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Tripoli Clashes Expose Disputes between GNA Interior, Defense Ministries

A building damaged during violence seen in Tripoli, Libya, July 9, 2020. (AFP)
A building damaged during violence seen in Tripoli, Libya, July 9, 2020. (AFP)
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Tripoli Clashes Expose Disputes between GNA Interior, Defense Ministries

A building damaged during violence seen in Tripoli, Libya, July 9, 2020. (AFP)
A building damaged during violence seen in Tripoli, Libya, July 9, 2020. (AFP)

Tensions have mounted between the Defense and Interior Ministries in the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) in wake of clashes between the “Al-Daman” and “Lions of Tajoura” militias in Tripoli last week.

The Defense Ministry has threatened to resort to force against the two GNA-affiliated groups if they fail to heed its order to disarm.

In a statement on Saturday, it said the clashes undermine the authority of the state and threaten the lives of civilians.

“Fighting against rebellion does not grant anyone immunity and no one is above the law and constitution,” it added.

Friday’s clashes in an eastern suburb of the capital Tripoli had erupted over a dispute over payments owed to them by the GNA. Several fighters were killed and others wounded.

All armed forces answer to the commander of the Libyan army, continued the Defense Ministry in reference to GNA chief Fayez al-Sarraj.

It vowed to strike with an iron first anyone who violates the values of the civil state or threatens the safety of the people. “We will continue to forge ahead and apply the law in respect of the sacrifices of our people and their pursuit of the establishment of a democratic civilian state,” it stressed.

In response and in what was interpreted as a reflection of where its true loyalties lie, the Al-Daman militia announced that its commander, Ali Adridder, was turning himself over to the Interior Ministry.

Defense Minister Salah al-Namroush had demanded that the commanders of the militias turn themselves in to the military prosecutor.

Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha and Sarraj have so far not commented on the unrest, which is seen as a sign of the tensions between them. Sarraj’s recent appointment of Namroush to his post was seen as a move against Bashagha, who was eying the position of defense minister.

Namroush and Bashagha both boast the backing of Turkey and are seen as GNA stalwarts, but the recent armed clashes in Tripoli have exposed the underlying tensions between them.

Al-Daman and the Lions of Tajoura militias both control the region of Tajoura, which lies some 30 kilometers east of Tripoli.

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Israeli Forces Surround Lebanon’s Khiam Ahead of Storming it

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
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Israeli Forces Surround Lebanon’s Khiam Ahead of Storming it

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, northern Israel, 22 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)

Israeli forces have blocked supply routes to the southern Lebanese border city of al-Khiam ahead of storming it.

They have also surrounded the strategic city with Hezbollah fighters still inside, launching artillery and air attacks against them.

Hezbollah fighters have been holding out in Khiam for 25 days. The capture of the city would be significant and allow Israeli forces easier passage into southern Lebanon.

Field sources said Israeli forces have already entered some neighborhoods of Khiam from its eastern and southern outskirts, expanding their incursion into its northern and eastern sectors to fully capture the city.

They cast doubt on claims that the city has been fully captured, saying fighting is still taking place deeper inside its streets and alleys, citing the ongoing artillery fire and drone and air raids.

Israel has already cut off Hezbollah’s supply routes by seizing control of Bourj al-Mamlouk, Tall al-Nahas and olive groves in al-Qlaa in the Marayoun region. Its forces have also fanned out to the west towards the Litani River.

The troops have set up a “line of fire” spanning at least seven kms around Khiam to deter anti-tank attacks from Hezbollah and to launch artillery, drone and aerial attacks, said the sources.

The intense pressure has forced Hezbollah to resort to suicide drone attacks against Israeli forces.

Hezbollah’s al-Manar television said Israeli forces tried to carry out a new incursion towards Khiam’s northern neighborhoods.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that since Friday night, Israeli forces have been using “all forms of weapons in their attempt to capture Khiam, which Israel views as a strategic gateway through which it can make rapid ground advances.”

It reported an increase in air and artillery attacks in the past two days as the forces try to storm the city.

The troops are trying to advance on Khiam by first surrounding it from all sides under air cover, it continued.

They are also booby-trapping some homes and buildings and then destroying them, similar to what they have done in other southern towns, such as Adeisseh, Yaround, Aitaroun and Mais al-Jabal.

Khiam holds symbolic significance to the Lebanese people because it was the first city liberated following Israel’s implementation of United Nations Security Council 425 on May 25, 2000, that led to its withdrawal from the South in a day that Hezbollah has since declared Liberation Day.