Libyan Forces have been put on high alert due to the possibility of an incursion near the border with Tunisia and Algeria by forces aligned with the rival eastern administration. Local media sources reported this on Thursday.
“Salahuddin al-Namroush, the deputy chief of staff, has instructed the army units to be alert and ready to repel any possible attack,” a military source told the Libya al-Ahrar television channel.
Libya has experienced turmoil since the uprising supported by NATO-led to the ousting of the dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.
There is a division between the UN-recognised government located in the western capital of Tripoli and a competing administration supported by the military leader Khalifa Haftar, which governs from Benghazi and Tobruk in the east.
Despite receiving support from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Russia, and some Western countries, Haftar’s forces attempted and failed to take control of Tripoli from 2019 to 2020.
According to Libya al-Ahrar, a privately-owned media outlet, forces associated with Haftar are reportedly moving towards the southwest region of Libya, which is currently under the control of Tripoli authorities. The report, however, did not provide additional details.
Libyan Forces led by General Saddam Haftar, the strongman’s youngest son, announced on Tuesday that they were deploying “patrols … to monitor the border strip with neighbouring countries” to enhance “national security and stability in these strategic areas”.
According to a statement posted on Facebook, the units, under the “direct supervision” of Saddam Haftar, are moving “towards the towns and areas of southwest Libya”.
