Masked men in military uniform tried on Wednesday to force the headquarters of Libya’s Audit Bureau in Tripoli, to install a disputed deputy head by force. The UN mission in Libya, UNSMIL, called the attempt unacceptable. It is an attempt and a condemnation. It is not a confirmed takeover of the institution, and it is not Reuters identifying who sent them.

The Straits Times, via Reuters, writes that social-media footage shows a group in beige fatigues and hats at the gate of the bureau, which is charged with safeguarding public funds. Who ordered it was not clear. The bureau made no immediate comment. “The use of force to impose appointments to sovereign institutions is wholly unacceptable and represents a grave threat to the rule of law,” UNSMIL said.

The Libya Observer, later the same day, quotes a bureau statement: operations are suspended until further notice, after an armed raid on the chairman, members and staff. The institution says work will resume when safety and independence are guaranteed. Reuters, in the morning, did not have that statement. Two hours, two layers.

Local sources, carried by the Observer, named the 444 Brigade and Anwar al-Hawsh as the intended appointee. The Reuters dump does not identify them. Those remain local claims, not the agency’s attribution. Libya has been split into rival camps since 2014; armed factions, some with official status, have long fought over buildings and revenues. Context. Not Wednesday’s verdict.

UNSMIL called for an end to armed interference and the immediate withdrawal of armed men, and for disputes to be settled through legal channels, in line with the Libyan Political Agreement. A UN condemnation neither installs nor removes a deputy head.

Source consulted: Masked men try to storm Libya's financial oversight body — The Straits Times.

Image: Tripoli’s Red Castle at night, 23 December 2022, Mohamed Tailamun, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The city, not the Audit Bureau gate.

Sources consulted: UNSMIL condemns use of force to impose disputed appointment at Libya’s Audit Bureau — Libya Observer.