Libya: Gov’t Forces will Retake Capital Tripoli

Local Editor

Libya's internationally recognized government said Tuesday that its forces are getting ready to retake the capital, after extremist militias from the western city of Misrata took over Tripoli in August.

Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani's government said in a statement that it gave orders to the government forces to "advance toward Tripoli to liberate it" and to free it from the grip of the militias.

It urged young people from various neighborhoods "to join ranks with the forces" to liberate themselves and their city. The government also urged residents to launch "a civil disobedience campaign until the arrival of the army."

Thani further added that "the military forces in the strife-torn country had united to try to recapture Tripoli and second city Benghazi from extremist militias."
The government's imminent operation in Tripoli comes on the heels of raging battles south and west of Tripoli that have devastated some neighboring towns and villages.

Pro- and anti-government militias Tuesday clashed in the western town of Kikla, which has been the center of more than two weeks of fighting.
According to the town's mayor, Nureddin Meftah, more than 100 people have been killed and 300 wounded since pro-government militias from Zintan, southwest of Tripoli, attacked their pro-Fajr Libya rivals in Kikla Oct. 11. There was no independent confirmation of the casualty figures.

Meanwhile, a Libyan official said the ongoing fighting in the eastern city of Benghazi between extremist militias and pro-government fighters has left 65 people dead, including all those killed since a pro-government offensive began on Oct. 15.

Since a 2011 revolt that toppled longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi, interim authorities have failed to rebuild the regular army and have relied on state-backed militias.

Thani's government and the parliament elected in June have taken refuge in the country's east, in the coastal city of Tobruk.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team