TRIPOLI: Forces loyal to Libya’s UN-recognized government said they fought off a “major” attack on the capital Tripoli led by strongman Khalifa Haftar that left casualties on both sides.
On Monday “our forces repelled a major attack by Haftar forces on several fronts in southern Tripoli which they had planned and mobilized for days,” spokesman Mustafa Al-Mejii told AFP.
He said six fighters loyal to the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) were killed and several others wounded.
The fighting left 25 dead or wounded on the other side, he said.
GNA forces carried out seven air strikes on positions held by Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army in Tripoli suburbs, including Ain Zara some 12 kilometers from downtown Tripoli, the spokesman said.
“Within a few hours our forces succeeded in forcing them to retreat, and seized new positions that had been under the control of Haftar’s forces,” he said.
During the fighting GNA forces also destroyed military hardware, including three tanks, seized others and captured 11 fighters, the spokesman added.
The LNA meanwhile said in a statement on its Facebook page that it had made progress in the combat zone of southern Tripoli, “inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy,” without giving details.
On the weekend the GNA expressed fear that Haftar forces were prepping a new “military escalation” in their months-long push to take Tripoli where the UN-recognized government is based.
Deadly fighting has rocked the capital’s outskirts since the LNA launched an offensive to seize the capital.
The United Nations mission in Libya said in a tweet Saturday that it was working “with all local and foreign actors to avoid military escalation and to ensure protection of civilians.”
Haftar’s campaign to capture Tripoli from pro-GNA forces has left nearly 1,093 people dead, including 106 civilians, and more than 5,750 wounded, according to the UN’s World Health Organization.
The fighting has also forced more than 100,000 people to flee their homes.
Libya government forces say repel Haftar attack on Tripoli
Libya government forces say repel Haftar attack on Tripoli
- GNA forces destroyed some of LNA’s military equipment, including tanks
- Six GNA fighters died in the fighting
Family of Palestinian-American shot dead by Israeli settler demand accountability
- Relatives say Abu Siyam was among about 30 residents from the village of Mukhmas who confronted armed settlers attempting to steal goats from the community
LONDON: The family of a 19-year-old Palestinian-American man reportedly shot dead by an Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank have demanded accountability, amid mounting scrutiny over a surge in settler violence and a lack of prosecutions.
Nasrallah Abu Siyam, a US citizen born in Philadelphia, was killed near the city of Ramallah on Wednesday, becoming at least the sixth American citizen to die in incidents involving Israeli settlers or soldiers in the territory in the past two years.
Relatives say Abu Siyam was among about 30 residents from the village of Mukhmas who confronted armed settlers attempting to steal goats from the community. Witnesses said that stones were thrown by both sides before settlers opened fire, wounding at least three villagers.
Abu Siyam was struck and later died of his injuries.
Abdulhamid Siyam, the victim’s cousin, said the killing reflected a wider pattern of impunity.
“A young man of 19 shot and killed in cold blood, and no responsibility,” he told the BBC. “Impunity completely.”
The US State Department said that it was aware of the death of a US citizen and was “carefully monitoring the situation,” while the Trump administration said that it stood ready to provide consular assistance.
The Israeli embassy in Washington said the incident was under review and that an operational inquiry “must be completed as soon as possible.”
A spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces said troops were deployed to the scene and used “riot dispersal means to restore order,” adding that no IDF gunfire was reported.
The military confirmed that the incident remained under review and said that a continued presence would be maintained in the area to prevent further unrest.
Palestinians and human rights organizations say such reviews rarely lead to criminal accountability, arguing that Israeli authorities routinely fail to prosecute settlers accused of violence.
A US embassy spokesperson later said that Washington “condemns this violence,” as international concern continues to grow over conditions in the occupied West Bank.
Palestinians and human rights groups say Israeli authorities routinely fail to investigate or prosecute settlers accused of violence against civilians.
Those concerns were echoed this week by the UN, which warned that Israel’s actions in the occupied West Bank may amount to ethnic cleansing.
A UN human rights office report on Thursday said that Israeli settlement expansion, settler attacks and military operations have increasingly displaced Palestinian communities, with dozens of villages reportedly emptied since the start of the Gaza war.
The report also criticized Israeli military tactics in the northern West Bank, saying that they resembled warfare and led to mass displacement, while noting abuses by Palestinian security forces, including the use of unnecessary lethal force and the intimidation of critics.
Neither Israel’s foreign ministry nor the Palestinian Authority has commented on the findings.
