For the second consecutive day, on Monday, dozens of people took out protests in Misrata, Libya, against the corruption, deteriorating living conditions, and worsening public services in the country.
A day before, hundreds of people rallied in Misrata and over 1,000 people took to the streets in the capital, Tripoli, against similar concerns.
Libya, a major oil producer North African country, has been conflict-ridden since longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi was killed and overthrown by the NATO supported uprising in 2011.
The country has now been divided into the west and the east. Where the west is administered by the Government of National Accord (GNA), backed by Turkey and recognized by the United Nations. The east is administered by the Haftar forces which are backed by Egypt, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Editor of the International Interest, Sami Hamdi, stated the protests showcased an example of “an increasingly angry Libyan population” whose anger over deteriorating living conditions surpassed the divide of east and west.
“[It is] a dynamic that is outside the control of international powers,” Hamdi said.
On Friday, Turkey-backed GNA’s Prime Minister, Fayez al-Sarraj, proposed a ceasefire and called for the demilitarisation of Sirte, a central city between the two rival administration’s controlled regions and also referred to as the gateway to Libya’s main oil terminals.
However, protesters in Misrata, one of the main sources of military power for the GNA, said the GNA could not make this decision on their behalf.
“We want peace but the only people who should decide a ceasefire are the people on the front lines,” 35-year-old Abdelmemam al-Asheb said on Monday to Aljazeera.
Currently, war-torn Libya has reported over 11,000 confirmed coronavirus infections cases and 199 related deaths.