Tripolitania and Tripoli
High Security Committee (HSC) spokesman Abdul Monem Al Hur blamed the escape of 120 prisoners from the al-Judaida prison in Tripoli on 15 October on the handover of security at the facility from militia to the Judicial Police. According to officials, the prisoners included illegal African migrants and Libyan criminals. Officials later claimed that over half of the escapees were subsequently recaptured, although the exact circumstances behind the breakout remain unclear.
Reuter’s news agency reported that ten people were killed and dozens wounded during shelling and counter attacks around Bani Walid on 17 October. National Assembly Speaker Mohammed Magarief’s office issued a statement on 19 October stressing the need for a peaceful solution to the crisis, but that any solution was predicated on the extension of state sovereignty to Bani Walid, the handing over of wanted individuals, and the return of hostages. Al Watan Libya reported that elders and local council leaders from Cyrenaica ended their meeting in Misratah on 19 October after the spokesman for the pro-government Bani Walid local council, which had been run-out of the town by pro-Qadhafi loyalists, condemned those attending for meeting with members of the former regime and other representatives of the town.
The Libya Herald reported the beginning of a full-scale assault against Beni Walid on 19 October, marking the end of efforts to find a peaceful solution to the crisis. The AFP news agency subsequently reported that 26 people were killed and 200 wounded during operations against Bani Walid on 20 October. The Libya Herald citing sources at Misrata General Hospital also reported that thirteen soldiers had been killed during renewed assaults against the town, with around 120 wounded in what appears to have been the fiercest day of fighting so far. It remains unclear how many casualties have been reported from Bani Walid itself. Separate reports have claimed that government forces are now in control of several areas of the town, although this remains unconfirmed. Fighting was reported to have continued over the 21 & 22 October.
On 20 October a group of alleged pro-Qadhafi supporters attacked Camp 27, the former Khamis Brigade camp between Janzour and Zawia. According to reports, they held the camp for several hours, until it was later retaken by government forces comprising High Security Committee (HSC) forces; the Thunderbolt Battalion and at one point air force elements. It is unclear if anyone was killed or injured in the incident; some reports have suggested that the aim of the attack was to divert the armed forces from operations against Bani Walid.
A 21 October statement by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon expressed alarm over the ongoing fighting in Bani Walid and in particular the reports of growing civilian casualties in the area. The statement, issued from New York called on the Libyan authorities and those in Bani Walid to immediately start a process to find a peacefully resolve the stand-off, and reminded all parties of their obligations under international law. The statement also affirmed that the international community was closely monitoring the situation.
