There is rising tension in Tripoli tonight as the Presidency Council (PC) declared a state of emergency and banned a planned Martyrs’ Square rally tomorrow in support of entrepreneur and would-be presidential candidate Baset Igtet. The Government of National Accord’s (GNA) interior ministry has called for all security forces to be ready to protect security in the capital.
There are reports of the movement of armed Islamists groups to the south and south east of the city. These are said to include Salah Badi’s Samoud force from Misrata and the Kani Brigade from Tarhouna.
It is being rumoured that they intend to seize Tripoli International Airport so that an aircraft carrying Igtet could land. If correct, there would be some irony in this, since it was Badi who was responsible for destroying the airport after the Zintanis were driven from it in 2014 at the start of the Libya Dawn takeover.
The militias believed to be poised on the outskirts of Tripoli are largely the same forces that were thrown back from the city in July, after the self-styled National Salvation Government led by Khalifa Ghwell had been ousted from its base in the Rixos, the home of the former parliament, the General National Congress. Presidency Council (PC) head Faiez Serraj called for international allies to strike the attackers unless they withdrew.
Last week, Haithem Tajouri, the leader of one of the main pro-PC militias in the capital, the Tripoli Revolutionaries’ Brigade (TRB), warned that he would not permit tomorrow’s planned Martyrs’ Square demonstration to go ahead.
“We respect the right of people to protest but the required security permissions must be obtained prior to that,” he told Al-Marsad online, adding “We are observing carefully suspected armed movements around Tripoli as we know who they are and what they are trying to do”. It is understood Igtet supporters sought permission for the rally but the request was denied. The lockdown of Martyrs’ Square today brought extensive traffic chaos and added to the general anxiety.
On political side, The head of the Libyan National Army (LNA) Khalifa Hafter is reported to have left Benghazi today for Rome where he is due to have talks tomorrow with Italian defence minister Roberta Pinotti. The discussions are expected to focus both on efforts to solve the Libyan crisis and the issue of migrants heading to Italy from Libya.
Italian media reports that Rome also wants Hafter and the LNA to provide protection for Eni’s Mellitah oil and gas plant, 100 kilometres west of Tripoli, are seen as improbable given that the LNA’s presence in the area is considered inadequate for the task.
Hafter has created something of a major polemic in Italy with strong views on either side about dealing with him. His visit, moreover, is reported to have provoked something of a diplomatic headache for the Italian government following its announcement.
Italy formally recognises the Presidency Council chaired by Faiez Serraj and its government of national accord but in efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Libyan crisis, the Italian government has said that it is “in dialogue with everyone”. That resulted in Italian interior minister Marco Minniti going to Benghazi for talks with Hafter earlier this month and inviting him to Rome – despite the fact that Italian prime minister Paolo Gentiloni told the UN General Assembly last week that there could be no military solution in Libya – a clear Italian shot across Hafter’s bows.
It is said in Rome that when Serraj heard about the Italian invitation, he immediately demanded an explanation from the Italian ambassador in Libya, Giuseppe Perrone. To mollify the PC, Rome then hastily organised an invitation to the new head of the PC’s chief of staff, Major-General Abdulrahman Al-Tawil. He arrived last Saturday.
Also, to avoid diplomatic feathers being ruffled in Tripoli, it is reported that Hafter will not meet prime minister Gentiloni or foreign minister Angelino Alfano.