A state of cautious tension has gripped the western Libyan city of Misrata following an attempted assassination of Colonel Mustafa al-Har, who is tasked with running the Anti-Terrorism and Subversive Activities Office in the central region, amid accusations pointing to figures linked to the Benghazi, Ajdabiya and Derna Shura Councils of Revolutionaries.
Local media reported that unidentified gunmen opened heavy fire on al-Har while he was in his car in Misrata on Wednesday evening. There has been no official comment from the interim Government of National Unity, headed by Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah.
At the same time, a statement circulated, attributed to residents of Misrata, declaring their disavowal of certain figures whom they said were “calling for discord and fueling divisions.”
Those named included Abdul Salam al-Zoubi, Deputy Minister of Defense in al-Dbeibah’s government, and Ali al-Sallabi, Secretary-General of the International Union of Muslim Scholars.
In the statement — which bore no official signature — residents of Misrata from social, political and military circles announced their disavowal of 40 individuals described as “groups seeking discord and corruption.”
They said those named represented only themselves and that their actions did not reflect the city’s authenticity or its “honorable history in building the state.”
Libya’s Attorney General Al-Siddiq al-Sour had no immediate public comment.
The statement warned that “anyone who dares to undermine the security of the city or civil peace in the country will face a firm and harsh response.”
Residents also called for the identities of those who attacked Colonel al-Har to be disclosed and for them to be brought to justice, in order to avert strife and preserve social peace.
Amid the tensions, Libyan political analyst Mohammed Ghashout said the situation in Misrata was “sliding into a very dangerous trajectory.”
He urged the city and its residents to abandon what he described as “extremist councils that fled Benghazi, Ajdabiya and Derna,” warning that “allowing the city to be hijacked by those who provide them with safety and refuge will turn them into time bombs that will explode in Misrata before any other city in the western region.”
Ghashout added that “the attack on the General Intelligence headquarters in recent days — amid the silence of the city’s residents and security services — during which extremist elements revealed their faces and intentions, did not stop there.
Brigadier Mustafa al-Har of the General Intelligence was subjected to kidnapping, beating and humiliation, and he is now in critical condition.”
The rising tension and anger in Misrata come after an armed group affiliated with the Defense Ministry of the interim unity government took control of the headquarters of the General Intelligence Service, which is affiliated with the Presidential Council, in developments that triggered a wave of anger and protests inside the city, home to al-Dbeibah and a number of senior security officials.
