Media websites, accounts and social media pages circulated a video that was said to show the Speaker of the Libyan Parliament, Aguila Saleh, residing in the east, threatening to enter Tripoli, which is controlled by a rival government in the West, with war or peace.
But this statement is fragmented, and Aqila Saleh was talking regarding the government’s decision, which he supports, to conduct business from the city of Sirte and avoid entering the capital, “our right to blood.”
And the publications stated, “Aqila Saleh declares that the capital is controlled by armed groups and can only be entered by fighting,” while other publications and media sites went to say, “Aqila Saleh calls for entering Tripoli by war or peace.”
Some of these publications were accompanied by a video clip showing Aqila Saleh saying, “The established fact (…) is that Tripoli is under the control of armed groups, and it is not possible to enter the capital except with two options: fighting or with the consent of these groups, so the government will be under the control of these groups.”
watched Aqila Saleh declares that the capital #tripoli It is controlled by armed groups and can only be entered by combat.#Libya pic.twitter.com/EKal7jiwgP
– February Channel (@FebruaryChannel) May 31, 2022
The appearance of these posts comes following Aqila Saleh gave a speech in the city of Sirte on May 31, following regarding two weeks of clashes that almost plunged the capital, Tripoli, into the cycle of war once more.
On May 17, the parallel government headed by Fathi Bashagha – appointed by parliament in the east and backed by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar – announced its departure from Tripoli following hours of armed clashes with forces loyal to the government of Abdel Hamid al-Dabaiba stationed there. This came hours following Bashagha announced his entry into Tripoli, accompanied by a number of members of his government.
These events point to the continuation of the chaos that has plagued Libya since the fall of the Muammar Gaddafi regime in 2011, and it has not succeeded in getting rid of it, in the absence of an elected government that accepts all sects.
But the statement quoted from Aqila Saleh is fragmented.
It is true that he spoke in this speech that entering Tripoli requires fighting with the forces stationed there or submitting to them, but he added, “Therefore, and in order to avoid bloodshed, the city of Sirte, located in the center of the country, is the guarantor of the government’s liberation from control.”
He continued, “The option to fight is no longer acceptable, but is completely and categorically rejected.”
In Aqila Saleh’s speech, there was no reason to storm the capital or to use violence. The publishers of the circulating clip have deleted the second part of his speech.
