Stores are open in the city center and trade continues. Many people go to work. Clashes between the forces of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar and the Government of National Accord occasionally flare up dozens of kilometers away from the city, to the southeast from the Yarmouk military camp.
READ MORE: Libya's GNA Presidential Council VP Resigns Over Rift With Sarraj — Reports
Roads in Tripoli are open to traffic. Checkpoints are a rare sight and many of them remain unmanned. After days of living in fear of airstrikes on the capital, its residents have returned to normal life.
The Amount of Love I have for this City. #Tripoli #Libya #TheShoresOfTripoli pic.twitter.com/ko5zjTWQdH
— Mohamed Htewish (@HtewishM) April 6, 2019
she will stay a capital of love, beauty, and peace.. I wish that god bless you, I love you my heaven 🖤 #Tripoli #طرابلس pic.twitter.com/cksmeJ1CHs
— N U S A ♀🇱🇾 (@nkzem1) April 4, 2019
Khalifa Haftar ordered his Libyan National Army to advance on Tripoli to "free it from terrorists" on Thursday. His troops reportedly seized the cities of Surman and Garyan to the west and south of the capital. The forces loyal to the Government of National Accord announced a counteroffensive on Sunday, dubbed Volcano of Rage, to repel the National Army.
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Libya has been gripped by political turmoil since its leader, Muammar Gaddafi, was deposed and killed in 2011. The country is split between two rival administrations, with an elected parliament governing the east and the UN- and EU-backed government of Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj ruling the territories west from Tripoli.
The administration in the east is supported by Haftar’s Libyan National Army, which has long been fighting against Islamist militants. The United Nations has proposed a general vote in Libya this spring to elect legitimate and nationally-recognized authorities.
