Political
As the newly elected General National Congress (GNC) establishes its mandate, little political news has been reported from Libya in the last week. The Al-Jazeera news agency reported on 17 August that Mohammed Magarief’s office backtracked on comments he had reportedly made a day earlier to the news agency, in which he stated that Libya would adopt a parliamentary system. The statement from the newly elected assembly office clarified that the Libyan system of government would only be decided after a new constitution was finalised.
Tripolitania and Tripoli
Security in the capital remains stable; however there are growing indications that ‘Qadhafi loyalists’ groups are increasing their activity across the city. On 14 August, a media report claimed that pro-Qadhafi supporters in Tripoli vowed to increase their resistance. The report also stated that a former regime fighter claimed that pro-Qadhafi supporters had substantial caches of weapons at various locations.
On the morning of 19 August, two or possibly three car bombs detonated in Tripoli. The first explosion occurred outside the Ministry of Interior in the downtown area. Shortly after, another car bomb, possibly two, detonated outside a former women’s military academy, reportedly used by the Ministry of Defence for detentions and interrogations, near Omar Mukhtar Street. This attack killed two people and wounded at least three others. A fourth unconfirmed bomb was reported to have been found near the Ministry of Interior on Nasser and Al Sarim Streets, but did not explode.
The attacks took place as crowds prepared for morning prayers to mark Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim celebration at the end of Ramadan. The head of security for Tripoli, ColMahmoud Sherif, blamed Qadhafi supporters for the attacks, who he alleged were receiving financial backing from contacts based in neighbouring countries. This clam was given some credibility when a separate Libyan media report claimed that Qadhafi loyalists hacked into the Interior Ministry’s communications network and broadcast its response to the bombings through an online forum. This however remains unconfirmed. On 20 August, the Libyan authorities arrested 32 members of what they described as a ‘Qadhafi-loyalist’ network in connection with the car bomb attack on the previous day. Of note was the fact that the attacks took place on the eve of the anniversary of the fall of Tripoli to rebel fighters in 2011.
