- Nineteen prisoners use cutlery to break out of cells at Winchester prison
- France wants progress in Ukraine before Russia returns to G7
- Italy president begins talks to seek way out of government crisis
- Italian PM expected to resign as political chaos deepens
- Russia says US cruise missile test ‘regrettable’
- Kremlin - No date set for Normandy talks on Ukraine despite Macron meeting
- Egypt court hands out 6 death sentences on terror charges
- Putin says Russian nuclear explosion poses no threat
- Russian panel eyes alleged foreign interference in protests
- Gran Canaria wildfire triggers evacuation of thousands of people
- PM Johnson calls on Germany and France to compromise on Brexit
- Sudan's ex-president Bashir arrives at corruption trial
TEHRAN, Apr 05 - Militias in western Libya vowed Friday to confront a rival army commander's attempt to seize the capital, Tripoli, raising fears of renewed civil war in the oil-rich nation as the U.N. chief shuttled between the two sides, seeking to avert a major confrontation.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - The escalation comes after forces of Khalifa Hifter, who runs the self-styled Libya National Army that is based in the country's east, pushed westward, bringing them closer to rival militias, which control Tripoli.
A showdown between Hifter's army and the militias could plunge Libya into another spasm of violence, possibly the worst since the 2011 civil war that toppled and later killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
It would also put at risk upcoming peace talks between Libyan rivals brokered by the U.N. and aimed at drawing a roadmap for new elections. Those talks are due April 14-16.
The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency closed-door meeting on Friday afternoon at Britain's request to discuss the unfolding developments.
Hifter's troops on Thursday captured the town of Gharyan, some 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Tripoli without a fight, putting them closer to the militias than ever before.
Hifter then ordered his forces to march on the capital, saying in an audio recording posted online: "We are coming Tripoli, we are coming." He also urged his forces to enter the city peacefully and only raise their weapons "in the face of those who seek injustice and prefer confrontation and fighting."
Hifter's spokesman Ahmed al-Mesmari said later the army's next stop would be the town of al-Aziziya, considered the gates of Tripoli.
In response, the militias from the western cities of Zawiya and Misarata, which control Tripoli, posted on social media early Friday that they're mobilizing to confront Hifter.
"We are the revolutionaries and the elders ... we declare we are on full mobilization and war," they said.
Source: AP
Your Comment