Libya: UN mission wants investigation into Tripoli shootings
The United Nations mission in Libya has pushed authorities to investigate the shooting in a Tripoli neighbourhood which killed ten people, reports Reuters.
The ten individuals had been killed by “an unidentified armed group” late on the 17th of February, according to the Tripoli security doctorate. Two of the victims had been members of the Stabilisation Support Apparatus (SSA), one of the biggest and most prominent forces in Tripoli.
The SSA paid tribute to their fallen members in a Facebook post, which said they had been “struck by the hand of treachery” without giving further details of the incident.
Since 2020, numerous conflicts have repeatedly flared in Tripoli, with many disputes between rival groups. This can sometimes be linked to the country’s wider political contest over ultimate control of government.
READ: Truce holds but 55 dead in Tripoli clashes
The UN said in a statement released on social media that the authorities should “prevent any actions that could lead to escalation and further violence”.
The public prosecution had already launched an investigation into the killings and all bodies had been handed over for forensic examination, the Tripoli security doctorate stated.
The UN mission added that “this incident highlights concerns repeatedly raised by (the UN envoy to Libya) about the serious risks posed by rivalries between security actors that continue to threaten the fragile security in Tripoli”.
Since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising which had split in 2014, with rival factions taking over different parts of the country, Libya has had little peace. Though major warfare had paused in a 2020 ceasefire, different groups still wield control over various government and security departments.
READ: Libya violence erupts in Tripoli as armed factions clash
In efforts to try and resolve Libya’s conflict, the country has focused on holding elections to replace governing bodies that had been elected a decade or more ago. Political factions have not agreed on how this vote might take place.
Reuters.
