A ceasefire came into effect across Tripoli on Wednesday after fierce clashes between rival militias, Libya's internationally recognised government said.
"Regular forces, in co-ordination with the relevant security authorities, have begun taking the necessary measures to ensure calm, including the deployment of neutral units," the Defence Ministry said.
With at least one major militia group under the ministry reported to have been involved in the clashes, the statement did not elaborate on which of them it considered neutral or where they were being deployed.
At least six people were killed, including a top militia leader, in the violence involving heavy weapons that began on Monday evening following the killing of the powerful militia head Abdelghani Al Kikli, also known as Gheniwa. The clashes have been centred in Tripoli’s southern neighbourhood of Abu Salim.
The Tripoli government said late on Tuesday that it had begun asserting control, although the fighting continued overnight into Wednesday, according to witnesses and local media reports.
Violence also erupted in western areas of Tripoli that have historically been a gateway for armed factions from Zawiya, a town to the west of the capital
Witnesses reported sounds of gunfire and explosions at about midnight, with heavy deployment of militia groups in several areas of the capital including Souq Al Juma and around Mitiga airport.
Flights were diverted from Mitiga to Misurata airport, about 180km east along the coast from Tripoli, data compiled by tracking platforms showed. Flights have been suspended since early on Wednesday.
Prisoners managed to escape from Al Jadida prison in Tripoli, including some who were jailed for serious crimes, police said.
Intense fighting near the prison caused panic and fear among the inmates, the authorities added.
The Tripoli Red Crescent Society declared a state of emergency and raised the alert level to maximum in the city on Tuesday night. The agency urged citizens to be cautious and to follow instructions issued by relevant authorities, it said in a post on social media.
The Chairman of Libya’s Presidential Council, Mohamed Al Menfi, said that maintaining peace in the capital was a collective responsibility that “cannot be neglected” and that state institutions must remain above political tensions.
Mr Al Menfi said in a meeting with top Libyan officials that “the current situation requires a unified internal front and a national project that avoid chaos”.
The UN mission in Libya on Tuesday urged all parties to “immediately cease fighting and restore calm”, reminding them of their obligation to protect civilians.
“Attacks on civilians and civilian objects may amount to war crimes,” it said.
Libya is struggling to recover from years of unrest since a 2011 uprising that led to the overthrow and killing of longtime leader Muammar Qaddafi.
Control of the North African country is disputed between the UN-recognised government in Tripoli, led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, and a rival administration in the east, aligned with Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
Despite relative calm in recent years, clashes periodically break out between armed groups vying for territory. In August 2023, 55 people were killed in fighting between two factions in Tripoli.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
