The United States has temporarily withdrawn some of its forces from Libya due to 'security conditions on the ground,' a top military official said Sunday as a Libyan commander's forces advanced toward the capital of Tripoli and clashed with rival militias.
In this March 7, 2019 file photo, U.S. Africa Command Commander Gen. Thomas Waldhauser testifies before the House Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington. U.S. Africa Command says new information shows a woman and a child were killed in a U.S. airstrike that was targeting al-Shabab insurgents in Somalia last year. Last Updated Sunday, April 7, 2019 9:14PM EDT
"The security realities on the ground in Libya are growing increasingly complex and unpredictable," said Marine Corps Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, the head of U.S. Africa Command. "Even with an adjustment of the force, we will continue to remain agile in support of existing U.S. strategy." India also evacuated a small contingent of peacekeepers. The Indian foreign minister, Sushma Swaraj, said the country's 15 Central Reserve Police Force peacekeepers were evacuated Saturday from Tripoli because the "situation in Libya has suddenly worsened" and fighting has moved into the capital city.
Hifter is seeking to capture the capital and seize military control of the whole country before UN-sponsored talks due to start next week that were designed to set a time frame for possible elections in the oil-rich country.U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged Libyan factions to return to negotiations, saying that "there is no military solution to the Libya conflict."
The rival militias, which are affiliated with a UN-backed government in Tripoli, said they had also carried out airstrikes, slowing Hifter's advance.
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