Small Wars Journal

Inside Libya’s Brutal Battle for Control of Tripoli

Fri, 06/28/2019 - 4:18pm

Inside Libya’s Brutal Battle for Control of Tripoli by Photographs by André Liohn and Text by Jared Malsin – Wall Street Journal

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Photos by André Liohn - Wall Street Journal - Many More at the Link

When rogue Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar launched an attack on Tripoli in April, it plunged the North African country into one of its worst crises since Moammar Gadhafi’s death in 2011. The battle imperiled monthslong peace talks and raised the specter of a bloody showdown for control of the country.

“Libya is on the verge of descending into a civil war, which could lead to the permanent division of the country,” Ghassan Salame, the United Nations’ special envoy to Libya, told the Security Council in May.

The battle is taking a toll on Tripoli. At least 739 people have been killed since April, the World Health Organization said.

Photographer André Liohn takes us inside the battle for Tripoli, visiting hospitals treating the wounded, and to the front lines with fighters battling Mr. Haftar’s forces…

Read on.