The Libyan unity government denounces a new attack by forces from the east of the country in Misrata

July 24 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The forces of the Libyan Unity Government, based in Tripoli, have denounced an attack by fighters related to the parallel administration in the east of the country, in a new episode of armed tension that is felt in the North African country after the violent clashes recorded before of the weekend in the capital.

The Joint Operations Force (FOC) of the Government of National Unity has accused militias close to the “prime minister” of the east of the country, Fazi Bashaga, of attacking his patrols stationed at a checkpoint in Al Dafiniyah, at the western entrance of Misrata.

The clashes started after eastern forces accused FOC members of setting up this post without authorization before opening fire on them. Unity government fighters have stated that the fighting has left an undetermined number of casualties, reports the Libya Observer.

“The (eastern) armed force fled the scene towards the farms,” ​​according to FOC sources.

After this skirmish, the US ambassador to Libya has declared that clashes like this “demonstrate the urgent need for Libya to embrace a joint path towards the elections to declare a truly united government”, he has made known through a statement on his account. from Twitter.

The ambassador has warned that this kind of confrontation demonstrates the “dangerous possibility that the violence will end up increasing” and “returning the country to an era that its citizens believed they had left behind”, referring to the years of conflict between the Tripoli authorities and from the east of the country after the death of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The situation in the capital, adds the ‘Observer’, has been calm all this weekend after Friday’s clashes between rival militias that left at least 16 dead and 25 wounded.