New militia mobilization in Tripoli heralds military escalation
Armed militias controlling the western region are massing on the outskirts of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, prompting speculation of military escalation in the coming period.
Video footage showed the entry of huge military forces, backed by armored vehicles, into the capital Tripoli belonging to Oussama Jouili, the former director of the Military Intelligence Agency. An armed column of the so-called “National Mobile”, armed with heavy weapons, and rocket launchers also moved into several areas in western Tripoli.
Violent armed clashes took place over the last Thursday and Friday in the Ain Zara, Seba and Zawiyat al-Dahmani areas of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, between the deterrence militias and the Presidential Guard militias, which resulted in the death of civilians and the injury of dozens of others.
Tripoli’s militia battalions were also seen massing around Mitiga International Airport, east of the capital, after a meeting of their leaders to discuss developments in Tripoli ended.
Following their meeting in the capital yesterday, armed militia leaders from Tripoli, Misrata, al-Zawiya and Zintan agreed to withdraw all military concentrations and concentrations from the seam areas west of Tripoli, and not to be dragged into the fighting.
However, no militias have so far withdrawn their elements and vehicles from their positions in accordance with the agreement in principle between their commanders. A number of drones have also been observed deploying in the suburbs of Tripoli.
A military source who preferred anonymity confirmed that the leaders of the armed militias had a continuous argument during the meeting, while some of the leaders of the brigades withdrew.
He added that the parties agreed to hold a second meeting to develop a mechanism for the withdrawal of militias from all cities and regions in western Libya.
Armed militias that control the western region have occasionally clashed with each other in Tripoli.
