The U.S. withdrew its forces of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) from Libya on Sunday amid the violent clashes near Tripoli, said Marine Corps General Thomas Waldhauser, head of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM).
“The security realities on the ground in Libya are growing increasingly complex and unpredictable,”Waldhauser in a Sunday statement.
The Libyan National Army (LNA) and the Government of the National Accord (GNA) are fighting over the control of Tripoli after the former controlled swathes of southern Libya.
Africom has been deployed in Libya to launch airstrikes on Al- Qaeda and ISIS in North Africa, who also operates across Algeria, Mali, Niger and Libya.
“Even with an adjustment of the force, we will continue to remain agile in support of existing U.S. strategy,” the head of Africom said.
Meanwhile, Chris Karns, spokesperson for AFRICOM, said the U.S. troops’ withdrawal from Libya would not impact the force’s action to target terrorist threats.
“For security reasons, I won’t pinpoint where these forces will flow. It is important (that) groups, such as ISIS, don’t have an exact map of our whereabouts, but instead we use our finite resources on the continent to adjust swiftly, efficiently, and employ with maximum effect,” said Karns.
Following the Commander of the LNA Khalifa Haftar’s declaration of a military operation in Tripoli on Thursday, clashes have erupted between the forces royal to Faiez al-Sarraj, head of the GNA, and the LNA in Aziziya and the area surrounding Tripoli Airport.
