Libya’s UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) said it received a shipment of armoured vehicles and arms on Saturday as it attempted to stop the Libyan National Army’s (LNA) advance on the capital Tripoli.
“The GNA is fostering its forces defending Tripoli with armoured vehicles, ammunition, and quality weapons,” the GNA-affiliated forces declared on one of its Facebook pages.
Reuters reported that pictures and videos posted by the GNA forces showed what appeared to be “dozens of Turkish-made BMC Kirpi armoured vehicles in the port of Tripoli.”
Earlier this month, a Tripoli-based government spokesperson said the GNA was talking to its ally Turkey to obtain “anything that is needed to stop the assault,” including military and civilian help.
The LNA, which is allied to a rival administration in eastern Libya, launched an offensive to control Tripoli in early April. As the fighting dragged on, 75,000 people were displaced and 126 civilians have been killed, according to the latest UN figures.
Last week, the European Union (EU) called on all parties in Libya to immediately implement a ceasefire and to engage with the United Nations (UN) to ensure a full and comprehensive cessation of hostilities.
In a statement, the EU said that “the military attack” carried out by the LNA on Tripoli and the subsequent escalation in and around the capital “constitutes a threat to international peace and security and further threatens the stability of Libya.”
