Eastern Libyan Forces Leave Tripoli After Year-Long Assault

A year-long siege of Tripoli by Gen. Khalifa Hafter’s self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA) has finally come to an end this week, with the forces loyal to the GNA reclaiming the airport near Tripoli, effectively the last LNA-held area near Tripoli.

The LNA siege was the most recent of Hafter’s bids to seize Libya and set himself up as a military junta leader. He has been backed by Gulf states, Egypt, and Russia. The GNA is mostly backed by Turkey.

The GNA has turned the tables over the past few weeks, expelling the LNA from much of the coast near Tripoli, and ultimately from that half of the country. The UAE and other backers have tried to convince the LNA to keep fighting, but they’ve lost every foothold in the area.

This isn’t to say that Hafter’s bid to rule Libya is over, and he’ll no doubt try to regroup and come up with a new plan. The GNA, while able to expel them from the area, is still far from being able to take over the country.