Major General Ahmed Al-Mismari, Spokesman for the General Command of the Libyan National Army (LNA), warned against extremists exploiting the demonstrations and turning them into armed clashes.
Al-Mismari said in a press statement with Al-Arabiya Al-Hadath TV that “enemies of the homeland and some political currents are trying to exploit the events and demonstrations in Libya, and turn them into an armed conflict.”
He stressed the army’s commitment to restraint, and “not to confront the demonstrators with force or prevent them from their right to demonstrate. We are not a political force. We have other tasks that include securing the borders, and securing southern and eastern Libya where we control,” he explained.
“We stand by the demonstrators, but we demand that they preserve the country’s property and public security, and we will take measures if any party tries to impose their agenda,” he added.
He also accused the Muslim Brotherhood of “trying to drag the army into political snarls, to negatively affect its image among the people. They are the enemies of the army, and they do not want a strong military in Libya.”
Notably, protesters broke into the headquarters of the Libyan Parliament in Tobruk on Friday evening. They set parts of it on fire, amid protests over months of failed efforts to set the divided country on a path toward elections.
On Saturday, the General Command of the LNA stated that it is following the popular protests, “which express legitimate demands, in light of the exacerbation of the Libyan crisis, the closing of the horizon, and the low standard of services and living for the citizen.”
In a statement, it urged the Libyan people not to attack public and private facilities, stressing that “the armed forces would not fail the people, and would not leave them vulnerable to blackmail and tampering.”
The General Command called on the Libyan people to “organise a peaceful civil movement, to lay out a roadmap for the future, and to move towards building a civil state with their free will.”
It claimed it would “take the necessary measures to preserve the independence of the Libyan decision, if any party tries to unilaterally determine the future of Libyans.”
As well as stressing its “full support for the popular will, and its support for the citizens’ demands.”