Libya Security Highlights (May 11 – 17, 2020)

In Al-Watiya, the Joint Operations Room of the Government of National Accord has reported that the Libyan Air Force targeted Al-Watiya base with direct strikes, during which Two Russian air defense systems were totally destroyed.

In Mitiga, the warehouses of the Central Committee for Municipal Council Elections at Mitiga Airport were destroyed in a new rocket attack by Haftar’s militias on May 15.

In Tripoli, the Libyan National Army (LNA) repelled attacks by armed groups affiliated with the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) on May 15 in a number of places in the capital.

On the international level, the US ambassador to Libya Richard Norland said the presence of about 2000 Russian mercenaries from Wagner Group and the modern weapons they have are disrespectful to Libya’s sovereignty and regional security.

AL-WATIYA

• the Joint Operations Room of the Government of National Accord has reported that the Libyan Air Force targeted Al-Watiya base with direct strikes, during which Two Russian air defense systems were totally destroyed. The two Pantsir anti-aircraft systems were supplied by the United Arab Emirates to Haftar’s groups to protect them from drone strikes. The second Russian-made Pantsir anti-aircraft system, supplied by the UAE to Haftar’s armed groups in Al-Watiya airbase was destroyed, the Joint Operations Room of GNA confirms, just a few hours after destroying the first one in a big blow to Haftar’s groups;
• Grad Multiple Rocket Launcher and a number of armored vehicles belonging to the GNA armed groups have been seized by the LNA’s Uqba bin Nafeh Base Protection Battalion. The seized launcher and vehicles were left by a GNA militia in a failed attempt to attack the strategic base southwest of Tripoli on May 16;

• the air defenses of the Libyan National Army (LNA) shot down an Anka-S Turkish drone near Uqba bin Nafeh airbase west of Tripoli, announced LNA Military Information Division on May 16. The confirmation by the Division came after social media platforms circulated a video of a Turkish drone burning after being targeted in the vicinity of the airbase on May 16 morning;

• the spokesman for the Libyan Army under the command of GNA, Mohammed Gununu, said on May 13 that Libyan Air Force warplanes had carried out over nine airstrikes on Al-Watiya airbase, targeting Khalifa Haftar’s forces, military vehicles and positions. Gununu also said that the Libyan Air Force had been carrying out reconnaissance missions over the central and western regions to depict movements of Haftar’s forces and their supply lines;
• the spokesman for the Libyan Army under the command of the Government of National Accord (GNA) Mohammed Gununu said on May 12, Libyan Air Force had carried out three airstrikes on Al-Watiya airbase, targeting Khalifa Haftar’s forces, military vehicles and positions;
• on May 11, Libya’s Army spokesman, Mohammed Gununu, said the Air Force warplanes had carried out six airstrikes on Al-Watiya airbase, destroying three armored vehicles, two military vehicles and several positions for Khalifa Haftar’s forces.

ALJMAIL – ASH SHWAYRIF

• on May 12, a Turkish drone supporting GNA forces has targeted a fuel truck in Ash Shwayrif town, southwest of Libya, which was on the Mezda-Brak road. On the other hand, LNA warplanes have carried several airstrikes on targets near the city of Aljmail, west of Tripoli, which is controlled by GNA militias. “The LNA Air Force has targeted Grad vehicles and Howitzer pieces in Aljmail and was able to destroy them”.

AL-QADDAHIYAH

• on May 12, four members of the “National Accord” government militias have been killed as a result of airstrikes by the Libyan National Army in the Al-Qaddahiyah town, east of Misrata. “The LNA airstrikes have targeted GNA militias backed by Syrian Turkish and mercenaries on the road of Al-Qaddahiyah area,” Aguila al-Saber, LNA media officer of Ajdabiya Operations Force said.

BOUGRAIN

• the Libyan National Army (LNA) carried out a series of airstrikes against several targets in Bougrain area in southern Misrata on May 11. According to a statement by LNA media official Almundhir al-Khartuosh, the battlefields are witnessing some “skirmishes and artillery clashes that has not stopped”.

TRIPOLI

• the number of victims in the escalated bombing by Haftar militias on the University dormitory in Al-Furnaj district in Tripoli, recently used to house displaced people, has risen to seven fatalities and 17 injuries, all of whom were received by the University Hospital, Tripoli;
• two civilians have been killed and three others injured in a fresh rocket attack by Khalifa Haftar’s forces on a residential area in Al-Furnaj in Tripoli on May 16. The media adviser of Libyan Health Ministry Amin al-Hashemi told reporters that the rockets fell on the student dormitory in Al-Furnaj, which is now used by displaced families as a residence area;

• the warehouses of the Central Committee for Municipal Council Elections at Mitiga Airport were destroyed in a new rocket attack by Haftar’s militias on May 15. The attack resulted in the destruction of electoral materials, including ballot boxes, voting booths, and other items used in previous elections, according to a statement issued by the Central Committee for Municipal Council Elections;
• the Libyan National Army (LNA) repelled attacks by armed groups affiliated with the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) on May 15 in a number of places in the capital. According to LNA media official Almundhir al-Khartuosh, GNA militant attempted to advance in the areas of Abu Salim and Ain Zara in the early morning hours on May 15;
• the Dignity Operations Room of the Libyan National Army (LNA) said on May 14 that its forces targeted an ammunition warehouse in Ain Zara area in southern Tripoli. Earlier on May 14, social media activists reported a large fire in Al-Asfah area near Tripoli’s airport;

• Khalifa Haftar’s forces have targeted Tripoli Central Hospital on Zawia Street in downtown the capital, leaving the residents, staffers and patients in total panic in the early hours of May 14. According to the Health Ministry under the command of the Government of National Accord, the indiscriminate shelling by Haftar’s forces wounded at least 14 civilians and damaged houses and properties on Tariq Soor and other targeted neighborhoods in Tripoli;

• on May 14, Libya’s internationally recognized government’s Ministry of Health strongly condemn today’s dawn bombing and targeting of medical facilities, which it reminded were contrary to all international conventions and laws. It said this was part of a series of attacks on medical facilities;

• on May 13, the Libyan National Army (LNA) forces repelled an attack by pro-Turkish militias, and stopped their advance in the Ramla axis, south of Tripoli, said member of LNA Military Information Division, Almundhir al-Khartuosh. The Ramla area witnessed renewed clashes with militias that tried to advance towards the vicinity of Tripoli International Airport, but the LNA forces thwarted their attack, where they suffered heavy losses in lives and equipment, Al-Khartoush added in a statement to Al-Ain News;

• Libyan government forces destroyed an operations room belonging to a Russian mercenary group south of Tripoli on May 12 night, a military spokesman said. Abdul Malek al-Madani, a spokesman for the UN-recognized Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) told The New Arab’s Arabic-language service that heavy artillery strikes had destroyed the Wagner Security Group’s operations room in the Khalat al-Furjan area south of Tripoli;
• the Media Advisor of the Ministry of Health, Amin al-Hashemi, announced the death of one person and the wounding of nine other citizens as a direct result of indiscriminate shelling of the Al-Hadba area in Tripoli;

• on May 11, on Al-Khalla frontline in south Tripoli, GNA forces had targeted Haftar’s forces with heavy artillery shelling, destroying two Grad launching vehicles and a vehicle laden with ammunition. Likewise, tens of landmines had been removed after being planted by Haftar’s forces in areas under their control before escaping from Mashroa al-Hadba frontline.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

• the Maltese Ambassador to Libya, Charles Saliba has affirmed his country’s readiness to host any meetings between the parties to the conflict in Libya to reach a permanent ceasefire;
• the US ambassador to Libya Richard Norland said the presence of about 2000 Russian mercenaries from Wagner Group and the modern weapons they have are disrespectful to Libya’s sovereignty and regional security;
• NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had a phone call with the Prime Minister of Libya, Fayez al-Serraj, on May 16 at the Prime Minister’s request, to discuss developments in Libya. NATO Secretary General expressed his deep concern over the recent escalation of violence in Libya and stressed that there was no military solution to the situation in the country;
• the Turkish Foreign Minister Mavlut Cavusoglu has stressed the need for stopping Khalifa Haftar and his supporters from attacking civilians in the coming period of time, urging NATO to play an important role in this phase;
• NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, has confirmed that the bloc is ready to support Libya’s Government of National Accord led by Fayez al-Serraj. In an interview with Italian daily La Repubblica on May 14, Stoltenberg noted that NATO has 30 partners, which on many issues have different positions, but added that Turkey remains an important ally;
• on May 13, the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said that certain parties have resorted to attempting to hit the Turkish economy, having been rendered powerless before its progress in the Libyan and Syrian fronts;
• on May 13, Tunisian Prime Minister, Elyes Fakhfakh reaffirmed Tunisia’s attachment to international legitimacy and a Libyan-Libyan solution, vowing that his government will take a more active role in pushing towards a Libyan dialogue to achieve stability in “the brotherly and neighbouring country”;
• Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece and the United Arab Emirates condemned Turkey’s military interference in Libya. The denunciation came in a Foreign Ministerial joint declaration on May 11 which urged Turkey “to fully respect the U.N. arms embargo and stop the influx of foreign fighters from Syria to Libya’’;
• in his report on Libya to the Security Council on May 11, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire in Libya’s fighting, expressed disappointment in the non-implementation of a ceasefire and concern on the continued arms embargo violations;
• the State of Qatar has issued on May 11 a statement condemning attacks by Khalifa Haftar’s forces on Tripoli’s Mitiga Airport, civilian neighborhoods and diplomatic headquarters, denouncing the deliberate targeting of civilians in the Libyan capital.