Anti 1 Nov 16

Nov 1, 2016 | Libyan actors

On 25 October, the House of Representatives (HoR) held a meeting attended by a full quorum of 82 members for the first time since in early September. All 3 members of the HoR presidency attended the session, indicating that rifts between hardline anti-GNA HoR President Agilah Saleh, and pro-GNA deputies Emhmed Shuaib and Saleh Hamma are being mended. Nevertheless, the meeting did not discuss the GNA or the constitutional amendment to the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA).

On 26 October, a delegation of elders from Misrata travelled to Tubruq to meet Agilah Saleh following a long process of discrete rapprochement negotiations between the LNA in eastern Libya and representatives of Misrata. Emhemmed Abdallah Abdelali, chairman of the Misrata Notables and Elders Council, led the talks with Saleh in Tubruq. Both Saleh and Abdelali are now taking to the media stage to praise the talks, easing much of the tension and pressure between the East and Misrata. Saleh also hosted a meeting with Zintan elders and dignitaries on 29 October to discuss finding a way to lift the blockades being enforced by Zintani militias on south-western oil fields.

On 30 October, Col. Mohamed Bin Nayel, commander of LNA’s 12th Brigade, and Jamal al-Treiki, head of the Misratan Third Force, met at the Brak al-Shati airbase in southern Libya to discuss coordinating security at Brak airport and military airbase. An agreement was reached under which the Misratans ceded control of the civilian airport terminal. Bin Nayel’s forces and the Third Force have been rivals since they fought for control over the airbase in 2014 and 2015.

In Zawiyya, clashes broke out on 28 October between rival militias associated with the al-Hneish and al-Khadrawi families. Heavy weapons and tanks were used during the fighting and there was heavy shelling on residential areas, as well as near the oil refinery. Hneish is aligned with Abu Obeida al-Zawi, the Islamist leader of powerful Zawiyyan militias, while the Khadrawi family, and the Saqr tribe who supports them, is more closely linked with Haftar’s LNA. The fighting was apparently provoked by militias from Wershefana killing three people from Zawiyya last week. Hneish and Khadrawi are accusing each other of being responsible for this killing.

In Tripoli, tensions between pro-GNA and anti-GNA militias across the city remain high, although no clashes took place last week. Crime and lawlessness in the city is widespread, with carjacking, kidnappings and assassinations becoming commonplace. There are reports of daily armed assaults taking place against civilians, politicians, militiamen and institutions including banks and government offices. On 31 October, the manager of the largest bank branch in Tripoli was kidnapped.