Tripoli battles enter third month: A review of challenges and results

Sarah Rashad

The battles for the liberation of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, started on Wednesday, June 5, their third month after it completed on Tuesday, two months following the start of fighting that began on April 4.

While the estimates differed about the battles of Tripoli in the first moments of inception, with regard to their difficulty and the time it takes to complete their tasks, the views have recently stabilized that the step to liberate Tripoli will not be easy and may need more months to resolve for the benefit of the Libyan army at the expense of the militias.

Battles of Tripoli

The Libyan researcher, Mohammed al-Zubaidi, in remarks to the Reference, said that the experience proved that the battles in Tripoli will not end in the near term, pointing out that a set of challenges were proved in a period of two months.

He attributed these challenges to the geographical nature of the Western region, as well as the tribes which the government of reconciliation seeks to win their support through the promise of privileges and funds from the treasury of the state, pointing out that the tribes are a decisive paper in the battles and reconciliation depends on the funds of the Libyans to win their support.

Turning to the Islamist rally behind the armed militias in Tripoli, he pointed out that the Islamic movement in all directions agreed on the refusal to leave Tripoli for the Libyan army.

He added that this conviction makes all factions of the current push to prevent the army from entering the capital because they are not prepared to lose their influence in Libya.

He explained the position of Turkey and Qatar on the fighting in Libya. He said: “They provide military and material support to militias across the sea, along with the transfer of terrorists, so that the army can not liberate the capital.”

For her part, the Libyan media professional Fatima Ghandour said, “From the beginning, the scene in Tripoli is difficult, even before the start of battles, noting that the liberation of the capital is a step necessary despite all the challenges.”

She pointed out that the most prominent of these challenges is the cooperation between the militias and the government of reconciliation on the one hand and the Daesh organization on the other hand, as evidenced by the repeated terrorist operations in Libya since April 4.

She stressed that despite all these challenges, the scene remains positive in light of international and regional support succeeded by the Libyan army to obtain it, and in support of both Russia and America along with France and regional countries such as Egypt.

She pointed out that the scene of political Islam in the region is moving towards supporting the army. After the Brotherhood fell in Egypt, they repeated the experiment in Sudan and Syria, where the scene appears to be in favor of the Syrian state.

The Libyan National Army is launching a process to liberate the city of Tripoli through a move launched on April 4 against the militias controlling the Libyan capital. Since the launch of the operation, the Islamists and their militias inside and outside Libya have lobbied the army forces, trying to incite the international community against them.