Ten Gaza land convoy activists were detained by Libyan forces on Sunday, the Global Sumud Flotilla announced on Monday, after several hours without communication with a contingent that had attempted to cross a checkpoint into the eastern part of the country.
Activists hailing from Spain, Poland, Italy, Argentina, Uruguay, Portugal, Tunisia, and the USA had attempted to cross a checkpoint at Sirte on their way to Gaza, but were allegedly arrested by security forces affiliated with the Libyan Arab Armed Forces, one of the two main governing factions in the embattled state.
GSF urged supporters to contact their governments to pressure the ruling authority over eastern Libya, the Government of National Stability, to release their activists.
Negotiations between the Global Sumud Land Convoy and GNS for safe passage through their territory had stalled on Sunday, according to a GSF press release, with repeated requests for meetings ignored.
"The genocide and blockade on Gaza continue, and the Palestinian people cannot wait for bureaucratic absurdity to receive relief and aid," said GSF.
On Sunday, social media accounts associated with the convoy announced that they were moving ahead in an attempt to cross the eastern territory into Egypt.
A convoy of 200 activists and thirty vehicles
Operating in tandem with the Gaza flotilla that had been intercepted by Israeli naval forces last week, the land convoy had launched from Zalitan, Libya, last Saturday but stalled outside Sirte the following day amid concerns over a confrontation with Libyan forces.
The convoy of 200 activists and thirty vehicles, most of which are mobile homes, sought to challenge an Egyptian and Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.
The previous land convoy in June had also stopped at Sirte, where it later disbanded after Libyan forces refused to let them pass.