East Libyan forces arrest commander of rival faction

tunis — Forces in eastern Libya said they had arrested a rival senior military official in Derna on Friday and the United Nations said it was alarmed by an increasing risk to civilians in the city.

A photo released by forces loyal to eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar showed the arrested officer, Yahiya Al Osta Omar, sitting handcuffed in civilian clothes. Local reports said he had surrendered to protect his family.

Al Osta said earlier this week that residential areas in Derna were being hit by artillery fire and air strikes as Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) stepped up its campaign to seize the coastal city.

Derna, 266km from the border with Egypt, is the only city in eastern Libya to elude LNA control.

The LNA is now estimated to control about half of Derna, with the front line around the shuttered hospital. Residents fleeing the city said DPF fighters had planted mines in the Shiha district.

Access to medical care has been

We are deeply alarmed at the escalating risks to the population. There have been increasing allegations that civilians have been arbitrarily detained Elizabeth Throssell, UN official

cut off and supplies of food, water and electricity badly disrupted, according to residents and humanitarian workers.

“We are deeply alarmed at the escalating risks to the population,” said Elizabeth Throssell, spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a statement.

“There have been increasing allegations that civilians have been arbitrarily detained, while others have been prevented from leaving the city.”