On April 04 a year ago, clashes erupted near Tripoli between armed groups of the Presidential Council and the Libyan National Army forces ahead of a conference that was to be held in mid-April under the auspices of the United Nations to discuss a mechanism for the new elections and the transitional stage under the supervision of the UN envoy to Libya at that time Ghassan Salame.
These events led the Head of the Presidential Council of the Government of National Accord Fayez Al-Sarraj to confront the military escalation, describing the LNA forces as “terrorist and criminal.”
Today, after a year of fierce clashes, the battle has still not been resolved, and none of the political solutions have succeeded despite the international and Arab meetings, initiatives and conferences that have been held to gather the political parties to reach a comprehensive settlement and to put an end to the war.
The clashes and battles led the UN envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, to submit his resignation after he reached a deadend, while Libyans couldn’t find a substitute for staying in their homes under the weight of war, bullets and the sounds of shells close to the capital.
A war that the Libyan National Army deems legitimate, referring to what he describes as the militias’ infiltration and control of decision-making in the government by force, which has made the GNA hostage to armed groups and warlords, yet the GNA it is striving to ward off these accusations by saying it is trying to enforce the law.
All this has made the war go on, as its risks double today with the outbreak of Coronavirus, hence; keeping Libyans hostage to political tensions and in the danger of being in the crossfire of military operations.
