By Muetaz Wannes
ISTANBUL (AA) – Libya's eastern-based forces said on Saturday that they had regained control of the Al-Toum border crossing with Niger, hours after an armed group announced it had taken over the facility.
Earlier, gunmen identifying themselves as the “Revolutionaries of the South” appeared in a video circulated by local media, claiming they had seized the crossing and detained personnel affiliated with the eastern command.
In the footage, one of the armed men said the takeover was aimed at “correcting the course of the Feb. 17 Revolution,” referring to the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi. He cited worsening conditions in southern Libya, including fuel shortages and deteriorating public services, as the motive behind the move.
Shortly afterward, Libyan media aired separate footage showing forces loyal to the eastern military command inside the Al-Toum crossing, confirming that control had been restored.
In the video, a military officer said the crossing and several nearby checkpoints had come under attack by what he described as “hired gangs,” adding that the assault was repelled by Battalion 676, which is deployed along the border under the Libyan army’s general command.
“The attackers were defeated and forced to flee, suffering casualties, and are being pursued deep into the desert, while armed forces continue sweeping operations along the border strip,” the officer said.
Libya remains divided between two rival administrations: one led by Dbeibeh in Tripoli, which controls the west of the country, and another appointed by the House of Representatives (parliament) in early 2022, led by Osama Hammad and based in Benghazi, which governs the east and much of the south.
* Written by Tarek Chouiref