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Intermittent Clashes in Libyan Capital, UN Slams Threat to People's Lives

Smoke fumes rise above buildings in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, during shelling on May 9, 2020. (AFP Photo)
Smoke fumes rise above buildings in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, during shelling on May 9, 2020. (AFP Photo)
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Intermittent Clashes in Libyan Capital, UN Slams Threat to People's Lives

Smoke fumes rise above buildings in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, during shelling on May 9, 2020. (AFP Photo)
Smoke fumes rise above buildings in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, during shelling on May 9, 2020. (AFP Photo)

Clashes between the Libyan National Army (LNA), commanded by Khalifa Haftar, and forces loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA), headed by Fayez al-Sarraj, eased on Friday after two days of intense fighting at the majority of the frontlines around the capital, Tripoli.

Intermittent clashes was reported on Friday as the NATO said it is prepared to help the GNA in the area of "defense and security institution building", in response to a request by Sarraj to assist it to "strengthen its security institutions."

"Any NATO assistance to Libya would take account of political and security conditions, and would be provided in full complementarity and in close coordination with other international efforts, including those of the UN and the EU," said Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during a telephone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a main backer of the GNA.

The GNA on Friday showed footage of an attack against a grad rocket launcher it claimed the LNA had used in an attack on Tripoli hospital and the capital's Tariq al-Soor neighborhood.

In a brief statement, the LNA said its artillery struck an ammunition depot in Ain Zara, south of Tripoli.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya said UN humanitarian agencies in Libya condemned all attacks that endangered the lives of civilians and prevented them from accessing life-saving services.

Acting UNSMIL special representative Stephanie Williams briefed on Thursday the International Follow-up Committee on Libya, convened under Italy's co-chairmanship. In a brief statement, it called on its members to "uphold the Berlin commitments to ensure an immediate cessation of hostilities, a resumption of the political process and alleviate the suffering of the civilian population."

It revealed that since the beginning of the year, 17 health facilities have been attacked in Libya.

Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, renewed on Thursday the organization's call for a ceasefire in Libya so that efforts can be focused on the fight against the novel coronavirus.

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Shukr’s Assassination Closes Chapter on Hezbollah’s First-Generation Leaders

An archived photo of key Hezbollah leaders who were assassinated: Imad Mughniyeh (right), Fouad Shukr(center), and Mustafa Badreddine (left)
An archived photo of key Hezbollah leaders who were assassinated: Imad Mughniyeh (right), Fouad Shukr(center), and Mustafa Badreddine (left)
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Shukr’s Assassination Closes Chapter on Hezbollah’s First-Generation Leaders

An archived photo of key Hezbollah leaders who were assassinated: Imad Mughniyeh (right), Fouad Shukr(center), and Mustafa Badreddine (left)
An archived photo of key Hezbollah leaders who were assassinated: Imad Mughniyeh (right), Fouad Shukr(center), and Mustafa Badreddine (left)

The assassination of prominent Hezbollah military leader Fouad Shukr closes the chapter on the party’s founding generation from the early 1980s. This group, which included Shukr, all met their end either in battle or through assassinations.
Shukr was linked to two key groups: the “Group of 82” and a series of military commanders who led Hezbollah’s armed wing.
The “Group of 82” was a band of ten men who first gathered in a mosque in the Ouzai area of southern Beirut during the Israeli invasion of 1982. They were deeply religious and inspired by Iran’s Islamic revolution.
Their mission was to resist the Israeli occupation, starting in Beirut and the battle for Khalde, and then continuing their fight in southern Lebanon.
Shukr was the last surviving member of this group and the first leader of Hezbollah’s military wing.
The founding group of Hezbollah, known as the “first generation,” included: Hassan Shukr, Asi Zeineddine, Samir Mattout, Mahmoud Youssef, Mohamed Hassouna, Fouad Shukr, Asaad Barro, Mohamed Naim Youssef, Jaafar al-Moula, and Ahmed Shamss.
Most of these members hailed from the Bekaa region in eastern Lebanon and lived in the impoverished and marginalized Ouzai area.
Notably, all of them were killed during the Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon in the 1980s, with the exception of Fouad Shukr, who was assassinated by Israel on Tuesday.
The Ouzai group merged with other factions in Beirut’s southern suburbs, leading to the emergence of key Hezbollah military leaders like Imad Mughniyeh and Mustafa Badreddine.
Initially, Hezbollah operated as a loose network of cells coordinating with other groups fighting Israel.
During the Israeli invasion, these cells joined forces in the south. By 1985, they had formed a structured military organization with training from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
Fouad Shukr was one of the first leaders of this organized military unit.
Since Shukr’s assassination, Hezbollah has not announced any military move against Israeli positions. Experts believe this development indicates a temporary “suspension” of Hezbollah’s military activities over vacuum at the military leadership.
Another indicator, experts believe, could be attributed to the party's ongoing preparations to respond to the assassination of Shukr.
Although Israel carried out airstrikes recently that hit Lebanon’s southern town of Kfar Kila, and its drones hovered over Lebanese towns, Hezbollah has not responded to any. The group did not claim responsibility for any military move against Israel from Tuesday, 6:00 p.m., through Thursday.
Analysts believe that military operations usually cease after the death of the battle leader. But others also argue that “assigning a successor to the battle does not take a lot of time mainly during times of war”.