A Deadly Standoff in Tripoli

Forces loyal to Libya’s two rival governments continue to square off in and around the capital, Tripoli, as each side tries to wrest strategic positions and territory from the other. Amateur video posted by forces loyal to eastern military chief Gen. Khalifa Haftar showed his men appearing to advance, as other video appeared to show rival Tripoli-based forces withdrawing men and vehicles further inside the city. It was not possible to confirm either movement. Tweets by the Tripoli government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj maintained that its forces had destroyed rockets and military vehicles belonging to Haftar’s side, but VOA could not confirm those claims either. Paul Sullivan, a professor at the National Defense University in Washington, told VOA that the “dust storm of war” in Libya is being supplemented with “disinformation and downright lies.” He said that while both sides are claiming “a win or two,” the people of Libya “are losing all the time” and that the “nightmare needs to end.”

SOURCE: VOA

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