TRIPOLI: Two weeks of clashes between rival armed groups in the city of Sabratha sparked by a lethal shooting at a checkpoint have left 26 dead and 170 wounded, according to the Health Ministry.
The ministry said on its Facebook page that the toll, the first official casualty count for the fighting, was compiled by a follow-up commission on the violence in Sabratha, a hub for illegal migration on Libya’s Mediterranean coast.
The clashes since September 17 have pitted a security force loyal to Libya’s UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) against the militia of the head of a former people smuggling network, Ahmad Dabbashi.
They started with an exchange of gunfire at a checkpoint manned by the security force in which a militiaman was killed.
Libya has plunged into insecurity and political chaos since the ouster and killing of its long-time leader Muammar Qaddafi in the 2011 revolution.
People smugglers have fed on the turmoil, turning violence-wracked Libya into a key gateway for illegal migration to Europe.
Sabratha, 40 km west of Tripoli where the GNA is based, is Libya’s main departure point for migrants trying to reach Europe. Daesh briefly occupied the center of the city in February 2016.
Dabbashi is reportedly among several people smugglers who have decided to halt their lucrative business and cooperate with authorities.
26 dead in two weeks of clashes in Libya migrant hub
26 dead in two weeks of clashes in Libya migrant hub
Jordanian forces destroy arms and drug trafficking workshops
- Criminal gangs used the sites along the northern border as bases for launching unlawful operations toward the heart of Jordanian territory
LONDON: The Jordanian military conducted a crackdown on several drug gangs involved in smuggling weapons and narcotics along the northern border with Syria.
The military announced on Wednesday that it targeted several factories and workshops used by gangs involved in arms and drug trafficking, which they used as bases for launching unlawful operations toward the heart of Jordanian territory.
Armed Forces destroyed the sites after receiving intelligence in coordination with regional partners, according to the Petra news agency.
Syrian state media broadcaster Al-Ikhbariya reported on Telegram that the Jordanian army targeted “drug smuggling networks and storage farms in the southern and eastern countryside” of Sweida, in southern Syria.
The Jordanian Army is prepared to confront anyone threatening the security of the homeland and its citizens, addressing any threats with force as needed, The Petra added.
