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Truce Holds in Libya after Clashes Kill 55

Smoke rises amid clashes between armed factions, in Tripoli, Libya August 15, 2023. REUTERS/Ayman al-Sahili
Smoke rises amid clashes between armed factions, in Tripoli, Libya August 15, 2023. REUTERS/Ayman al-Sahili
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Truce Holds in Libya after Clashes Kill 55

Smoke rises amid clashes between armed factions, in Tripoli, Libya August 15, 2023. REUTERS/Ayman al-Sahili
Smoke rises amid clashes between armed factions, in Tripoli, Libya August 15, 2023. REUTERS/Ayman al-Sahili

Tripoli's worst armed clashes in a year have killed 55 people and wounded 146, Libyan media reported Wednesday, as a truce took hold.  

Fighting erupted on Monday night and raged through Tuesday between the influential 444 Brigade and the Al-Radaa, or Special Deterrence Force, two of the myriad of militias that have vied for power since the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime ruler Moammar al-Gaddafi.

Libya's al-Ahrar TV reported the new toll, citing Malek Mersit, spokesman for the Emergency Medical Centre. Medics had previously reported 27 dead and 106 wounded over the two days of fighting in the capital.

In August last year, 32 people were killed and 159 wounded in Tripoli during battles between divided Libya's two rival administrations that compete for power through shifting alliances with the militias on the ground.

Libya has seen more than a decade of stop-start conflict since the NATO-backed revolt that ousted Gaddafi.

A period of relative stability had led the United Nations to express hope for delayed elections to take place this year, and the latest fighting triggered international calls for calm.  

The clashes were triggered by the detention of the head of the 444 Brigade, Colonel Mahmud Hamza, by the rival Al-Radaa Force on Monday, an interior ministry official said.

Late Tuesday, the social council in the southeastern suburb of Soug el-Joumaa, a stronghold of the Al-Radaa force, announced that an agreement had been reached with head of the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah for Hamza to be handed over to a "neutral party".  

In a televised announcement, the council said a ceasefire would follow the transfer of the force's commander, and late on Tuesday the fighting abated.

Both armed groups are aligned with Dbeibah's government.  

A total of 234 families were evacuated from frontline areas in the capital's southern suburbs, along with dozens of doctors and paramedics trapped by the fighting while caring for the wounded, the Emergency Medical Center said.  

Overnight Tuesday-Wednesday, Dbeibah visited the southeastern suburb of Ain Zara, which saw some of the heaviest fighting on Tuesday, accompanied by Interior Minister Imed Trabelsi.  

Dbeibah "saw for himself the severity of the damage" as he toured the densely populated neighborhood's unlit streets, his government's press office said on its Facebook page.  

He gave instructions for a survey of the damage to be carried out so that residents could be compensated, it added.  

The interior ministry put in place a security plan to deploy officers to battleground districts to oversee the truce announced between the two sides.  

Airport reopens  

The Libyan capital's only civilian airport, Mitiga, which lies in an area under Al-Radaa's control, reopened to commercial flights on Wednesday, officials said. Flights had been diverted to Misrata about 180 kilometers (110 miles) to the east.  

In May, the two armed groups had clashed for hours in Tripoli, also after the arrest of a 444 Brigade member.

The UN mission in Libya said it was "following with concern" the security deterioration in Tripoli and its impact on civilians.  

Human Rights Watch Libya researcher Hanan Saleh expressed outrage that the capital's armed groups continued to settle their differences with heavy weaponry in residential areas without being held accountable.  

"Surely, Libyans at risk of such violent incidents deserve more? Nothing will change unless there are consequences," she said.  

Libya specialist Jalel Harchaoui said the latest fighting highlighted the failure of the international community to address the problem of the militias.  

"However events unfold, the past three years have been wasted by diplomats, politicians, the security planners and peace building specialists. Tripoli is a territory even more dominated by the militias than before," Harchaoui said.  

The 444 Brigade is affiliated with Libya's defense ministry and is reputed to be the North African country's most disciplined. It controls the southern suburbs of Tripoli and other areas.  

The Al-Radaa force, commanded by Abdel Rauf Karah, is a powerful ultra-conservative militia that acts as the capital's police force and controls central and eastern Tripoli, Mitiga air base, the civilian airport and a prison.

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Arab World

Egypt Offers Israel Fresh Assurances over Sinai Development Projects

The Minister of Transport inspects the railway line in Sinai (Egyptian Ministry of Transport)
The Minister of Transport inspects the railway line in Sinai (Egyptian Ministry of Transport)
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Egypt Offers Israel Fresh Assurances over Sinai Development Projects

The Minister of Transport inspects the railway line in Sinai (Egyptian Ministry of Transport)
The Minister of Transport inspects the railway line in Sinai (Egyptian Ministry of Transport)

Egypt issued fresh assurances to Israel over its development projects in the Sinai Peninsula, amid Israeli media reports expressing concern about the projects.

Experts told Asharq Al-Awsat that Egypt's reassurances were intended to underscore that developing Sinai was an irreversible national security priority, and that Cairo would not be swayed by Israeli claims or reservations, stressing that its development plans were an entirely domestic matter.

Egyptian Transport Minister Kamel al-Wazir said the 500-km Arish-Taba railway was primarily a development project, dismissing concerns over its purpose. He said the railway, along with plans to build villages and factories, would encourage Egyptians to settle in Sinai, describing this as essential to national security.

Israeli media reports have raised concerns about the railway's potential "strategic and military implications", arguing that it could facilitate the rapid movement of large quantities of equipment, goods and personnel across the peninsula.

Al-Wazir, speaking during a visit to North Sinai, said the railway was intended to support peaceful development and settlement, adding that there was no reason for concern.

The project forms part of a wider transport network linking the Suez Canal cities with Sinai, connecting the ports of Arish and Taba through railways, highways and logistics zones.

Military and strategic expert Major General Ayman Abdel Mohsen said the minister's remarks highlighted the role of development in national security, arguing that securing Sinai went beyond military measures and required encouraging people to settle there.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that Egypt would press ahead with infrastructure projects in Sinai regardless of Israeli objections, rejecting concerns raised in Israeli media over the railway and logistics corridors.

Major General Adel al-Omda, an adviser at the Military Academy for Postgraduate and Strategic Studies, said the remarks followed Israeli statements about Sinai and reflected Egypt's commitment to implementing its development and security plans. He said Egypt aimed to settle between three million and eight million people in the peninsula by 2030.

Al-Omda said President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had outlined a three-pronged plan to develop and secure Sinai, covering security, development and public awareness. He said security operations had been carried out, while new cities, including New Rafah, New Ismailia and New Port Said, had been built in and around the peninsula and connected through road and transport networks. Awareness campaigns, lectures, and seminars were also being held in Sinai.

Egypt has continued to pursue development projects across the peninsula, with the government reporting significant progress in recent years. In late 2023, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said the government had spent more than 600 billion Egyptian pounds ($11.6 billion) on Sinai development over the previous decade, funding projects in infrastructure, roads, housing, water and tunnels.

Arab World

Houthi Donation Boxes Target Merchants, Shoppers to Fund War Effort

Houthis launch a previous fundraising campaign to support the war effort (Houthi media).
Houthis launch a previous fundraising campaign to support the war effort (Houthi media).
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Houthi Donation Boxes Target Merchants, Shoppers to Fund War Effort

Houthis launch a previous fundraising campaign to support the war effort (Houthi media).
Houthis launch a previous fundraising campaign to support the war effort (Houthi media).

The Houthi group has turned markets and commercial establishments in Yemen's Houthi-held capital, Sanaa, into new sources of funding for its military activities, launching a coercive fundraising campaign targeting hundreds of companies, businesses, shops, restaurants and shopping centers, according to local and business sources.

The campaign forces business owners to install donation boxes on their premises and extracts money from merchants and residents under the pretext of supporting the group's "war effort" and the families of its fighters killed, wounded or missing on the front lines, the sources said.

The campaign, launched at the beginning of the week, reflects efforts by the Houthis to expand their sources of compulsory funding and offset military and personnel losses by shifting the financial burden of the continuing war onto businesses and residents, at a time when living conditions are deteriorating and commercial establishments are increasingly struggling to remain operational.

Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Houthi members and supervisors had targeted commercial establishments in several districts of Sanaa, forcing owners through threats and intimidation to accept donation boxes while conducting field visits to pressure merchants and customers into contributing money.

The sources said the group had ordered its members to visit shops and businesses daily to collect money deposited in the boxes, then transfer the proceeds to bank accounts belonging to senior Houthi leaders.

They added that the campaign went beyond collecting donations, involving mandatory financial contributions and direct pressure on business owners.

More than 320 donation boxes in two days

In a sign of the campaign's expanding reach, the Houthis distributed more than 320 donation boxes to private-sector establishments across several districts during the first two days, with plans to distribute about 4,000 additional boxes in the coming days to cover the rest of the capital and its outskirts.

The move coincided with complaints from merchants who said Houthi supervisors and armed members had entered their shops carrying donation boxes and forced them at gunpoint to install them without seeking their permission or consent.

Merchants said the group had also ordered business owners and employees to encourage customers to donate, warning that shops whose boxes were opened and found empty would face severe measures.

The threats appeared aimed at turning merchants into collectors of compulsory contributions from ordinary residents.

Ramzi, a pseudonym for a shop owner in a Sanaa neighborhood, said Houthi supervisors had forced him to place a donation box inside his store under the pretext of supporting fighters on the front lines and the families of Houthi members killed or wounded in combat.

He said Houthi members regularly visited his shop to collect the money, leaving him no opportunity to object or refuse to keep the box on his premises.

Ramzi added that repeated threats and constant monitoring by Houthi supervisors sometimes forced him to put his own money into the box to avoid being held responsible when customers failed to donate or facing punitive measures.

An empty donation box, he said, had become sufficient grounds for questioning and intimidation.

On the outskirts of Sanaa, a restaurant owner who requested anonymity complained that the campaign had become another means of extorting money from business owners.

He said Houthi supervisors not only imposed donation boxes but also pressured restaurant owners and employees to make additional payments despite declining sales and rising operating costs.

Saeed, a Sanaa resident, said he believed the Houthis were seeking to turn the city's remaining markets and shops into permanent collection points for extracting money from the public.

He said residents were increasingly overwhelmed by successive donation drives and compulsory levies at a time when many were struggling to provide basic necessities for their families.

Arab World

Gaza Welcomes US Election Results With Reservations

Palestinians receive food distributed by the World Food Program in Gaza on Wednesday (AP)
Palestinians receive food distributed by the World Food Program in Gaza on Wednesday (AP)
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Gaza Welcomes US Election Results With Reservations

Palestinians receive food distributed by the World Food Program in Gaza on Wednesday (AP)
Palestinians receive food distributed by the World Food Program in Gaza on Wednesday (AP)

Political factions in Gaza watched the US midterm elections as closely as Israel's, but were divided over what the results could mean for Palestinians.

Some welcomed the Republicans' loss of their majorities in both the House of Representatives and Senate under President Donald Trump as a victory for the Palestinian cause. Others were more cautious, arguing that the results would do little to ease the crises gripping the war-battered enclave.

Neither Fatah nor Hamas, nor any other Palestinian faction in Gaza, publicly commented on the US congressional midterm results. But their affiliated media outlets closely tracked the vote, highlighting the success of candidates of Arab and Muslim descent.

Among them was Dr. Adam Hamawy, who won a House seat representing New Jersey after having worked in Gaza during the Israeli war that followed the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.

Munther al-Hayek, Fatah's spokesman in Gaza, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the war had featured prominently in the midterm campaigns and that the current US administration's stance on the Palestinian territories had cost Republicans votes.

"The current US administration's negative positions toward the situation in the Palestinian territories influenced voters, contributing to the Republicans' clear defeat," Hayek said.

"Everyone who supported Palestine and stood by its people, particularly Gaza, whose plight featured in most campaign speeches by its supporters, achieved clearly positive results," he added.

Hamas leaders, including spokesman Hazem Qassem, took a more guarded approach, declining to comment officially.

In October 2025, Hamas accepted a Trump-proposed plan to end the Gaza war. Israel, however, has yet to withdraw from the positions it occupies in the enclave as required under the agreement and continues to carry out targeted killings of Hamas members.

A senior Hamas official based in Turkey, speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on condition of anonymity, played down expectations of any meaningful shift.

"The election results will change nothing fundamental for Palestinians, particularly Gaza residents, but could offer some hope of curbing the overwhelming US support for Israel's attacks on the enclave," the official said.

He also cautioned against overlooking the Democrats' role in the war.

"We must remember that the Democratic Party, represented by former President Joe Biden's administration, was the first to support the ongoing war and was unable to impose any solutions on Benjamin Netanyahu's government, unlike Trump, who later managed to do so despite his unwavering support for Israel," he said.

For many ordinary Palestinians in Gaza, the distinction between Republicans and Democrats is narrow, according to Gaza-based writer and political analyst Mustafa Ibrahim.

"Most Palestinians outside the political factions, particularly in Gaza, believe both parties support Israeli policies, with only minor differences on certain issues," Ibrahim told Asharq Al-Awsat.

He said it was too early to gauge the elections' impact on Gaza, noting that newly elected lawmakers would not be sworn in or take office for another two months.

In the meantime, Ibrahim said, Trump could press Israel to accelerate measures sought by the Board of Peace in Gaza, including the entry of the national committee tasked with administering the enclave.

But he saw little prospect of major progress, citing Israel's political deadlock following its own elections.

Ibrahim also doubted that Democratic lawmakers could exert significant influence, drive rapid change, or deliver major breakthroughs in US policy toward the Palestinian cause.