The headquarters of the UN mediation mission (UNSMIL) in Tripoli came under rocket fire on Thursday night. The projectile landed nearby, causing no damage or casualties, according to the Interior Ministry and the UN mission.
UNSMIL stated on X that it was “informed of a rocket being fired close to its compound during the briefing of the UN Special Representative for Libya, Hanna Tetteh, before the Security Council.”
The Interior Ministry in Tripoli also announced that “an attempted SPG rocket attack was thwarted thanks to the vigilance of the police and security forces.”
Calling it a “dangerous precedent,” the ministry added that it had “developed a robust plan to secure UNSMIL headquarters and other diplomatic missions.”
The projectile hit “a house in the city of Janzour (a suburb of Tripoli) without causing damage,” the ministry said, adding that it seized a pickup truck carrying two more rockets and a launch ramp. “The competent authorities are working to identify the suspects so they can be arrested and brought to justice,” it added.
UNSMIL confirmed that “the mission headquarters was not affected by the incident” and thanked the authorities for “their swift measures to conduct a thorough investigation and ensure the safety of UN facilities.”
The Government of National Unity (GNU), based in Tripoli and recognized by the UN, “strongly condemned the failed attempt to target the mission’s headquarters,” calling it “a serious act intended to endanger security and stability and to harm Libya’s relations with the international community.”
The GNU reiterated its “commitment to building professional and unified security forces and ending the phenomenon of illegal armed groups.”
Since the fall and death of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has remained unstable, with two rival governments claiming power: in western Libya, the internationally recognized administration of Abdulhamid Dbeibah, and in eastern Libya, a parallel government backed by powerful strongman Khalifa Haftar.
In May, violent clashes erupted in Tripoli between government forces and armed groups the government sought to disband, leaving eight people dead, according to UNSMIL.
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