The detention of two officers from the 444th Brigade, Mahmood Hamza, who was the regimental commander, sparked fierce clashes. Tripoli Years ago, 55 people were killed and 146 wounded, and he returned to his unit on Wednesday.
Hamza was arrested on Monday as he tried to travel through the army-controlled Mitica airport in Tripoli.
Under a deal brokered by the city’s sheikhs, the Special Task Force handed Hamza over to the Third Division’s Stability Support Service. Two officers from the 444th Brigade told Reuters that Hamza was handed over to the brigade late on Wednesday.
Pictures sent by one of the officers of the 444th Brigade showed Hamza embracing his fellow fighters as he returned to his army uniform. Militants fired into the sky on Wednesday night after word spread that Hamza had been released.
Clashes erupted across the capital, Tripoli, between the Special Forces and the 444th Brigade following Hamza’s arrest late Monday.
The number of dead and injured was announced by the Emergency Medical and Support Center on Wednesday.
Airlines that on Tuesday stopped using Mitica airport, which saw some strong clashes, said they resumed their flights on Wednesday.
Under an agreement announced by the city’s sheikhs, police and other security forces, who had remained neutral during the clashes, moved into the fighting areas.
Major fighting in Libya has been halted since a ceasefire between the two main parties in the east and west in 2020, but rival factions still control most of the territory, and achieving a permanent solution to the conflict remains elusive. The conflict erupted after an uprising that began in 2011 and was supported by NATO.
France 24/Reuters
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