By Sami Zaptia.
London, 9 September 2016:
The Ministry of Interior of the Serraj-led Government of National Accord announced yesterday it was implementing a new security plan in the capital Tripoli over the forthcoming Eid holiday.
The announcement confirms yesterday’s revelation by Musa Koni, who is temporarily taking over chairmanship of the Presidency Council from Faiez Serraj, that he had instructed the Ministry of Interior to step up security in the capital.
The Ministry of Interior’s statement said that the security plan was to prevent any potential ”security breaches” during the three-day Eid al-Adha (feast of sacrifice) holiday that starts Monday.
Furthermore, the ministry pointed out that Tripoli Security Directorate will begin to develop a comprehensive security plan in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior in order to maintain security and stability within the boundaries of the of Tripoli Security Directorate.
Meanwhile, the Ministry announced that it is also implementing a security operation to provide security at all of Tripoli’s petrol stations in reaction to the sudden petrol queues that have emerged as a result of what the Brega Petroleum Marketing Company says are unfounded and divisive rumours about petrol shortages.
Yesterday, Tripoli residents had reported un-uniformed armed men at petrol stations as well as gunshots at at least one petrol station in Tripoli.
In the same vain, the General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL) announced that during a meeting at its headquarters in Tripoli it had discussed the formation of a 24 hour operations room over the Eid holidays.
The Tripoli security plan announced by the Serraj Ministry of Interior is thought to be in reaction to the two car bombs that went off in the centre of Tripoli yesterday.
It is still not clear who was responsible for their detonation with much speculation that it could be IS personnel who had escaped from Sirte or even the BRSC of Benghazi. No one has claimed responsibility yet, but the incidents have made some Tripoli residents and the Serraj GNA nervous.
With the Serraj-led Presidency Council and its GNA desperately trying to achieve some traction and street legitimacy through so-called ”quick victories” any further Tripoli instability could prove terminal for the whole UN-brokered GNA project.
With bank cash shortages, high prices, inflation and the high black market exchange rates, medicine shortages, kidnappings etc – the last thing Serraj and his international backers want is a Tripoli terror campaign.
