10 April – 16 April: LNA issues arrest warrant for GNA Prime Minister amongst others

Apr 16, 2019 | Libyan actors

On 11 April, the Libyan National Army (LNA) military prosecutor issued an arrest warrant for a raft of high-profile Tripoli and Misratan political and security figures including Government of National Accord (GNA) Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj and Deputy Prime Ministers Ahmed Maiteeq, Musa Kuni, and Abdussalam Kajman as well as Misratan militia leaders Abdurrahman al-Swehli and Salah Badi, GNA military commander Usama al-Juwaili and Grand Mufti Sadiq al-Ghariyani, among many others.

In Tripoli, the situation on the ground appears to have reached a stalemate. Neither the Libyan National Army (LNA) nor anti-LNA forces have lost or gained any significant ground since last week. Territorial control seemed to alternate continuously between LNA and anti-LNA forces. For example, on 14 April, anti-LNA forces managed to push LNA units further south of Tripoli retaking the Azizziyah and Qasr Ben Ghashir areas. However, by the following day (15 April), the LNA reclaimed the territory it lost.

In contrast, the number of aerial attacks had increased. Over the last week, both the Libyan National Army (LNA) and the Government of National Accord (GNA) increased the number and range of airstrikes they conducted on targets within and outside of Tripoli. On 13 April, the GNA aligned forces operating under the “Operation Volcano of Rage” claimed their air force conducted as many as 21 missions over a 24-hour time span. On 12 April, the LNA spokesman, Ahmed al-Mismari, stated the LNA would increase its aerial attacks over Tripoli. The following day the LNA claimed to have undertaken as many as 8 aerial attacks over Tripoli. Other airstrikes have been conducted throughout the week.