Libyan National Army moves towards combat zones to free Tripoli

CAIRO - 22 July 2019: Units of the Libyan National Armed Forces started moving on Monday morning towards combat zones to liberate the capital Tripoli from militias and extremist groups, a military source told Egypt Today on condition of anonymity.

The General Command of the Libyan National Army (LNA) launched on April 4 the “Dignity Flood” operation to free Tripoli.

General Commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA) Khalifa Haftar appointed Sunday Maj. Gen. Almabruk Alghazawi as Western Operations commander.

Alghazawi, former commander of Sabha Military Region, will replace Maj. Gen. Abdel Salam Al-Hassi.

He formerly held the position of Kufra mayor and head of Kufra Military Region, according to the Libyan media.

Egypt, U.S., France, UK, Italy and UAE issued a joint statement last week calling for immediate de-escalation in the war-torn country, and warning "terrorist" groups from exploiting the political vacuum. The statement read:

“We note our deep concerns about the ongoing attempts by terrorist groups to exploit the security vacuum in the country, call on all parties in the Tripoli conflict to dissociate themselves from all such terrorists and individuals designated by the UN Sanctions Committee and renew our commitment to see those responsible for further instability held accountable.

We fully support the leadership of UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General Ghassan Salamé as he works to stabilize the situation in Tripoli, to restore confidence in order to achieve a cessation of hostilities, expand his engagement throughout Libya, promote inclusive dialogue, and create the conditions for the resumption of the UN political process. We need to re-energize UN mediation, which aims to promote a transitional government representing all Libyans, prepare for credible parliamentary and presidential elections, enable a fair allocation of resources, and advance the reunification of the Central Bank of Libya and other Libyan sovereign institutions.

We also call on all UN member states to fully respect their obligations to contribute to Libya’s peace and stability, prevent destabilizing arms shipments, and safeguard Libya’s oil resources in accordance with Security Council resolutions 2259 (2015), 2278 (2016), 2362 (2017), and 2473 (2019). Finally, we remind all Libyan parties and institutions of their responsibility to protect civilians, safeguard civilian infrastructure, and facilitate access to humanitarian supplies.”