On 15 August, as the fighting intensified in Tripoli after the commander of the 444 Brigade, Mahmoud Hamza, was arrested by the Special Deterrence Force (Rada) at Mitiga Airport, condemnations and calls for peace began to roll in from key international and political actors. The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said it was following the security incidents with concern and called on all parties to protect civilians. It also expressed concern about the possible impact of these developments on the political process and called for an immediate de-escalation.
Meanwhile the French, UK, US, Italian and EU embassies expressed deep concern about the clashes and their impact on civilians, reiterating UNSMIL’s call for de-escalation.
The House of Representatives (HoR) condemned the hostilities and called for all parties to negotiate a de-escalation, saying it holds the Government of National Unity (GNU), the Presidential Council (PC) and armed groups in the capital responsible for the chaos. The High State Council (HSC) also condemned the fighting and called for a ceasefire and peaceful resolution of the violence. PC Deputy Abdullah al-Lafi said the PC is coordinating with chiefs of staff to try and end the fighting. Late on 15 August, there were reports that Hamza had been released to a ‘neutral’ force as a first step towards a ceasefire. As of the morning of 16 August, fighting had ceased.