In Tripoli, spokesman of the General Command of the Libyan National Army (LNA), General Brigadier Ahmed al-Mesmari, said the army detected Al-Qaeda figures fighting alongside Janzour militias. The commander of the Western District operations room, Major General Abdul Salam al-Hassi, announce the commence of phase two of the military operation of the Libyan National Army (LNA) in Tripoli.
Ahmed al-Mesmari said LNA forces found the wreckage of a warplane of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) which LNA’s ground forces shot down on Tuesday. LNA’s ground forces shot down the Mirage F-1 plane after it targeted Al-Watiya airbase near the city of Al Ajaylat.
In Tarhuna, warplanes of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) conducted airstrikes in the city of Tarhouna on Saturday.
On the international level, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that his country will “mobilize all [its] facilities” to support “our Libyan brothers”. The main objective to be achieved in Libya is to eliminate all terrorist groups in order to enable the Libyans to unite and build a democratic state, said US Defense Department Spokeswoman for North Africa
AL-WATIYA
- spokesman of the General Command of the Libyan National Army (LNA), General Brigadier Ahmed al-Mesmari, said the pilot of plane shot down by LNA in Al-Watiya airbase is an Ecuadorian [Address Libya, 25.04.2019];
- spokesman of the General Command of the Libyan National Army (LNA), General Brigadier Ahmed al-Mesmari, said LNA forces found the wreckage of a warplane of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) which LNA’s ground forces shot down on Tuesday. LNA’s ground forces shot down the Mirage F-1 plane after it targeted Al-Watiya airbase near the city of Al Ajaylat [Address Libya, 24.04.2019].
JUFRA
- the Libyan National Army (LNA) brings down a warplane of militias of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) near Jufra airbase [Address Libya, 23.04.2019].
TARHOUNA
- warplanes of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) conducted airstrikes in the city of Tarhouna on Saturday causing damages to residential homes and properties [Address Libya, 28.04.2019].
TRIPOLI
- the Libyan Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha said the Presidential Council’s government has evidence that foreign aircraft have been involved in the attack on Tripoli, saying there is an investigation underway in coordination with the UN. In a press conference in Tunisia with his Tunisian counterpart, Bashagha said the accuracy of the airstrikes on Tripoli points to warplanes owned by only two Arab countries. Bashagha also criticized France for its support for Khalifa Haftar, urging it to stand with the democratic norms it believes in [Libya Observer, 27.04.2019];
- spokesman of the General Command of the Libyan National Army (LNA), General Brigadier Ahmed al-Mesmari, said the army detected Al-Qaeda figures fighting alongside Janzour militias in Tripoli [Address Libya, 27.04.2019];
- Khalid Bakir, element of Benghazi Defence Brigades terrorist group, killed in Tripoli fighting the Libyan National Army (LNA) forces [Address Libya, 26.04.2019];
- spokesman of the General Command of the Libyan National Army (LNA), General Brigadier Ahmed al-Mesmari, said the area from Tarhouna to Qasr Ben Ghashir is under full control of LNA [Address Libya, 25.04.2019];
- the World Health Organization said 264 people have been killed and 1,266 wounded in three weeks of fighting in Tripoli between the Libyan National Army (LNA) and militias affiliated with the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) [Address Libya, 25.04.2019];
- the commander of the Western District operations room, Major General Abdul Salam al-Hassi, announce the commence of phase two of the military operation of the Libyan National Army (LNA) in Tripoli. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Al-Hassi said this phase includes a military plan which targets forces of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) located in the areas of Baten Al-Jabal, Al-Hira and Al-Aziziyah [Address Libya, 25.04.2019];
- the Libyan Interior Ministry of the Presidential Council’s government said Thursday its central investigation apparatus had arrested an ISIS senior leader by the name Yaser Saleh Al-Majiri, A.K.A. Abu Dujana. The ministry said in a statement that the arrest came after the minister’s emergency state announcement which allowed the formation of new security policies in Misrata city, and then investigations into ISIS sleeper cells in west Libya, knowing that the terrorists became active since the launching of Khalifa Haftar’s offensive on Tripoli [Libya Observer, 25.04.2019];
- the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar is planning to take Tripoli in two or three weeks, believes that the operation will not take long, Khairi Tamimi, the head of the LNA General Commander’s Office, told Sputnik on Wednesday [Marsad, 24.04.2019];
- a large force of Jabal al Gharbi’s military district, led by Major General Idris Madi, is heading towards Tripoli to take part in the military operation of the Libyan National Army (LNA), LNA’s Military Information Division announced on Tuesday [Address Libya, 23.04.2019];
- Deputy Defense Minister of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), Wahida Abdullah Najm, was kidnapped by an Islamist militia in Tripoli yesterday [Address Libya, 23.04.2019];
- Libyan National Army (LNA) head Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar announced a start of the second stage of the offensive on Tripoli, local media reported, citing LNA spokesman Ahmed al-Mesmari. The Al-Wasat news outlet reported that, according to Al-Mesmari, the second stage of the operation was launched with the use of infantry forces after the completion of the first phase [Marsad, 23.04.2019].
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
- the US Republican Senator, Lindsey Graham, who is also a member of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, said Sunday that President Donald Trump’s phone call to “warlord Khalifa Haftar” had an “unnerving” effect in the region. Speaking to CBS, Sen. Graham said he doesn’t know what the phone call to Haftar was about, but it had an unnerving effect on the ground. Graham explained that the phone call between Haftar and Trump “seems to be perceived in the region as the US is picking sides.” [Libya Observe3r, 28.04.2019];
- Italy’s Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, denied that an Italian field hospital based in Misrata is being used to support militias of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA). “I want to reiterate it clearly and firmly the staff we have at Misrata does not offer any support for military, paramilitary or other activities,” Conte told reporters in Beijing, on the sidelines of the second forum on the Silk Road on Saturday [Address Libya, 28.04.2019];
- Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that his country will “mobilize all [its] facilities” to support “our Libyan brothers”. Speaking at the opening of his party’s 28th Consultation and Assessment Meeting, Erdoğan said “we will mobilize all our facilities” to “stand next to our Libyan brothers and sisters as we have done until today” [Address Libya, 27.04.2019];
- the main objective to be achieved in Libya is to eliminate all terrorist groups in order to enable the Libyans to unite and build a democratic state, said US Defense Department Spokeswoman for North Africa. The Spokeswoman did not deny the existence of previous contacts between the US administration and the General Commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA), Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar [Address Libya, 27.04.2019];
- the Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui called on his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian to push the five permanent countries at the UN Security Council to have a unified stance toward the ongoing fighting in Libya. Speaking on the phone with Jhinaoui on Wednesday, Le Drian said his country insists on realizing the agreement reached in Abu Dhabi between Khalifa Haftar and the Head of the Presidential Council Fayez al-Sirraj in last February [Libya Observer, 25.04.2019];
- the Italian government disclosed Wednesday that it had sent more than 16 tons of medical supplies to Libya, as part of Italy’s support amid the ongoing clashes in southern Tripoli. The shipment comes within the efforts to address the state of health emergency in Libya, which was exacerbated by the continues clashes, in response to the needs of WHO, according to the Development Cooperation Authority of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs [Libya Observer, 25.04.2019];
- Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov said that a political settlement is the only solution to the Libyan crisis. “We need to put an end to the ongoing internal conflict in Libya,” Lavrov said in his speech before Moscow conference on international security on Wednesday [Libya Observer, 25.04.2019];
- informed Egyptian sources revealed Egypt’s growing role in supporting the military operation launched by the Libyan General Khalifa Haftar in the capital Tripoli since 4 April. The sources in Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies (ACPSS) (governmental) said that Mohammed Najib military base, west of the country, includes an operating room, in coordination with Haftar forces, to follow the progress of battles [Marsad, 25.04.2019];
- the UN envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, has expressed concern about the ongoing fighting in Tripoli and the division within the international community about Libya, saying “if Libyans are divided, then it would be better if the international community were more united.” [Libya Observer, 24.04.2019];
- Italy’s government has written to the European Union asking it to ready a plan of action to deal with a possible flight of refugees from the armed conflict in Libya, Italian Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi said on Wednesday [Address Libya, 24.04.2019];
- Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi called on Tuesday for the international community to “shoulder its responsibilities” to ensure the start of political negotiations between parties in Libya. Speaking at the African Union Summit, he asked countries of the bloc to offer their support to Libya to help eliminate terrorism in the country [Address Libya, 24.04.2019].
