Photo : Esam Omran al-Fetori, Reuters
NIAS Area Studies
AFRICA MONITOR
Photo : Esam Omran al-Fetori, Reuters
IN BRIEF
by Anu Maria Joseph
Libya: LNA’s air strikes on FACT base
On 25 August, Al Jazeera reported on the Libyan National Army (LNA) launching air strikes on “foreign armed groups” near the Chad border. LNA, led by Khalifa Haftar, carried out the attacks against Libya-based Front for Change and Concord (FACT), a rebel group, in the outpost of Umm al-Araneb in Murzuq district. The FACT fighters had taken over more than 2,000 houses under construction in the region. LNA spokesperson Ahmad Mismari stated that LNA would “no longer allow armed groups or factions to use Libyan territory to launch attacks against neighbouring countries.” Libya has been going through civil unrest since 2011 after the death of Muhammad Gaddafi. Rival leaders, Abdulhamid Dbeibah who leads the UN-backed Tripoli-based administration and former interior minister Fathi Bashagha supported by military leader Khalifa Haftar, have been forging alliances with multiple rebel factions in the neighbouring countries including Chad and Sudan. (“Libya’s LNA launches operations against Chad rebels along border,” Al Jazeera, 25 August 2023)