Libya’s Rival Interior Ministry Calls on UN to Document PM’s “Crimes”

The Interior Ministry of the Libyan Parliament-designated government “strongly condemned the indiscriminate shelling of several sites in the city of Al-Zawiya.”

In a statement issued on Thursday, the Ministry called on the UN Security Council, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), the international community, and international organizations to “assume their responsibilities towards this act. As well as documenting these crimes in order to hold the perpetrators accountable, and bring them to justice.”

The statement called on “everyone to show solidarity in combating violence,” and affirmed its “determination to do everything necessary to maintain the security and stability of the country and protect citizens.”

The Ministry denounced the drone airstrike that targeted the Coast Guard Department at the port of Al-Maya and the areas of Abu Surra and Zainab, injuring several guards, south of Al-Zawiya.

It called on the concerned authorities to “exercise their duties and open an investigation immediately into this heinous operation, which could have disastrous consequences.”

The Ministry wished a speedy recovery for the wounded, stressing that “these matters will not go unnoticed.”

On Thursday, the Official Spokesman for the Government of National Unity (GNU), Mohamed Hammouda commented on the airstrikes that targeted various areas in Al-Zawiya.

“This morning our national air force carried out successful and targeted airstrikes against a number of hideouts of fuel smuggling, drug, and human trafficking gangs in the western coast,” he said in media statements.

Hammouda added that the operation was “launched on the direct orders by Prime Minister Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba. These were part of a military plan to purge the areas along the west coast, and other sites of trafficking criminals and gangs.”

The spokesman stressed that they “will continue the military operations until all objectives are achieved.”

The Deputy Head of the Council of Elders of Al-Zawiya, Jumaa Al-Jilani confirmed that two people were injured as a result of the drone strikes. The Ambulance and Emergency Service announced that one person was slightly injured, near the Sayeda Zainab area, south of Al-Zawiya.

Meanwhile, MP Ali Bouzraiba claimed that Turkish drones had conducted the airstrikes, by order of Dbaiba. Turkey is believed to control a number of military bases in western Libya, most notably the Al-Watiya airbase.