9 – 15 October: Civilian casualties mount as stalemate continues on Tripoli frontlines

Oct 16, 2019 | Libyan actors

On 14 October, suspected Libyan National Army (LNA) aerial attacks struck a house in the al-Furnaj neighbourhood of Tripoli, killing three children and their mother, and injuring another child. The house was adjacent to a military intelligence camp, which remained undamaged by the attack. The same day, UNSMIL issued a statement expressing shock at the death of three innocent young girls. It strongly condemned “the reckless disregard for the lives of innocent people” and called for the immediate cessation of such indiscriminate attacks.

In response, LNA spokesperson Ahmed al-Mismari claimed the LNA had not targeted any civilian locations in Tripoli and said, “Any target is decided based on confirmed and triple-checked ground intelligence.” However, he admitted that air strikes, including against the military intelligence camp in al-Furnaj had “caused heavy losses in lives and equipment”. Mismari also claimed that the LNA airstrike which destroyed an equestrian centre several days ago had targeted an ammunition store 200 metres from the location.

On 13 October, a notable leader in the Tripoli Revolutionaries Battalion, Adham Nassouf, accused the Government of National Accord’s (GNA) Minister of Finance, Faraj Bumtari, and Central Bank of Libya (CBL) Governor, Sadiq al-Kabir, of blocking a deal between Libya and Turkey to provide GNA-aligned fighters with jamming devices for drones.