The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has urged for a rigorous inquiry into the shootings resulting in at least ten fatalities that took place in Tripoli. The victims included two members of the Stabilization Support Apparatus (SSA), Mohamed Fathi Shanish and Musab Al-Mukhtar Al-Dabaa. The SSA is an armed faction operating within Tripoli. The UN mission has strongly denounced the violent act and is keeping a close watch on the situation.
The Libyan authorities are being urged by the mission to conduct an independent and thorough investigation into the event and implement measures to prevent any further surge in violence. The incident has been labelled as a “massacre” by certain sources, yet conflicting reports have emerged from local outlets. The reasons behind this act of violence are presently unclear.
Khalil Wahiba from the Tripoli Security Directorate stated that the victims were killed by an unidentified armed group late on Saturday. He underscored the necessity of uncovering and capturing the culprits to ensure justice prevails. The SSA, on the other hand, expressed its sorrow over the deaths of two of its members, denouncing their deaths as an act of “betrayal”.
Ever since the fall of Mu’ammar al-Gaddafi’s regime in 2011, various armed factions have wreaked havoc in Libya, some of which notorious for their militant activities. The dire circumstances include around 100 mass graves discovered in the Libyan city of Tarhuna. Just last week, the head of UNSMIL cautioned that the lack of a unified government could potentially destabilise the nation and lead it to disbandment. Revamping the political structure to form a consolidated government was pitched as a necessary step towards plausible national elections.
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