Suicide bomb in Libya targets brigade operated by Tripoli
A suicide car bomb has hit the headquarters of Libya’s 444th Combat Brigade in Bani Walid, according to the Moroccan government-friendly outlet North Africa Post on September 3rd.
The 444th Combat Brigade operates under the UN-recognised, Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU), and is one of the most active units in western Libya.
The perpetrator of the attack detonated the vehicle at the entrance of the brigade’s compound, however, the brigade states that the situation has been contained and operations are continuing.
Bani Walid is approximately 170 kilometres southeast of the Libyan capital Tripoli, which is the epicentre of current tensions between armed militia groups that have trapped the country in a cycle of violence that shows little sign of abating.
Division still runs riot in Libya, with two competing rival administrations including the GNU in the west, and the Government of National Stability (GNS) in eastern Libya, allied with Khalid Haftar’s Libyan national army, demarcating state institutions and creating spaces for armed violence to thrive.
Despite UN efforts to coordinate with the GNU and help formulate sufficient political and democratic structures, the UN themselves have been susceptible to attacks from other forces, recently culminating in an attack on the UN Support Mission in Libya headquarters.
This latest bomb attack on the 444th Combat Brigade represents the relentless instability that has plagued Libya since the 2011 ousting of longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi, with armed militias attempting to exert control over state forces, whilst those in control have failed to implement effective laws progressing towards a democratic, stable state.
There has been some democratic progress in coordination with the UN, with Libya recently conducting municipal elections in areas not controlled by eastern Libya authorities alongside the construction of a political roadmap by the UN aiming to unify Libyan institutions.
However, the division that remains ensures that not everyone in Libya has benefited from the elections, and widespread violence has become endemic within the state apparatus
North Africa Post, Maghrebi.org
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