Libya’s GNA Factions Clash Amid Increasing 'Popular Discontent'

Libyans protest at Martyrs' Square in Tripoli, Libya (File photo: Reuters)
Libyans protest at Martyrs' Square in Tripoli, Libya (File photo: Reuters)
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Libya’s GNA Factions Clash Amid Increasing 'Popular Discontent'

Libyans protest at Martyrs' Square in Tripoli, Libya (File photo: Reuters)
Libyans protest at Martyrs' Square in Tripoli, Libya (File photo: Reuters)

Disputes between factions of the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA), chaired by Fayez al-Sarraj, have increased over calls for rallies against the cabinet in the capital Tripoli.

Sarraj’s deputy, Ahmed Maiteeq, has asked the military prosecutor in Tripoli to take measures against Tripoli military official, Abdulbaset Marwan.

Recently, Marwan accused Maiteeq and other members of the GNA Presidential Council of working for local and foreign powers seeking to topple the GNA chief.

Maiteeq asked the military prosecutor to investigate this issue and take legal action against it, in accordance with the penal code and military procedures, and provide him with the result within 48 hours.

However, this did not prevent the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Defense, Salah al-Din al-Namroush, from siding with Sarraj amid calls for protests against him.

On Saturday, Sarraj met with officials from auditing and accounting agencies, stressing the importance of cooperation and coordination amid current circumstances. He said that the agencies should establish the principle of integrity, transparency, and the rules of governance.

Hundreds of citizens marched in Zawiya and Tripoli on Friday amid growing popular anger over the performance of the GNA, and chanted against Sarraj protesting the deterioration of public services and the ongoing fuel and electricity crisis.

In Egypt, Speaker Aguila Saleh resumed a series of international and regional meetings within the framework of the efforts aimed at reaching a solution for the Libyan crisis.

Saleh is expected to meet with the US ambassador to Cairo, Jonathan Cohen, and discuss Libyan developments. He will also meet with Western delegations, in addition to Egyptian officials.

Meanwhile, the administration of US President Donald Trump indicated it aims to find a solution for the Libyan crisis, demilitarize Sirte and al-Jufra, and resume the services of the Libyan oil sector with full transparency.

The US embassy in Libya issued in a statement on Friday announcing that a US delegation, led by National Security Council Senior Director for the Middle East and North Africa Major General Miguel Correa and Ambassador Richard Norland, held virtual discussions with Libyan officials to advance concrete, urgent steps to find a demilitarized solution for Sirte and al-Jufra.

The embassy stated that Norland also held virtual discussions with the National Security Advisor Taj al-Din al-Rezagi and House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Yousef al-Agouri, Major General Correa.

The Ambassador underscored the need for a Libyan-led process to reclaim the country’s sovereignty and eject foreign forces.

“The United States will continue to actively engage a range of Libyan leaders who are ready to reject harmful foreign interference, de-escalate, and come together to realize a peaceful solution that benefits all Libyans,” according to the statement.

In addition, Norland spoke by telephone with PM Sarraj on recent efforts to finalize a Libyan solution that would consolidate a lasting ceasefire, promote transparency in economic institutions, and advance the political process under UN auspices.

According to the embassy, the Ambassador commended Sarraj’s leadership as responsible Libyan parties coming together to implement a demilitarized solution in central Libya and enable the National Oil Corporation to resume its vital work on behalf of all Libyans.

The Embassy “will remain actively involved with all Libyan parties, including the Government of National Accord and the House of Representatives, that reject foreign interference and seek to come together in peaceful dialogue."



Israeli Forces to Demolish More than 100 Homes in Israeli-Occupied West Bank, Local Governor Says

Palestinians carry their belongings as they cross a damaged street after being ordered to leave their homes during an Israeli operation in the Tulkarem camp for refugees in the northwest of the occupied West Bank on May 2, 2025. (AFP)
Palestinians carry their belongings as they cross a damaged street after being ordered to leave their homes during an Israeli operation in the Tulkarem camp for refugees in the northwest of the occupied West Bank on May 2, 2025. (AFP)
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Israeli Forces to Demolish More than 100 Homes in Israeli-Occupied West Bank, Local Governor Says

Palestinians carry their belongings as they cross a damaged street after being ordered to leave their homes during an Israeli operation in the Tulkarem camp for refugees in the northwest of the occupied West Bank on May 2, 2025. (AFP)
Palestinians carry their belongings as they cross a damaged street after being ordered to leave their homes during an Israeli operation in the Tulkarem camp for refugees in the northwest of the occupied West Bank on May 2, 2025. (AFP)

Israeli forces were preparing on Friday to carry out home demolitions across two northern urban refugee camps in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, according to the governor of one of the camps and Israeli military documents shared with The Associated Press by the United Nations.

Abdallah Kamil, the governor of Tulkarem, wrote on Facebook on Thursday that the military was preparing to demolish 116 homes across Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps, two main targets of Israel´s raid into the northern West Bank.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

Two demolition orders indicated that the buildings would be demolished in 24 hours, according to military documents shared by a UN official on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

The news sent residents of the now evacuated Nur Shams and Tulkarem camps scrambling back to collect belongings before the destruction of their homes.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said there were reports of Israeli forces arresting and firing warning shots at Palestinians as they did so.

The Israeli military has been carrying out an operation in the West Bank over the past several months that displaced, at its height, approximately 40,000 Palestinians. It had emptied and largely destroyed several urban refugee camps in the northern West Bank, like Tulkarem and Nur Shams, that housed the descendants of Palestinians who fled or were driven from their homes in previous wars. That’s the largest displacement in the West Bank since Israel captured the territory in the 1967 Mideast war.

Israel has said that troops will stay in some camps for a year.