Raid against al-Wattia air base in western Libya revives military escalation

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The military escalation in Libya resumed with the air strike Sunday on the air base of Al-Wattia controlled by forces of the government of national accord (GNA).

The attack comes at a time diplomatic contacts have intensified over the past few weeks to find a solution to the political process.

Since the defeat of the Libyan national army based in the east and commanded by Marshall Khalifa Haftar in the west of the country, the battle line has moved to the central region of Sirte.

Here, the two camps are mobilizing their forces to maximum alert before the intervention of countries, particularly the United-States, Turkey and Russia to bring the belligerents to the negotiation table through the joint 5+5 military commission under the aegis of the United-Nations. 

In reprisal, the Libyan army carried out an air strike Tuesday against a location of Haftar’s forces in the city of Soukna, that led to the destruction of a Russian-make air defence system, military sources said.

The deputy minister of Defence of the government of national accord, Colonel Salah Al-Namrouch stressed that the recent air attack against the al-Wattia base would lead to a resumption of armed clashes.

He gave the assurance that the government forces were ready to carry out the liberation war of Sirte and Al-Jafra at the right time.

The spokesperson for the Libyan army affiliated to the GNA, Colonel Mohamed Ganounou, said the attack against the air base of Al-Wattia was carried out by foreign jets backing Haftar to raise “the morale of Haftar’s militias and mercenaries".

He said this would affect neither the course of events nor the battles to come, adding that it would not change their strategies to extend government control over all the Libyan national territory.  

The Libyan Council of State condemned the attack against the air base of Al-Wattia, stressing that it was carried out to block any attempt to build true Libyan national army by Haftar and countries backing them.

It said the strike cast doubt on the seriousness of countries pretending to look for ceasefire and peaceful solution in Libya while at the same time backing criminal acts.

An official of the Turkish ministry of Defence said the bombardment of the al-Wattia air base destroyed some systems at the base, which "will accelerate the rhythm of clashes".

The raid did not leave any victims but instead targeted certain installations of the base including an air defence system.

The bombardment against the al-Wattia air base is the first since the forces of the Libyan army took control of it on 18 May.

At the political level, efforts in the region continue to establish peace and stability in Libya but these attacks will not but fuel openly the chaos and clashes, according to observers.

At the regional level, consultations are underway between Tunisian President Kaïs Saïed and his Algerian counterpart, Abdelmajid Tabboune, on the means to resume dialogue in Libya.

There are continued coordination and consultations between the two leaders concerning the Libyan afair, according to the advisor of the Tunisian president in charge of diplomacy, Abdelkarim Harmi.

He expressed hope for a resumption of the political process in Libya far from fighting and the war.

Congolese President Dennis Sassou-Nguesso held talks on the phone with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin on the Libyan situation.

The two shared their views on the situation in that country and underline the need for peaceful solution to the conflict through political dialogue, according to a statement issued by the Kremlin on the talks.

The Italian minister of foreign affairs, Luigi di Maio, suggested that "Italy and the European Union should make all arrangements to end the conflict and encourage stability in Libya".

Mr di Maio said that Libya ‘’was at the crossroad between the continuation of the fratricidal fight and the resumption of a path for global dialogue to reach durable stability", Libyan newspapers reported.

The United-Nations expressed concerned over the bombardment of the al-Wattia military base by unidentified jets, warning that such actions could fuel the conflict and aggravate the situation of civilians.

During a news conference, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, Stefan Dujarric, called for ceasefire, respect for the arms embargo imposed on Libya by the UN Security Council and the commitment to agreements from the Berlin conference.

Analysts believe that the persistence of the political deadlock and the incapacity of the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres to appoint a new envoy since the resignation on 2 March of Ghassan Salamé, the political deadlock could favor military escalation and trigger a new cycle of armed clashes around Sirte that could be particularly deadly.

 

-0-    PANA    BY/IS/MSA/RA    7Jul2020