Thieves of Tripoli: Sarraj government steals aid destined for Libyans

Ahmed Adel

The Brotherhood-affiliated Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Fayez al-Sarraj has exploited the humanitarian aid coming from abroad for the Libyan people to confront the spread of the Covid-19 corona virus, forwarding it instead to militia elements.

Libya’s legitimate interim government has accused the Tripoli-based GNA of piracy and theft of medical aid sent by the African Union (AU) to Libya and asked the international community to withdraw its recognition of the imposter government.

A week ago, the GNA announced that it had received a shipment of medical equipment from the Chinese Jack Ma Foundation, under the supervision of the AU, and said it had transferred the aid to the Ministry of Health to be distributed to medical teams for use in combating the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the interim government protested against its lack of share of medical aid and issued an official statement on Saturday, April 25 accusing the GNA of pirating the aid and depriving the Libyan people of it despite the deteriorating humanitarian situation that requires national solidarity.

The statement pointed out that the interim government contacted the AU in order to warn against the illegality of the agreement and that the GNA is a militia government, adding that this aid will not reach those who deserve it, because the AU delivered the shipment to an illegal entity that has prevented the delivery of aid to more than 85 municipalities out of 105 municipalities.

The ministry pointed out that the unconstitutional, unapproved and expired GNA pirated this humanitarian aid to be used politically in order to gain the loyalty of some of municipalities controlled by militias, stressing that this aid is meant for purely humanitarian purposes and must not in any way be exploited politically by depriving the Libyan people of it.

The ministry called on the international community, the League of Arab States, the African Union, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and all international and regional organizations to withdraw recognition from the illegal government that does not represent the Libyans and does not express their will, and to instead support the Libyan people recover their state from the criminal, terrorist and foreign mercenary militias in order to build a new Libya as a country of institutions and the rule of law.

As of Sunday, April 26, Libya had recorded 61 confirmed cases of the corona virus, most of them in the capital Tripoli (35), Misrata (10), Benghazi (4) and Sorman (1), in addition to 11 cases in an unknown location, while 18 have recovered and two deaths recorded .

On April 11, a shipment of Turkish medical aid and supplies arrived in Libya, and the GNA said that Ankara had sent it to the Libyan people to help them cope with the spread of the corona virus, but the Turkish Ministry of Defense indicated that this shipment was also directed to its soldiers stationed in Libya.

Meanwhile, Sarraj’s office said in a statement that the Ministry of Health received a shipment of health aid, including preventive and curative medical supplies and sterilizers from Turkey in the presence of Turkish Ambassador Serhat Aksen.

The statement added that Sarraj expressed his thanks and gratitude to Turkey for this support, which reflects the depth of bilateral relations and the bonds of brotherhood and friendship between the two brotherly peoples.

This statement was inconsistent with statements coming from the Turkish authorities that this aid was directed to the Turkish forces in Libya. The Turkish Ministry of Defense had posted on Twitter that under the direction of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, medical supplies were sent to Turkish advisors and military trainers in Libya as part of the precautionary measures against the corona virus.