Libya: Attack on Ministry of Sports, Attempt to Assassinate Military Commander

Arab World

October 29th, 6:36am

Cairo - Khalid Mahmoud

A general view of the talks between the rival factions in the Libya conflict at the United Nations offices in Geneva, Switzerland October 20, 2020. Fabrice Coffrini/Pool via REUTERS

Libya’s transitional authority remained silent about the military developments that took place in the past hours in the capital, which saw the storming of the headquarters of the Ministry of Sports, an attack on the house of a military commander, and another assassination attempt. The Ministry of Sports condemned the attack launched by what it described as “outlaw forces” on its headquarters on Wednesday, in a Tripoli neighborhood, near the residence of Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dabaiba. In a statement, the ministry said that an armed group “stormed the headquarters of the Ministry of Sports in Tripoli during daylight, intimidated the workers, and tampered with the offices and equipment.” It also called on the Ministry of Interior to open an investigation into the incident, and bring the perpetrators to justice. No party has claimed responsibility for the incident, but local sources accused Al-Nawasi militia, led by Mustafa Kaddour, of storming the ministry’s headquarters, and expelling all employees after the meeting of Minister Abdul Shafi Hussain Al-Juwaifi with Hussein Al-Qatrani, the deputy of Dabaiba in Benghazi. Meanwhile, the family of Muammar al-Dhawi, commander of the 55th Brigade, denied the reports of his death, saying on Thursday that he was injured after surviving an assassination attempt in the Ghout Alshaal area of Tripoli. In turn, Major General Abdel Basset Marwan, commander of the Tripoli Military District, demanded the transitional authority in the capital to investigate the storming of his house by armed men in military uniforms on Wednesday. The Tripoli Military District published a footage from a surveillance camera, which showed an attempt by unknown persons in military uniform to arrest Marwan, after storming his house in the Zenata area. It also broadcast another video that it said was of the attack on Marwan’s house by what it called “outlaws” from the 444th Brigade. Spokesmen for the Presidential Council and the government declined to comment on the recent developments.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3273271/libya-attack-ministry-sports-attempt-assassinate-military-commander