The capital of Libya was quiet early on Sunday, a day after the worst fighting in two years killed 32 people and injured 159 as forces aligned with a parliament-backed administration failed to destabilise the Tripoli-based government.
The city’s roads were congested with motorists, shops were open, and people were clearing away shattered glass and other debris from Saturday’s violence, with burned-out vehicles lining some streets in central Tripoli.
Fears of a wider conflict in Libya have been raised as a result of the political standoff in Tripoli between Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah and Fathi Bashagha, who wants to install a new government in the capital.
Bashagha’s attempt to seize power in Tripoli on Saturday was his second such attempt since May.
However, airline companies reported early Sunday that flights were operating normally at Tripoli’s Mitiga airport, indicating that the security situation had improved for the time being.
The health ministry said on Sunday that 32 people were killed and 159 were injured in Saturday’s violence, up from a ministry source’s previous estimate of 23 deaths and 87 injuries.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called for an immediate cessation of violence and genuine dialogue to resolve Libya’s political impasse.
Bashagha’s failure to depose Dbeibah demonstrated that, despite a period of realignment among armed factions in and around Tripoli, the Tripoli government can still rely on a military coalition capable of repelling its adversaries.
Several groups aligned with Bashagha appeared to have lost control of territory inside Tripoli on Saturday, while attempts to advance into the city from the west and south appeared to have failed.
A major military convoy that set out from Misrata, east of Tripoli, where Bashagha has been stationed for weeks, returned before reaching Tripoli.
Osama Juweili, a major commander among the pro-Bashagha forces, said the fighting on Saturday was sparked by tensions between armed forces in the capital. However, he added to Al-Ahrar television that “trying to bring in a government mandated by parliament” is not a crime.
Libya’s overarching political standoff over government control appears largely unchanged by Bashagha’s attempt to take over in Tripoli on Saturday.
There is no sign of a new diplomatic effort to bring the main camps together around a new push for national elections to resolve the dispute over control of the government.
Meanwhile, while pro-Bashagha forces were unable to install him on Saturday, they maintain strong positions around the capital, while Khalifa Haftar’s main eastern-based Libyan National Army waits in the wings.
