TUNIS: Pro-Palestinian activists on a march aiming to break Israel’s Gaza blockade have retreated to the Misrata region of western Libya after being blocked by the authorities in the country’s east, organizers said on Sunday.
The “Soumoud” convoy — meaning steadfastness in Arabic — decided to fall back near Misrata, about 200 km east of Tripoli, after being stopped by the eastern authorities.
Misrata is administered by the UN-recognized Government of National Unity based in Tripoli, while military commander Khalifa Haftar controls the east.
The convoy of more than 1,000 people from Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, and Tunisia had been under a “military blockade” since Friday at the entrance to Sirte, a Haftar-controlled area.
Organizers said they were subjected to a “systematic siege,” with no access to food, water, or medicine, and communications severely disrupted.
