A fragile ceasefire came into force in the Libyan capital on Saturday morning after two days of fighting between militias loyal to the city’s rival governments.
Battles involving tanks and artillery raged through the central district of Abu Salem throughout Thursday and Friday, in the heaviest militia fighting seen in Tripoli since civil war broke out in July 2014.
Following negotiations between the two sides, the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) issued a statement in the early hours of Saturday saying the rival militias had agreed to a ceasefire and that a security committee had been set up to oversee its implementation.
It also said a monitoring group would be set up to police a de facto front line between the groups.
“We affirm our commitment to terminating the activities of the uncontrolled armed militias,” it added.
By late Saturday the ceasefire was holding, although militia road blocks remained in central parts of the city.
Meanwhile, a joint statement by Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United States condemned the fighting and reaffirmed support for the Government of National Accord.
The battles have been between two loose militia coalitions, one supporting the Government of National Accord and the other favouring a rival Tripoli-based administration known as the National Salvation Government.
Casualty figures remained unclear on Saturday, with local media reporting at least 16 dead, many of them civilians.
The Red Crescent sent volunteers to Abu Salem on Thursday and Friday and said it had tried to evacuate families from the combat zone, blaming both sides for “indiscriminate fire”.
Abu Salem is a strategically important residential district close to Bab Al Azizia, the ruined compound of Libya’s former dictator Muammar Qaddafi. If either coalition can dominate the area they will gain control of key traffic routes into the south-west of the city, including Airport Road which connects to the capital’s partially destroyed international airport.
The National Salvation Government, under the leadership of self-declared prime minister Khalifa Ghweil, rejects the Government of National Accord and has accused it of being directed by foreign powers.
Skirmishes between each government’s militias have raged for weeks, and on Monday the motorcade of the Government of National Accord’s prime minister, Fayez Al Sarraj, was ambushed and raked by gunfire as it passed close to the rival administration’s territory. There were no casualties.
Two days later, the tension between the rival militias boiled over into fighting.
Martin Kobler, chief of the United Nations Support Mission for Libya, which backs the Government of National Accord, called on Friday for calm, tweeting: “Concerned about ongoing clashes in Abu Selim [sic] Tripoli. Call for calm, dialogue & protection of civilians from getting caught in crossfire.”
The ceasefire offers temporary respite, but the threat of escalation is ever present, with Mr Ghweil warning that his main militia grouping, the newly formed Libyan National Guard, kept out of the recent fighting, would be deployed if there were further clashes.
The battles have been a further blow to the diminishing credibility of the Government of National Accord, which was formed in December 2015 with UN support as a government to unify the country.
The self-professed “unity government” has operated in Tripoli since March last year, but its failure to bring militias under control has seen its credibility undermined.
Both governments in Tripoli are rejected by Libya’s elected parliament, the House of Representatives, which is based in the eastern town of Tobruk and insists its own government, led by Abdullah Al Thinni and based in Bayda, is the rightful one.
The parliament president Aguila Saleh condemned the militia battles in the capital on Friday, saying: “What’s happening in Tripoli is a terrorist and criminal act.”
The fighting casts a shadow over a new Libyan peace process initiated earlier this month by Egypt, which has encouraged the Government of National Accord and House of Representatives to begin talks on ending the civil war. The National Salvation Government was not invited to the negotiations.
Indirect talks conducted by Egyptian officials in Cairo on February 15 between Mr Al Sarraj and the House of Representatives’ army commander, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, ended with both men agreeing to the formation of a peace commission composed of 15 members from each side.
But the latest fighting in Tripoli casts doubt on whether the UN-backed government has a future.
Last Tuesday its weakness was highlighted in a leaked report by the European Union Border Assistance Mission in Libya, which said there was an “absence of a functioning national government” in the country and that “genuine and legitimate state structures are difficult to identify”.
For the House of Representatives, and for foreign diplomats, the question being asked after the fighting in Tripoli is whether the Government of National Accord is capable of being even a part of a new unity administration, let alone ruling the country alone.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
Five ways to get fit like Craig David (we tried for seven but ran out of time)
Start the week as you mean to go on. So get your training on strong on a Monday.
Train hard, but don’t take it all so seriously that it gets to the point where you’re not having fun and enjoying your friends and your family and going out for nice meals and doing that stuff.
Think about what you’re training or eating a certain way for — don’t, for example, get a six-pack to impress somebody else or lose weight to conform to society’s norms. It’s all nonsense.
Get your priorities right.
And last but not least, you should always, always chill on Sundays.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Abu Dhabi race card
5pm: Maiden (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,400m
6pm: Liwa Oasis (PA) Group 2 | Dh300,000 | 1,400m
6.30pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-2 (PA) Group 3 | Dh300,000 | 2,200m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap | Dh70,000 | 1,600m
7.30pm: Maiden (TB) | Dh80,000 | 2,200m
Rebel%20Moon%20-%20Part%20One%3A%20A%20Child%20of%20Fire
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EZack%20Snyder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESofia%20Boutella%2C%20Djimon%20Hounsou%2C%20Ed%20Skrein%2C%20Michiel%20Huisman%2C%20Charlie%20Hunnam%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
MATCH INFO
England 241-3 (20 ovs)
Malan 130 no, Morgan 91
New Zealand 165 all out (16.5ovs)
Southee 39, Parkinson 4-47
England win by 76 runs
Series level at 2-2
More on Quran memorisation:
US%20federal%20gun%20reform%20since%20Sandy%20Hook
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Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
Other IPL batting records
Most sixes: 292 – Chris Gayle
Most fours: 491 – Gautam Gambhir
Highest individual score: 175 not out – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)
Highest strike-rate: 177.29 – Andre Russell
Highest strike-rate in an innings: 422.22 – Chris Morris (for Delhi Daredevils against Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017)
Highest average: 52.16 – Vijay Shankar
Most centuries: 6 – Chris Gayle
Most fifties: 36 – Gautam Gambhir
Fastest hundred (balls faced): 30 – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)
Fastest fifty (balls faced): 14 – Lokesh Rahul (for Kings XI Punjab against Delhi Daredevils in 2018)
RACECARD
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Company%C2%A0profile
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The%20Genius%20of%20Their%20Age
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20S%20Frederick%20Starr%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Oxford%20University%20Press%3Cbr%3EPages%3A%20290%3Cbr%3EAvailable%3A%20January%2024%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
