MP decries Brak al-Shat attack, asserts Libyan army capacity

CAIRO – 22 May 2017: Head of the parliament’s Arab Affairs Committee Saad El-Gammal affirmed his confidence in the capacity of the Libyan army to locate and stop the perpetrators of the Brak al-Shat airbase attack that killed over 130 people, according to a Sunday statement.

The Egyptian MP sent his condolences to the Libyan people over the terrorist attack, condemning the brutality of the massacre. It is a clear indication of the inhumane nature of the perpetrators who carry out foreign agendas against Libya’s stability, Gammal stated.

Gammal emphasized that the timing of the attack was not a coincidence, as it came just a few days after the leader of Libya's UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), Fayez al-Sarraj met with the leader of the Libyan National Army, Khalifa Haftar and reached a bilateral agreement, the statement read.

The attack is an attempt from the terrorist militias to dismantle the agreement, until Libya and the Libyan people eventually are thrown back into chaos, destruction and armed conflicts that have been on-going for years, Gammal stated.

Gammal concluded by affirming his confidence in the capacity of the Libyan army, led by Haftar, to locate the terrorists and stop whoever is working against the stability of Libya.

Reports suggest a total of 140 people were killed in the attack at a southern air base in Libya on Thursday by a brigade, nominally aligned with the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli. Libya’s UN-backed government’s defense minister has been suspended, pending an investigation into the incident.

Sarrag and Haftar met in Abu Dhabi for a closed meeting early in May, the second official encounter between the two rivals since Sarraj was named prime minister following a UN-backed deal at the end of 2015.