The Prime Minister-designate of the parliament-appointed Government of National Stability (GNS), Osama Hammad, condemned the drone bombardment that targeted sites in the city of Zawiya and its vicinity earlier on Thursday.

He also called on the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, to intervene in order to protect civilians.

This came in a statement issued by Hammad and published by GNS' media office on Thursday evening.

Hammad added that his government “watched with concern and regret the current events this morning in the city of Zawiya and its suburbs, including armed clashes and drone strikes, which led to spreading panic among the peaceful population, and resulted in some public facilities being bombed.”

He stressed that his government “condemns these ill-conceived actions" warning that "excessive use of force would ignite a war between actors in the region, thwart the efforts of comprehensive national reconciliation and fuel division and discord".

Hammad called on sheikhs, elders and notables to “intervene quickly in order to put out the fire of sedition before it escalates, and to preserve peace and security for the people.”

He also called on the “Attorney General to initiate the necessary legal measures to hold accountable everyone that endangered the lives of citizens,” noting that “the national duty requires each of us to preserve the security of the homeland and the safety of its citizens”.

Military Operation in the Western region

Libya's interim Government of National Unity (GNU) announced the implementation of air strikes against the "hideouts of fuel smuggling, drug trafficking and human trafficking gangs" in the western region, stressing that they were successful strikes that achieved their desired goals according to a statement published by government spokesman Mohamed Hammouda early Thursday.

“The Ministry of Defense, while carrying out its national mission with direct follow-up from the Prime Minister, confirms the implementation of the instructions and the military plan set in order to purify the areas of the western coast and the rest of Libya from the dens of crime and gang actions, and that it will never delay in carrying out its national duty.”

The Ministry of Defense called on all citizens to cooperate fully with military forces and the General Staff in its operations, which it warned: "will not stop until all its goals are achieved."

While the Ministry of Defense did not specify in its statement the sites targeted, local sources and activists reported on social media that the bombing targeted several sites in the city of Zawiya and its vicinity.