Anti 22 Nov 16

Nov 22, 2016 | Libyan actors

In Tripoli, the body of Sheikh Nader al-Omrani was discovered on 20 November. Omrani was a member of Dar al-Ifta and a close associate of the Grand Mufti Sadeq al-Ghariani. A video of the alleged kidnapper, a Salafist believed to be connected to RADA (Special Deterrent Forces), confessing to his murder has ignited tensions in the capital.  There are fears of imminent clashes in Tripoli between the anti-GNA hardliners and Islamist factions on one side and pro GNA Tripoli militias like RADA and Haithem Tajouri’s forces on the other.

On 15 November, GNA Prime Minister Fayez Serraj visited Jufra, to the south of Sirte, to meet with local municipalities there. He called for Jufra to remain a site of peace. Jufra is the site where Islamist-affiliated militias are currently mobilising in preparation for a potential new offensive against the LNA forces in the oil crescent region.  However, Serraj and his allies in the GNA appear to be losing momentum in their efforts to ‘go it alone’ without the East and HoR, due in part to the war weariness of its Misratan allies in Sirte , and in part to popular dissent against the GNA which is growing daily.