Libya’s Deputy Parliament Speaker Jalal Saleh Shuwaidi has warned Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi against plans to send troops to assist militias loyal to putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar, saying that the Libyan desert would swallow Egypt if it proceeded. Noting that the Egyptian military has no power to enter another …
Read More »Haftar asked Washington for help in controlling Libya’s sea and land borders
Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) sent a message to Washington on Sunday calling for international control of land and sea border crossings and ports to prevent weapons from being sent to the capital’s government, Al Arabiya TV channel reported. “The LNA insists on international control over land …
Read More »Over 100 civilians killed in Libyan conflict between April and June
More than 100 civilians including children were killed by ground fighting, explosive remnants, and air raids in Libya between April and June, according to the United Nations. The figure is an increase of 65 percent from the first three months of the year, the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) …
Read More »72 migrants intercepted off Libyan coast: UNHCR
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Saturday said that 72 migrants have been intercepted by the Libyan coast guard off the country’s western coast. The UNHCR tweeted that “72 people were brought back to Tripoli Naval Port by Libyan Coast Guard late last night. UNHCR and the …
Read More »Libya’s UN-backed government says it will respond to threats from Egypt
Libya’s UN-backed parliament in Tripoli has criticized Egypt’s move to send its soldiers to the country. “We completely reject the Egyptian Parliament’s decision based on an illegitimate invitation by those who claim to represent the Libyan tribes under the guise of ‘parliament’,” the parliament of the Government of National Accord …
Read More »OPINION: Libya back in turmoil with oil exports again at the mercy of renegade forces
Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) triumphantly said on 10 July that it was lifting force majeure on oil exports, heralding a new phase in a ruinous civil war that has ravaged the leading North African energy exporter. It proved embarrassingly premature as the state player was forced to reimpose the …
Read More »Oil production resumes in Libya after months-long shutdown
The Libyan National Oil Company announced Friday the resumption of oil production and exports after a nearly six-month shutdown due to conflict dividing the country. “The NOC has lifted force majeure on all oil exports from Libya,” the company said in a statement, adding that production will take time to …
Read More »Libya: UAE unacceptable in our political talks
Libya’s permanent representative to the UN said that his country “no longer accepts the UAE’s presence in its political dialogues”. This came during Taher al-Sunni’s speech at the UN Security Council session on Libya, late Wednesday in New York. “The UAE is involved in supporting the failed coup attempt in …
Read More »Turkey announces naval drills off Libya coast
The Turkish Ministry of National Defence has announced that large-scale naval exercises off the Libyan coast will take place soon. According to the official statement, the expected maneuvers will be called “Naftex”, adding that the maritime exercises will take place off the Libyan coast in three different regions: Barbaros, Turgutreis, …
Read More »France-Turkey spat over Libya arms exposes NATO’s limits
The festering dispute between France and Turkey over a naval standoff in the Mediterranean Sea has shone a glaring searchlight on NATO’s struggle to keep order among its ranks and exposed weaknesses in a military alliance that can only take action by consensus. The dispute has also revealed NATO’s limits …
Read More »Libya ‘will respond’ to airstrikes on Al-Watiya airbase
Libya will respond to recent overnight airstrikes on strategically important Al-Watiya airbase, said Libya’s deputy defense minister Sunday. Writing on social media, Salah Al-Namroush said the airstrikes by foreign fighter jets supporting “war criminal Khalifa Haftar” were a failed attempt to distract from recent victories by the Libyan Army. He …
Read More »Foreign warplanes backing up Haftar strike Al-Watiya airbase in Libya
Foreign warplanes backing up Haftar’s forces carried out airstrikes on Al-Watiya airbase west of the capital Tripoli, on Sunday. Military sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media, said the attacks targeted equipment inside the base, including an air defense system, adding that …
Read More »‘France is complicit in Libya’s mass graves crime,’ says Turkish official
A spokesperson for the Turkish Justice and Development Party Omar Glick accused France of participating in the mass graves crimes carried out by the militias of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, who is supported by Paris. Glick pointed out that France is complicit in the mass grave crimes by supporting Haftar …
Read More »Former Libya envoy accuses Security Council of ‘hypocrisy’
A former U.N. envoy to Libya has accused the Security Council of “hypocrisy” and of undermining his efforts to bring peace to the war-torn North African country. In a podcast interview, Ghassan Salame said the majority of the U.N. Security Council supported the military offensive launched last year by Libyan …
Read More »‘Sisi did not consider Sirte a red line when ISIS occupied it’, ex-US envoy says
Former US Ambassador to Libya, Deborah Jones, expressed her surprise at the statements of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi on Sirte after he warned that he considered the town a “red line” should the internationally-backed Libyan Government of National Accord aim to take control of it. Speaking to a Libyan …
Read More »Libya defence minister to Sisi: Nothing will stop our progress towards Sirte
The Ministry of Defence of the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) said it will continue in its moves to recapture the eastern city of Sirte from the forces of renegade General Khalifa Haftar despite the warning of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi that the city represents a “red line” …
Read More »UN: Libyan coast guard intercepts 71 Europe-bound migrants
Libya’s coast guard intercepted 71 migrants hoping to make it to Europe, including four women and two children and returned them to the capital Tripoli, the U.N. migration organization said Thursday. The International Organization for Migration tweeted that the migrants, who were stopped late Wednesday, were given food and emergency …
Read More »France ‘will not tolerate’ Turkey’s role in Libya, Macron says
France will not tolerate Turkey’s military intervention in Libya, President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday, accusing Ankara of playing “a dangerous game”. Turkey has intervened decisively in recent weeks in Libya, providing air support, weapons, and allied fighters from Syria to help the government based in Tripoli repel a year-long …
Read More »Al-Sisi’s intervention threat declaration of war: Libya
The Libyan government on Sunday dubbed the Egyptian president’s military intervention threat as a “declaration of war.” “The statements of the Egyptian President [Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi], which are harassing Libya’s sovereignty and meddling in its internal affairs, and supporting putschists, militias, and mercenaries in Libya are unacceptable,” the government’s press office …
Read More »UN chief shocked at Libya mass graves in recently freed town
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep shock late Friday at the discovery of mass graves in Libyan territory recently recaptured from forces commanded by Khalifa Hifter and called for a transparent investigation. The U.N. chief also called on Libya’s U.N.-supported government to secure the mass graves, identify the victims, establish …
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