Harchaoui added, “What I expect in the coming weeks is a backlash from all those anti-Hifter factions once they have regrouped and merged forces. I expect ugly battles in that same area between Ras Jdir and Tripoli, perhaps along the littoral or perhaps further inland, in the Nalut district. It is not going to be an uninterrupted series of rosy victories by the LNA, I don't think so.”
Italy will likely continue to work with both the GNA and LNA, looking for the simplest solutions to complex problems. Italy is set for parliamentary elections in 2018, and immigration is the leading issue for the nation.
The battle in Sabratha stemmed from the Italian government’s attempts to curtail immigration, and despite the destruction and loss of life, it may still be a political victory for a group of politicians and parties who seemingly have little interest in the life or well-being of refugees and migrants.
“The coming weeks will tell whether the new group in control of Sabratha is effectively curtailing the flows,” Mattia Toaldo, a Libya expert and policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told Al-Monitor.
She explained, “Last year, October was one of the months with the highest flows, and so far 3,000 [people] have already arrived.”