TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) – Libyans celebrated the 10th anniversary of their 2011 uprising on Wednesday, which led to the overthrow and death of ruler Moammar Gadhafi. Many have their eyes set on a newly appointed government tasked with leading Libya during this year’s elections, hoping to unify the divided nation.
The celebrations began on Tuesday afternoon in the capital, Tripoli, where people gathered in the city’s main square amid strict security. The main streets and squares had been cleaned and decorated with banners and photos on the occasion of the birthday.
Feasts were also held in other southern cities, where fireworks in the town of Sabha killed a child and injured about 15 people, medical and municipal officials said. Sabha municipality later called for an investigation into the cause of Tuesday night’s explosion during celebrations in the Mansheya neighborhood.
There were also celebrations in the eastern city of Benghazi, once known as the cradle of the Libyan uprising in 2011. With Libyan flags, some people gathered in the town square despite the cold wave that went on. affect the country this week.
Hassan Wanis, head of the General Authority for Culture in Tripoli, said celebrations and commemorative events were planned in the three regions of ancient Libya: Tripolitania in the west, Cyrenaica in the east and Fezzan in the east. southwest.
“Everyone is ready to celebrate it especially this time, to unify the country,” he said.
Faraj Rajab, a schoolteacher, said there was too much insecurity and financial difficulties to celebrate. He said he hopes the newly appointed government will pave the way for the elections.
“We still live with failure, corruption and destruction,” he said.
Libyans took to the streets ten years ago, shortly after protests led to the overthrow of Tunisian Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Egyptian Hosni Mubarak, in what became known as the Arab Spring.
Libya has become one of the most intractable conflicts, along with Yemen and Syria, left over from the 2011 uprisings. In the years since Gadhafi’s expulsion, the North African country has fallen into chaos and has become a haven for Islamic militants and armed groups that survive looting and human trafficking.
The oil-rich country has been divided in recent years between rival administrations: a UN-backed but weak government in Tripoli (a city largely controlled by a number of armed factions) and an Eastern government with the gene support. Khalifa Hifter. Each is supported by foreign governments.
There have been devastating attacks of violence. The latest began in April 2019, when Hifter, with the support of the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia, launched an offensive aimed at capturing Tripoli. His campaign collapsed after Turkey intensified its military support for the Tripoli administration with hundreds of troops and thousands of Syrian mercenaries.
Months of UN-led talks led to an agreement in October that put an end to hostilities and called for the withdrawal of all foreign forces and mercenaries within three months and adherence to an arms embargo. of the UN, provisions that have not been complied with.
The talks also established a Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, which earlier this month appointed an interim government (a three-member Presidential Council and a prime minister) to lead the country through elections, scheduled for December 24th.
The caretaker government includes Mohammad Younes Menfi, an eastern Libyan diplomat from the tribe of anti-colonial hero Omar al-Mukhtar, as chairman of the Libyan Presidential Council. Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah, a pragmatic and well-connected businessman from the western city of Misrata, was appointed prime minister.
Dbeibah continues to consult the formation of his cabinet, which requires confirmation from the country’s divided parliament. Menfi arrived in Tripoli on Tuesday and met with Dbeibah and other officials. According to the Menfi office, the three-member Presidential Council held its first meeting in Tripoli on Wednesday to discuss mechanisms to hold the December vote.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday stressed in separate phone calls with Menfi and Dbeiba the importance of holding elections and implementing the ceasefire agreement, including the withdrawal of foreign forces from Libya. There are currently at least 20,000 foreign mercenaries and fighters in the country, according to the UN
In a report on the occasion of the anniversary, Amnesty International reiterated its demands for accountability to those involved in war crimes and serious human rights violations over the past ten years.
“Unless those responsible for the violations are brought to justice, instead of being rewarded with positions of power, violence, chaos, systematic human rights abuses and the endless suffering of civilians that have characterized post-Libya. Gadhafi will continue non-stop, “said Diana Eltahawy, the group’s regional deputy director.
“We call on the parties to the conflict in Libya and the unity government to ensure that those suspected of committing crimes under international law are not appointed to positions where they can continue to commit abuses and consolidate impunity,” he said. added Eltahawy.
In recent years, Libya has also emerged as the dominant transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East. Traffickers often pack desperate families on poorly equipped rubber boats that stop and melt along the dangerous Mediterranean route.
Thousands drown along the way, while others end up detained in smugglers’ pens or in cramped detention centers if caught by authorities.
___
Magdy reported from Cairo.