By Sami Zaptia.
London, 6 July 2018:
Nearly a week after the unconfirmed report of an attack on the house of Presidency Council (PC) Deputy Fathi al-Majbari, PC head Faiez Serraj confirmed the incident and condemned it. He had been criticised for failing to comment on the incident which had led Majbari to temporarily seek sanctuary in Tunis.
Majbari, who represents the eastern region of Libya in the PC, had claimed that there was an attempt to kidnap or assassinate him in Tripoli as a result of his support for Khalifa Hafter and the Libyan National Army (LNA).
Majbari has spoken up for Hafter and the LNA for their role in initially ejecting Ibrahim Jadran from the eastern oil crescent and for his recent re-ejection too. Majabari felt that the anti-Hafter wing have not acknowledged Hafter’s role in Libya’s increased oil production of up to one million barrels per day since Jadran was ejected from the oil crescent.
At Tuesday’s weekly press conference, Serraj’s official spokesperson, Mohamed El-Sallak said that Serraj ‘‘categorically rejected such acts and offered his total condemnation of the attack and what disruption it had caused to the (political and security) scene and damage to the reconciliation path.
Sallak stressed Serraj’s ‘‘keenness on the security and safety of Al-Majbari and his companions, and the members of the Presidential Council and the entire Government of National Accord and their need to exercise their work unhindered’’.
The incident, nevertheless, highlights the precarious nature of security in Tripoli and the limits of the control and ability of the Serraj PC/GNA when it comes to security in the capital Tripoli.
