TRIPOLI. Libya

Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha said Sunday there is no place in Libya for war criminals who are trying to take control of the administration with the power of weapons.

Bashagha took to Twitter and said Libya would welcome initiatives that accept a civilian administration to end the crisis.

He addressed the nation and said it faced a historical challenge which requires positive participation and discipline to establish a state that hates chaos, terrorism and extremism.

Bashagha welcomed attempts to end the crisis and unite state institutions, which guarantees Libya's sovereignty, an army that submits to a civil administration and a civil administration that accepts the will of the people.

He noted there is no longer room for chaos and various proposals in the name of a revolution.

The army recently inflicted heavy blows to the renegade commander Khalifa Haftar and liberated Tripoli and Tarhuna from his militants.

The internationally recognized government has been under attack by Haftar's forces since April 2019, with more than 1,000 killed in the violence.

The government launched Operation Peace Storm in March to counter attacks on the capital and recently regained strategic locations, including Al-Watiya airbase.

Libya's government was founded in 2015 under a UN-led agreement, but efforts for a long-term political settlement failed due to the military offensive by Haftar’s forces.

*Writing by Dilara Hamit