Libya’s National Army (LNA) announced unexpectedly on Thursday that it will grant no more than nine days for all African forces in the southern part of the country to leave.
Lead by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the LNA threatened to use force after the nine-day window shuts.
Haftar urged all combatants coming in from neighboring African countries against taking “part in illegal militias seeking to destabilize security and stability of southern Libya.”
“They are required to leave the Libyan territories immediately and return to their countries of origin,” he said in a statement-- adding that the deadline for Africans to exit is set for March 17.
“After that date, all military means will be used to remove them,” Haftar warned.
The army leadership also called on elders and southern clerics to contact “military security rooms and report all those who provide protection, shelter, or assistance to African migrants in any way that would undermine the security of the southern region of Libya.”
Haftar has reinforced army forces in the South in preparation for a large-scale military operation, as armed clashes continued for the second week in a row in the city of Sabha.
Clashes pitted Arab with non-Arab tribes. At least 10 have been killed and 25 injured so far. Ongoing clashes have also displaced 120 families in the district of Tayuri, one of Sabha's famous neighborhoods.
Fighting in the southern Sabha district has raised fears of escalating violence in the impoverished South, where LNA forces are trying to expand influence through pushing against groups allied with the internationally recognized Tripoli-based Government of National Accord.
Meanwhile, GNA Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj announced the formation of a joint ministerial and parliamentary committee.
The committee is tasked with assessing the deteriorating security in the South.
Sarraj discussed with Sabha Mayor Hamed al-Khayali and southern representatives needed measures to end the current unrest.
