria's new de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa. (Petra/dpa)
23 December 2024, Syria, Damascus: Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi (L) meets with Syria's new de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa. (Petra/dpa)

Qatar is ready to invest in Syria's energy sector and ports, the de facto Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said after meeting a senior Qatari official in Damascus on Monday, as his new administration widened contacts with Arab states.

Sharaa also received Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi, the first Arab foreign minister to visit Damascus since the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) toppled Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago. Safadi said Jordan was ready to help Syria rebuild.

The meetings further widened the diplomatic contacts of the new administration established after Sharaa's HTS, a former Al-Qaeda affiliate, led a decisive offensive that overthrew Assad after more than 13 years of war.

The end of Assad's rule has upended the geopolitics of the Middle East, dealing a major blow to his ally Iran and paving the way for other states to build new ties to a country at the crossroads of the region.

Türkiye, which long backed the Syrian opposition, was the first state to send its foreign minister to Damascus.

Qatar's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Al-Khulaifi flew into Damascus on Monday aboard the first Qatar Airways flight to land there since Assad was toppled.

Sharaa, speaking to reporters as he stood next to Khulaifi, said that they had discussed the challenges of the coming period, and that he had invited Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to visit Syria.

"The Qatari side expressed its readiness for wide investments in Syria in many sectors, chief amongst them the energy sector in which they have great experience ... as well as the ports and airports," Sharaa said.

Khulaifi said Qatar, the world's third largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), would continue to "stand alongside our brothers in Syria at this time more than any other time".

"Syria and its people need support during this crucial phase which requires the concerted efforts of everyone, especially concerning the lifting of sanctions and the upcoming developmental projects," he said.

JORDAN WILL PROVIDE AID

Syria's stability is a key security concern for Jordan, which borders the country to the south.

Safadi said he agreed with Sharaa on cooperating to counter the smuggling of drugs and weapons from Syria to Jordan - a problem for years under Assad.

Safadi also noted that ISIS, with which Sharaa's group clashed earlier in the Syrian war, remained a threat.

"Our brothers in Syria also realize that this is a threat. God willing, we will all cooperate, not just Jordan and Syria, but all Arab countries and the international community, in fighting this scourge that poses a threat to everyone," he said.

"I focused on reconstruction efforts and Jordan will provide aid," Safadi said, adding that the new Syrian administration must have the opportunity to develop its plans.

There was no immediate statement from the Syrian side on the meeting.

Sharaa, who met senior US diplomats last week, severed ties with Al-Qaeda in 2016. He has said his primary focus is on reconstruction and achieving economic development and that he is not interested in engaging in any new conflicts.