By Sami Zaptia.
London, 22 February 2021:
The U.S. Embassy for Libya yesterday condemned the attack on Tripoli’s Minister of Interior Fathi Bashagha.
In its statement, the Embassy said, ‘‘Ambassador Norland expressed U.S. outrage at the attack on Minister Bashagha, and offered sympathy to the wounded member of his team.
The Ambassador spoke by phone with the Minister. “Minister Bashagha’s focus on ending the influence of rogue militias has our full support,” the Ambassador said, while calling for a speedy investigation to bring those responsible to justice.
Whilst the U.S Embassy acknowledged that there was an attack on Bashagha, it nevertheless did not refer to it as an assassination attempt.
The attack was attributed to the Libyan government created and recognized militia, the Stability Support Apparatus (SSA). In a statement, the SSA denied its personnel had carried out an assassination attempt, claiming it was an accident and a misunderstanding in which Bashagha’s guards share blame.
Tripoli Interior Minister Bashagha survives alleged assassination attempt | (libyaherald.com)