Libya: Fighting Near Tripoli Between Rival Regimes

Rival regimes are fighting for control of Libya’s capital Tripoli as political talks appear on the point of collapse.

Forces of the UN-recognised government based in Tobruk, in eastern Libya, carried out airstrikes on Saturday against airports and a military camp controlled by a rival government in Tripoli.

A senior commander of the Tripoli government was killed, officials said.

The Tobruk-based government said on Friday that General Khalifa Haftar had launched the military offensive to “liberate” Tripoli, governed by the General National Congress (GNC).

Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni’s government, which has allied with Haftar, was forced to relocate to the eastern city of Tobruk last year after the Libya Dawn militia seized Tripoli.

UN-brokered peace talks continued for a second day in Morocco’s capital Rabat on Saturday, but UN special envoy Bernardino Leon said reaching an agreement was “going to be difficult”, given the fighting in and near Tripoli:

Military activities undermine the situation in Libya and prevent the unity of the Libyans fighting terrorism. This operation we condemn in the strongest possible terms because it’s undermining dialogue.

The opposing sides gave conflicting accounts of who was in control of Azizia and Zahra, two towns west of Tripoli.

Footage from Al Jazeera English:


Yemen: Houthis Take Over Taiz Airport and Advance on Aden

Yemen’s Houthi faction, which is already in control of the capital Sana’a, has reportedly taken over control of the airport in the southern city of Taiz and is pushing towards the city of Aden.

Aden is the site of the rival administration of President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi, who was pushed out of Sana’a last month by the Houthis.

Security sources and correspondents said the Houthis — a Shia Muslim group that has expanded from its base in northern Yemen and taken nine of the country’s 21 provinces — took the airport after clashes with forces loyal to Hadi. The advance came amid demonstrations against both the Houthis and supporters of Ali Abdullah Saleh, the long-time President ousted in February 2012.

On Saturday, the Houthis published a declaration in State media for a “general mobilization” against Hadi’s forces. The message came hours after the President’s televised address, his first since fleeing to Aden, stating that he is the legitimate leader of Yemen and calling the Houthi actions a coup.

In a sign that Yemen’s violence is taking on a sectarian dimension, Hadi also referred to the Houthis as proxies of Iran. “We shall deliver the country to safety and raise Yemen’s flag on Mount Maran in Saada, instead of the Iranian flag,” he said, referring to the northern province that is the Houthi stronghold.

Violence has spiked in Yemen amid the growing fight between the Houthis and Hadi. On Friday, at least 137 people were killed and 350 wounded when four suicide bombs were detonated in two Shia mosques in Sana’a.

See Yemen Feature: At Least 137 Killed As Mosques Bombed in Sana’a