Representatives of the major Libyan factions continued to meet this week within the framework of the UN-sponsored dialogue that seeks to lead Libya out of civil war and end the political standoff between the country's two rival parliaments and their governments. But as the talks proceed, fighting has intensified in the vicinity of Tripoli and Al-Jebel Al-Gharbi. Tribal militias allied with army units are trying to recapture the capital from the Libya Dawn militias. UN envoy Bernardino Leon, who also heads the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), announced on Sunday that the latest round of the Libyan dialogue now being held in Morocco would continue for an additional two days. This round, the second to be held in the Atlantic resort town of Skhirat just south of Rabat, was originally due to end on Monday. A new round of the talks between representatives of elected local and municipal councils in Libya convened at the same time in the Belgian capital Brussels. At a press conference following the meetings in Skhirat on Sunday, Leon announced that he would head to Belgium the following day “for the opening of meetings between the municipalities on confidence-building measures.” The Brussels meeting is the third round of the municipalities track, originally due to reconvene the previous week but postponed. Meanwhile in Libya, tribal forces allied with the army launched a surprise attack against locations to the west and south of the capital in a bid to regain their earlier positions from Libya Dawn forces that had driven them from the capital last autumn. The Libyan Dawn militias are aligned with the National General Congress (NGC), the self-resurrected parliamentary body whose term officially ended in February 2014. The Libya Dawn forces are reported to have lost a number of field commanders in Friday's attack, notably Salah Al-Birki, the commander of one of the militias. It was also reported that air force Colonel Salah Badi, a military and political leader from Misrata, was wounded. Badi was a prominent hawk in favour of the Libya Dawn operation that was launched in July 2014. The internationally recognised Libyan government currently based in Cyrenaica claims to have regained control of several locations that its allies lost during the conflict last summer between GNC forces and Bedouin forces loyal to the elected House of Representatives and the forces of General Khalifa Hiftar. The Bedouin militias had lost previous gains in Tripoli after falling out with their former allies during the Libyan Revolution, the militias commanded out of Misrata, which are the strongest faction in the post-Gaddafi era. But the army units and tribal militias did not make the progress claimed by army chief of staff, General Abdel-Razeq Al-Nazuri, recently appointed by the House of Representatives currently sitting in Tobruk. Al-Nazuri had announced that the forces had regained control of Tripoli Airport. He also called on Tripoli youth to support the army as they were doing in Benghazi, the focus of the conflict in the east since Hiftar launched Operation Dignity in May 2014. The interim Libyan government headed by Prime Minister Abdullah Al-Thinni lauded the operations in the west. But it appears to be increasingly shaky in the light of frictions between the political players in the east and the rising power of Hiftar. Recently appointed commander-in-chief of the Libyan army, Hiftar now almost appears to be the de facto ruler of the country in the east. On Sunday, the interim Libyan government, based in Beida, announced that it would “finance and equip” the Libyan army through contracts with “foreign companies” to better enable it to fight the war against terrorism. The statement, released via the government's official Facebook page, did not give the names of the companies. Libyan sources speaking to the Weekly on condition of anonymity said that the foreign companies in question are Chinese, Russian and Serbian armaments firms and that the government is using them to circumvent the UN armaments embargo on Libya. One purpose of the surprise attack in the environs of Tripoli by army units and tribal militias was to strengthen the position of their representatives in the UN-sponsored dialogue in Morocco, especially given their weak position during the first round. However, the fragile alliances that the Tobruk camp has been concluding in order to sustain the fighting in various parts of the country threaten to aggravate tribal quarrels as they rely on raking up old conflicts between the tribes. This has not only been apparent in the west, in the vicinity of the capital, but has also been seen in the central region and in the south. Conflicts have flared between the Tabu and Tuareg tribes in the southwest and between the Tabu and Arab tribes in Sebha and Al-Kafra in the south. In these and other areas, the government grants legitimacy to militia groups that fight its adversaries, even if these groups' aims do not necessarily coincide with those of the government. This has been indicated in recent remarks made by Al-Nazuri. In an interview on a pro-Tobruk TV channel, Al-Nazuri said the conflict in the southwestern city of Obari between the Tuareg and Tabu tribes were battles in which the army was engaged in the framework of the war on terrorism. This statement is misleading as it is well known that the conflict that erupted between the Tabu and Tuareg in December 2014 was triggered by a dispute over control of the smuggling routes along Libya's extensive southwestern borders. Al-Nazuri's remarks have alarmed some Tuareg allies of the Tobruk parliament and government as they fear they may indicate that the parliament's alliance with the Tabu is aimed at driving the Tuareg from their historic territory in the southwest. Purchasing tribal loyalties through financial enticements, promises of government positions, or other types of political or economic rewards have all been methods used by decision-makers in Al-Merj and Tobruk in the east, where a large proportion of the Tabu are fighting alongside Hiftar's campaign in Benghazi. The head of the Tabu Salvation Front, Eissa Abdel-Majid Al-Tabawi, was appointed advisor to speaker of the House of Representatives, Aqila Saleh Eissa, after he demanded equal rights for the ethnically African Tabu tribes in southern Libya. Al-Tabawi is a controversial figure, having been accused by the resurrected GNC of forming militia groups that attacked Arab tribes in Al-Kafra and being the subject of arrest warrants issued by the courts in Tripoli. Delegates from the House of Representatives at the Libyan dialogue session in Skhirat denounced Al-Nazuri's comments and asked him to issue an apology on Saturday. Saleh Hummah, a member of the Tobruk delegation and a Tuareg, said that Al-Nazuri “should correct” his information with regard to the situation in Obari. In a statement seen by the Weekly, Tuareg civil society organisations called on their representatives in the Tobruk parliament to withdraw, accusing the parliament of “siding with the transgressors against those who are trying to protect their land from the aggressors,” a reference to the Tabu tribe. The National Union of Tuareg Youth also called on Al-Nazuri to issue a formal apology for his remarks against the Tuareg. In central Libya, violent clashes between Libya Dawn forces and Islamic State (IS) members entered their second week. Libya Dawn is trying to drive IS out of the town of Sirte after having expelled them from the village of Al-Nofala to the east of Sirte last week. Political and community leaders in Sirte have appealed to IS forces to evacuate the city and thus spare it further conflict, even though some residents of the city belong to the organisation. Living conditions are extremely difficult in the city due to the lack of security and economic crisis. Sources in Sirte say that local IS members have refused to leave the city on the grounds that they are residents and have no other home. But the sources told the Weekly that the IS members have agreed to halt the fighting on condition that they are allowed to remain in the city and will not be harmed, with the fate of foreign IS members being negotiable. Although proposals for forming a national unity government and new security arrangements top the agenda in the dialogue in Skhirat, the escalating hostilities near Tripoli may hamper progress. GNC delegates at the talks claim that the fighting is a ploy to increase the pressure on them at the dialogue. In his press conference on Sunday, Leon said the military escalation could hamper progress in the dialogue. However, he added that the mood was still “constructive,” “everyone was onboard,” and that he anticipated “positive results” when all the delegations resumed their work.
