Libya News and Interests
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I'll guarantee that they never took them to Ireland, the Italians are understandingly getting pissed off.Irish naval ship 'rescues 712 people' off Libyan coast
Hundreds, including 14 pregnant women and four infants, rescued off of Libya in 'wretched state',
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/...-712-people-libyan-coast-170626071349826.html
An Irish naval ship has rescued 712 people, including pregnant women and infants, off the coast of the Libyan capital of Tripoli as part of an international migrant-rescue effort, Ireland's Defence Forces say.
I'm very proud to say all lives were saved, no lives were lost. It was a complex operation where lives were at stake at every turn over a full eight-hour period," Commander Brian Fitzgerald told national broadcaster RTE from the ship.
"Overall, they were really in a wretched condition but in all cases healthy enough to undertake the journey to a port of safety."
Earlier this month, at least 126 asylum seekers en route to Europe drowned in the Mediterranean Sea after the motor of their boat was stolen, causing it to sink, the UN migration agency has said.
Gangs in Libya have built a lucrative trade out of packing refugees into rickety boats heading for Italy, where more than 65,000 have arrived so far this year.
As of June 14, 1,828 people are believed to have died trying to reach Europe, according to IOM figures.
Debate over dealing with the refugee influx is becoming increasingly bitter in Italy, whose economy is lagging behind its European peers before national elections next year.
The IOM recently said that hundreds of African refugees and migrants passing through Libya have been bought and sold in modern-day slave markets before being held for ransom or used as forced labour or for sexual exploitation.
People are bought for between $200 and $500 and are held on average for two to three months, Othman Belbeisi, head of the IOM's Libya mission, said in Geneva earlier this year.
Sent from my iPhone 25S with cherries on top
OPEC mulls oil production caps for Libya, Nigeria
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/opec-mulls-oil-production-caps-for-libya-nigeria-2017-07-07
significant in that if Libya is ever to return to normal, oil revenues will fund it.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/opec-mulls-oil-production-caps-for-libya-nigeria-2017-07-07
significant in that if Libya is ever to return to normal, oil revenues will fund it.
The Anonymous
Bag On My Head
Hillary was right.
A thorough online search shows that The Nation magazine and several alternative news sites, including ConsortiumNews and Salon, appear to be the only U.S.-based media that accurately covered the blockbuster story that undermined the entire U.S. narrative for leaving Libya a failed state.
Rationale for an Attack
The United States peddled its false story of a coming genocide in Libya under the doctrine of Responsibility to Protect to justify military intervention. On its face R2P appears to be a rare instance of morality in foreign and military policy: a coalition of nations with U.N. Security Council authorization would take military action to stop an impending massacre. It would have been hard to argue against such a policy in Libya if indeed its genuine purpose was to stop a massacre, after which the military operation would withdraw.
President Barack Obama at the White House with National Security Adviser Susan Rice and Samantha Power (right), his U.N. ambassador and a major advocate for R2P interventions.
But that is not where it ended. While arguing that intervention was necessary to stop a massacre in Libya, the real intent, as the British report says, was regime change. That’s not what American officials said at the outset and what corporate media reported.
[rhetoric]
“In the face of the world’s condemnation, [Libyan leader Moammar] Qadhafi chose to escalate his attacks, launching a military campaign against the Libyan people,” President Barack Obama told the nation on March 28, 2011. “Innocent people were targeted for killing. Hospitals and ambulances were attacked. Journalists were arrested, sexually assaulted and killed. … Cities and towns were shelled, mosques were destroyed, and apartment buildings reduced to rubble. Military jets and helicopter gunships were unleashed upon people who had no means to defend themselves against assaults from the air.”
Hillary Clinton, who according to leaked emails was the architect of the attack on Libya, said four days earlier: “When the Libyan people sought to realize their democratic aspirations, they were met by extreme violence from their own government.”
Sen. John Kerry, at the time chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chimed in: “Time is running out for the Libyan people. The world needs to respond immediately.”
Mustafa Abdul Jalil, head of a transitional council that the U.S., U.K. and France recognized as the legitimate Libyan government, pleaded for a no-fly zone. The University of Pittsburgh–educated Jalil was playing the same game as Ahmed Chalabi had in Iraq. They both sought U.S. military might to bring them to power. He said that if Gaddafi’s forces reached Benghazi they would kill “half a million” people. “If there is no no-fly zone imposed on Qadhafi’s regime, and his ships are not checked, we will have a catastrophe in Libya.”
[end rhetoric]
Report Tells a Different Story
And yet the summary of the September 2016 Foreign Affairs Committee report says: “We have seen no evidence that the UK Government carried out a proper analysis of the nature of the rebellion in Libya. … UK strategy was founded on erroneous assumptions and an incomplete understanding of the evidence.”
The report further said: “Despite his rhetoric, the proposition that Muammar Qadhafi would have ordered the massacre of civilians in Benghazi was not supported by the available evidence. While [he] certainly threatened violence against those who took up arms against his rule, this did not necessarily translate into a threat to everyone in Benghazi. In short, the scale of the threat to civilians was presented with unjustified certainty.”
The committee pointed out that Gaddafi’s forces had taken towns from rebels without attacking civilians. On March 17, two days before NATO’s assault began, Gaddafi told rebels in Benghazi to “throw away your weapons, exactly like your brothers in Ajdabiya and other places did. They laid down their arms and they are safe. We never pursued them at all.” The Libyan leader “also attempted to appease protesters in Benghazi with an offer of development aid before finally deploying troops,” the report said.
In another example, the report indicates that, after fighting in February and March in the city of Misrata, just one percent of people killed by the Libyan government were women or children. “The disparity between male and female casualties suggested that Qadhafi regime forces targeted male combatants in a civil war and did not indiscriminately attack civilians,” the report said.
How then could The New York Times and The Washington Post, the most influential American newspapers, either refuse to adequately cover or not cover at all a story of such magnitude, a story that should have been front page news for days? It was a story that undermined the U.S. government’s entire rationale for an unjustified attack that devastated a sovereign nation.
There can be only one reason the story was ignored: precisely because the report exposed a U.S. policy that led to a horrible crime that had to be covered up.
https://consortiumnews.com/2017/07/07/hiding-us-lies-about-libyan-invasion/
Rationale for an Attack
The United States peddled its false story of a coming genocide in Libya under the doctrine of Responsibility to Protect to justify military intervention. On its face R2P appears to be a rare instance of morality in foreign and military policy: a coalition of nations with U.N. Security Council authorization would take military action to stop an impending massacre. It would have been hard to argue against such a policy in Libya if indeed its genuine purpose was to stop a massacre, after which the military operation would withdraw.
President Barack Obama at the White House with National Security Adviser Susan Rice and Samantha Power (right), his U.N. ambassador and a major advocate for R2P interventions.
But that is not where it ended. While arguing that intervention was necessary to stop a massacre in Libya, the real intent, as the British report says, was regime change. That’s not what American officials said at the outset and what corporate media reported.
[rhetoric]
“In the face of the world’s condemnation, [Libyan leader Moammar] Qadhafi chose to escalate his attacks, launching a military campaign against the Libyan people,” President Barack Obama told the nation on March 28, 2011. “Innocent people were targeted for killing. Hospitals and ambulances were attacked. Journalists were arrested, sexually assaulted and killed. … Cities and towns were shelled, mosques were destroyed, and apartment buildings reduced to rubble. Military jets and helicopter gunships were unleashed upon people who had no means to defend themselves against assaults from the air.”
Hillary Clinton, who according to leaked emails was the architect of the attack on Libya, said four days earlier: “When the Libyan people sought to realize their democratic aspirations, they were met by extreme violence from their own government.”
Sen. John Kerry, at the time chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chimed in: “Time is running out for the Libyan people. The world needs to respond immediately.”
Mustafa Abdul Jalil, head of a transitional council that the U.S., U.K. and France recognized as the legitimate Libyan government, pleaded for a no-fly zone. The University of Pittsburgh–educated Jalil was playing the same game as Ahmed Chalabi had in Iraq. They both sought U.S. military might to bring them to power. He said that if Gaddafi’s forces reached Benghazi they would kill “half a million” people. “If there is no no-fly zone imposed on Qadhafi’s regime, and his ships are not checked, we will have a catastrophe in Libya.”
[end rhetoric]
Report Tells a Different Story
And yet the summary of the September 2016 Foreign Affairs Committee report says: “We have seen no evidence that the UK Government carried out a proper analysis of the nature of the rebellion in Libya. … UK strategy was founded on erroneous assumptions and an incomplete understanding of the evidence.”
The report further said: “Despite his rhetoric, the proposition that Muammar Qadhafi would have ordered the massacre of civilians in Benghazi was not supported by the available evidence. While [he] certainly threatened violence against those who took up arms against his rule, this did not necessarily translate into a threat to everyone in Benghazi. In short, the scale of the threat to civilians was presented with unjustified certainty.”
The committee pointed out that Gaddafi’s forces had taken towns from rebels without attacking civilians. On March 17, two days before NATO’s assault began, Gaddafi told rebels in Benghazi to “throw away your weapons, exactly like your brothers in Ajdabiya and other places did. They laid down their arms and they are safe. We never pursued them at all.” The Libyan leader “also attempted to appease protesters in Benghazi with an offer of development aid before finally deploying troops,” the report said.
In another example, the report indicates that, after fighting in February and March in the city of Misrata, just one percent of people killed by the Libyan government were women or children. “The disparity between male and female casualties suggested that Qadhafi regime forces targeted male combatants in a civil war and did not indiscriminately attack civilians,” the report said.
How then could The New York Times and The Washington Post, the most influential American newspapers, either refuse to adequately cover or not cover at all a story of such magnitude, a story that should have been front page news for days? It was a story that undermined the U.S. government’s entire rationale for an unjustified attack that devastated a sovereign nation.
There can be only one reason the story was ignored: precisely because the report exposed a U.S. policy that led to a horrible crime that had to be covered up.
https://consortiumnews.com/2017/07/07/hiding-us-lies-about-libyan-invasion/
Is Trump Planning a Surge in Libya?
http://www.newsweek.com/isis-brink-defeat-trump-planning-surge-libya-636226
Despite President Trump‘s initial hesitation to consider Libya of critical importance to US national security, it has become clearer that the United States cannot ignore the security threat that Libya poses to US allies in the southern Mediterranean.
Southern Europe faces three major security threats emanating from Libya: illegal migration, criminal activity, and terrorism. Defense Secretary Mattis and his Italian counterpart recently discussed how to best intervene in Libya.
A member of the Libyan National Army, loyal to the country's east strongman Khalifa Haftar, in central Benghazi on July 6, 2017, after retaking the area from jihadist fighters.
Terrorists and other extremist armed groups in Libya benefit from these criminal activities. Libya’s porous borders also benefit terror organizations; ISIS has launched attacks from Libya in neighboring countries such as Tunisia as well as in Europe.
These threats are products, rather than causes, of instability and the absence of rule of law in Libya.
The Libyan coast guard’s cooperation with powerful armed militia groups in the country’s coastal cities has led to criticisms of human rights abuses. UN investigators and activists have accused some armed groups of patrolling migrant sea crossings in order to protect their own criminal interests.
And while ISIS was pushed out of its Libyan stronghold in Sirte in late 2016 with the help of US airstrikes, the group is by no means eradicated from the country. ISIS may seek to draw on Libya’s criminal networks as it regroups.
The UN-backed Presidency Council and Government of National Accord (PC/GNA), meanwhile, remain unable to assert authority over the country as it battles both the opposition in Tripoli and faces opponents in the east.
Against this backdrop, Italy has repeatedly called on the international community, including the United States, to elevate solving the conflict in Libya as a priority for global stability.
So far, those calls appeared to have fallen on deaf ears; Trump in March said that he did not foresee a role for the United States in Libya beyond counterterrorism.
However, the report by CNN could indicate that the administration’s view has shifted or that individuals within the administration that recognize the importance of stabilizing Libya may prevail in crafting a Libya policy.
Moreover, a recent meeting between US Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Italian Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti emphasized US and Italian cooperation on terrorism and the migrant crisis; and therefore the importance of solving the Libyan crisis.
According to the CNN report, the new policy for Libya would aim to support reconciliation between rival factions in the east and west and would send up to fifty US special operations troops to Libya on a rotating basis to engage in counterintelligence sharing, as well as possible training of Libyan forces.
The Libya policy would also seek to reopen the US embassy in Tripoli and re-establish a US presence in the city of Benghazi.
This plan could face several immediate challenges. The first of which is the ongoing proxy war in Libya that has severely weakened the PC/GNA.
The United States will need to convince Egypt and the United Arab Emirates to cease their proxy support for the House of Representatives and Khalifa Haftar in the east and push for all parties to come to the negotiating table, led by the UN, in good faith.
Meanwhile, on the issue of training, European training programs for Libyan troops have not seen much success, and US efforts to train forces in Syria in the fight against ISIS also witnessed little progress.
The reestablishment of a US diplomatic presence in Tripoli would send a powerful message of support for the PC/GNA. Italy’s move earlier this year to become the first Western diplomatic mission to reopen its embassy in Tripoli was a significant vote of confidence for the UN-backed government.
However, fighting continues near Tripoli between rival militia forces opposed to and aligned with the PC/GNA. And although Haftar recently proclaimed Benghazi liberated from Islamists by his Libyan National Army, security in the city remains uncertain.
In particular, the statement in the CNN report that the new policy would call for closer cooperation and intelligence sharing with Haftar, should be viewed warily. It is clear that the eastern strongman must be included in a settlement to end the Libyan conflict.
However, in any settlement, a strong central government must be empowered to establish authority and promote good governance; Haftar cannot rule the country militarily. Should Haftar continue to refuse to accept civilian oversight, US intelligence sharing with him and his Libyan National Army would damage the credibility of the PC/GNA.
The United States should pursue a new policy on Libya in coordination with key European partners including Italy that elevates the stabilization of the country as the primary goal.
In doing so, emphasis should be placed on eradicating criminal networks in Libya that exacerbate the migrant issue and empower terror groups. These are the two threats that most significantly impact European national security and therefore the security interests of the United States.
Moreover, greater stability in the country could contribute to empowering the PC/GNA to undertake critical reconstruction efforts.
Italy should continue to press the Trump administration on the importance of stabilizing Libya. Coordinated Western engagement is necessary to end insecurity in the country, address major threats to shared transatlantic interests, and support Libyan efforts to find a negotiated solution to the crisis.
http://www.newsweek.com/isis-brink-defeat-trump-planning-surge-libya-636226
Despite President Trump‘s initial hesitation to consider Libya of critical importance to US national security, it has become clearer that the United States cannot ignore the security threat that Libya poses to US allies in the southern Mediterranean.
Southern Europe faces three major security threats emanating from Libya: illegal migration, criminal activity, and terrorism. Defense Secretary Mattis and his Italian counterpart recently discussed how to best intervene in Libya.
A member of the Libyan National Army, loyal to the country's east strongman Khalifa Haftar, in central Benghazi on July 6, 2017, after retaking the area from jihadist fighters.
Terrorists and other extremist armed groups in Libya benefit from these criminal activities. Libya’s porous borders also benefit terror organizations; ISIS has launched attacks from Libya in neighboring countries such as Tunisia as well as in Europe.
These threats are products, rather than causes, of instability and the absence of rule of law in Libya.
The Libyan coast guard’s cooperation with powerful armed militia groups in the country’s coastal cities has led to criticisms of human rights abuses. UN investigators and activists have accused some armed groups of patrolling migrant sea crossings in order to protect their own criminal interests.
And while ISIS was pushed out of its Libyan stronghold in Sirte in late 2016 with the help of US airstrikes, the group is by no means eradicated from the country. ISIS may seek to draw on Libya’s criminal networks as it regroups.
The UN-backed Presidency Council and Government of National Accord (PC/GNA), meanwhile, remain unable to assert authority over the country as it battles both the opposition in Tripoli and faces opponents in the east.
Against this backdrop, Italy has repeatedly called on the international community, including the United States, to elevate solving the conflict in Libya as a priority for global stability.
So far, those calls appeared to have fallen on deaf ears; Trump in March said that he did not foresee a role for the United States in Libya beyond counterterrorism.
However, the report by CNN could indicate that the administration’s view has shifted or that individuals within the administration that recognize the importance of stabilizing Libya may prevail in crafting a Libya policy.
Moreover, a recent meeting between US Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Italian Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti emphasized US and Italian cooperation on terrorism and the migrant crisis; and therefore the importance of solving the Libyan crisis.
According to the CNN report, the new policy for Libya would aim to support reconciliation between rival factions in the east and west and would send up to fifty US special operations troops to Libya on a rotating basis to engage in counterintelligence sharing, as well as possible training of Libyan forces.
The Libya policy would also seek to reopen the US embassy in Tripoli and re-establish a US presence in the city of Benghazi.
This plan could face several immediate challenges. The first of which is the ongoing proxy war in Libya that has severely weakened the PC/GNA.
The United States will need to convince Egypt and the United Arab Emirates to cease their proxy support for the House of Representatives and Khalifa Haftar in the east and push for all parties to come to the negotiating table, led by the UN, in good faith.
Meanwhile, on the issue of training, European training programs for Libyan troops have not seen much success, and US efforts to train forces in Syria in the fight against ISIS also witnessed little progress.
The reestablishment of a US diplomatic presence in Tripoli would send a powerful message of support for the PC/GNA. Italy’s move earlier this year to become the first Western diplomatic mission to reopen its embassy in Tripoli was a significant vote of confidence for the UN-backed government.
However, fighting continues near Tripoli between rival militia forces opposed to and aligned with the PC/GNA. And although Haftar recently proclaimed Benghazi liberated from Islamists by his Libyan National Army, security in the city remains uncertain.
In particular, the statement in the CNN report that the new policy would call for closer cooperation and intelligence sharing with Haftar, should be viewed warily. It is clear that the eastern strongman must be included in a settlement to end the Libyan conflict.
However, in any settlement, a strong central government must be empowered to establish authority and promote good governance; Haftar cannot rule the country militarily. Should Haftar continue to refuse to accept civilian oversight, US intelligence sharing with him and his Libyan National Army would damage the credibility of the PC/GNA.
The United States should pursue a new policy on Libya in coordination with key European partners including Italy that elevates the stabilization of the country as the primary goal.
In doing so, emphasis should be placed on eradicating criminal networks in Libya that exacerbate the migrant issue and empower terror groups. These are the two threats that most significantly impact European national security and therefore the security interests of the United States.
Moreover, greater stability in the country could contribute to empowering the PC/GNA to undertake critical reconstruction efforts.
Italy should continue to press the Trump administration on the importance of stabilizing Libya. Coordinated Western engagement is necessary to end insecurity in the country, address major threats to shared transatlantic interests, and support Libyan efforts to find a negotiated solution to the crisis.
simmering tensions indicate battle for Tripoli may be on the horizon
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/has-battle-tripoli-begun-again-578689855
s chaos reigns in Libya, with competing authorities continuing to vie for power, the battle for Tripoli appears to have begun anew.
Clashes broke out earlier this week, in the east of the capital city, between forces loyal to the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) and those loyal to the National Guard of the Salvation Government (SG).
The capital is an important target for warring sides in the region, offering control over strategic assets such as the Libyan Central Bank, the air and sea ports in the city, as well as all other institutions.
The Garabulli region, where the clashes took place, is considered a strategic gateway into the city, and fighting there may have been intended to be the start of a wider battle
he clashes left at least four dead and over 20 injured, according to the UN-backed government's health ministry, with the SG forces being pushed further from the city.
The UN-backed Presidential Council (PC), which presides over the GNA, is headed by Fayaz al-Sarraj, a figure who has remained controversial since his entry into Libya in March 2016.
The Government of National Accord has met resistance from many groups, including some of those involved in these latest clashes.
Each of the parties is being steered by external governments. They are each backed by different countries, and the war they are fighting is not just a war between Libyans
- Libyan political analyst
Both sides have accused the other of starting the battle, with the pro-GNA side accusing the SG-linked forces, which had been positioned in the Garabulli region, of embarking on an attempt to advance into the capital, while the SG forces say the GNA did the provoking.
The National Guard of the Salvation Government receives most of its support from militias from the city of Misrata, about 200km east of Tripoli. It has been accused of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, accusations which it has denied.
Libya’s power houses
Whilst the international community recognises the Government of National Accord’s PC as the representative body of the country, the country is split in its support three main ways.
The PC, based in the country's western capital city Tripoli, was welcomed by much of the population with great optimism, taking over as it did during a time of great financial crisis and instability.
However, over the year and four months in which it has been somewhat in power, public opinion of al-Sarraj and his government has plummeted.
Next is the Government of National Salvation, which presides over the General National Congress elected in 2012, and which is also in Tripoli.
Finally, there is the third grouping in the east of the country, comprising various authorities, including military forces loyal to renegade general Khalifa Haftar and the House of Representatives.
All three have failed to engage in successful peace-making efforts, while Haftar has repeatedly issued threats that his forces would soon take over Tripoli, most recently in May.
The three power houses in the country have all had their sights set on the capital, with each enjoying backing from external powers.
The UN-backed GNA has the support of the United States and most of the international community, and is recognised as the only representative government, but Tripoli has been rife with clashes and instability ever since the GNA came into the city last year.
The government in the east has the support of the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, with the UAE breaking an arms embargo by supplying Haftar's forces with military supplies, according to the UN.
All of these parties want to control the capital, observers say, and all of the assets within it and surrounding it, including oil ports; claiming Tripoli would be the first step to controlling the rest of the country.
Accusations have also been made, by the UAE and others, against the SG that they are supported by Qatar and Turkey.
A Libyan political analyst who prefers to remain anonymous told MEE that
The Ministry of Health announced in a statement on Sunday that all public hospitals in and around the capital were in a state of emergency, anticipating a spike in patients as a result of the clashes over the past four days.
In addition, examinations have been disturbed, with Education Deputy Minister Adel Jumoa announcing the suspension of exams in schools in the Garabulli region, adding that the suspension would remain in place until stability and security in the district is restored.
Students in years 9 and 12 are currently sitting decisive exams, the results of which determine whether or not they will move onto the next stages in their education, high school and university respectively.
This disruption has caused serious inconvenience for many students.
A student, Amirah, living in the area described the feeling of instability that the violence had caused.
"Year 12 exams start on Sunday, and I'm still not sure if we will sit them or if they have been moved. I really hope they go ahead as planned. I want to study medicine and entry into university relies on these exams."
Following a blackout affecting most of the western region of the country last week, which left many without electricity and in some cases without running water for days, these clashes could result in a "full shutdown of the grid," according to the General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL).
GECOL stated that the clashes had caused damage to power lines linking key generating stations, adding that the damage had led to a loss of power in both plants.
power outages in the country, combined with high temperatures, have led to fatalities. Last week, temperatures reached 47 degrees in the capital, having a devastating effect on the elderly and sick, as well as causing food waste, which contributes to food-price inflation.
"Ultimately, for the SG militias there are only two alternatives: either fighting until they are physically eliminated in a series of battles or [until they] negotiate a place at the table for the management of the capital," Toaldo said.
But, he added, the battle was about more than the capital alone.
"The battle is about Tripoli but not only about Tripoli: it is essentially about the survival of the SG militias that are excluded by the syndicate that manages the capital," Toaldo said, referring to the GNA-backed militias.
Smoke rises in the center of the Libyan capital of Tripoli after the clashes on 26 May 2017
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/has-battle-tripoli-begun-again-578689855
s chaos reigns in Libya, with competing authorities continuing to vie for power, the battle for Tripoli appears to have begun anew.
Clashes broke out earlier this week, in the east of the capital city, between forces loyal to the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) and those loyal to the National Guard of the Salvation Government (SG).
The capital is an important target for warring sides in the region, offering control over strategic assets such as the Libyan Central Bank, the air and sea ports in the city, as well as all other institutions.
The Garabulli region, where the clashes took place, is considered a strategic gateway into the city, and fighting there may have been intended to be the start of a wider battle
he clashes left at least four dead and over 20 injured, according to the UN-backed government's health ministry, with the SG forces being pushed further from the city.
The UN-backed Presidential Council (PC), which presides over the GNA, is headed by Fayaz al-Sarraj, a figure who has remained controversial since his entry into Libya in March 2016.
The Government of National Accord has met resistance from many groups, including some of those involved in these latest clashes.
Each of the parties is being steered by external governments. They are each backed by different countries, and the war they are fighting is not just a war between Libyans
- Libyan political analyst
Both sides have accused the other of starting the battle, with the pro-GNA side accusing the SG-linked forces, which had been positioned in the Garabulli region, of embarking on an attempt to advance into the capital, while the SG forces say the GNA did the provoking.
The National Guard of the Salvation Government receives most of its support from militias from the city of Misrata, about 200km east of Tripoli. It has been accused of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, accusations which it has denied.
Libya’s power houses
Whilst the international community recognises the Government of National Accord’s PC as the representative body of the country, the country is split in its support three main ways.
The PC, based in the country's western capital city Tripoli, was welcomed by much of the population with great optimism, taking over as it did during a time of great financial crisis and instability.
However, over the year and four months in which it has been somewhat in power, public opinion of al-Sarraj and his government has plummeted.
Next is the Government of National Salvation, which presides over the General National Congress elected in 2012, and which is also in Tripoli.
Finally, there is the third grouping in the east of the country, comprising various authorities, including military forces loyal to renegade general Khalifa Haftar and the House of Representatives.
All three have failed to engage in successful peace-making efforts, while Haftar has repeatedly issued threats that his forces would soon take over Tripoli, most recently in May.
The three power houses in the country have all had their sights set on the capital, with each enjoying backing from external powers.
The UN-backed GNA has the support of the United States and most of the international community, and is recognised as the only representative government, but Tripoli has been rife with clashes and instability ever since the GNA came into the city last year.
The government in the east has the support of the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, with the UAE breaking an arms embargo by supplying Haftar's forces with military supplies, according to the UN.
All of these parties want to control the capital, observers say, and all of the assets within it and surrounding it, including oil ports; claiming Tripoli would be the first step to controlling the rest of the country.
Accusations have also been made, by the UAE and others, against the SG that they are supported by Qatar and Turkey.
A Libyan political analyst who prefers to remain anonymous told MEE that
Implications
The Ministry of Health announced in a statement on Sunday that all public hospitals in and around the capital were in a state of emergency, anticipating a spike in patients as a result of the clashes over the past four days.
In addition, examinations have been disturbed, with Education Deputy Minister Adel Jumoa announcing the suspension of exams in schools in the Garabulli region, adding that the suspension would remain in place until stability and security in the district is restored.
Students in years 9 and 12 are currently sitting decisive exams, the results of which determine whether or not they will move onto the next stages in their education, high school and university respectively.
This disruption has caused serious inconvenience for many students.
A student, Amirah, living in the area described the feeling of instability that the violence had caused.
"Year 12 exams start on Sunday, and I'm still not sure if we will sit them or if they have been moved. I really hope they go ahead as planned. I want to study medicine and entry into university relies on these exams."
Following a blackout affecting most of the western region of the country last week, which left many without electricity and in some cases without running water for days, these clashes could result in a "full shutdown of the grid," according to the General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL).
GECOL stated that the clashes had caused damage to power lines linking key generating stations, adding that the damage had led to a loss of power in both plants.
power outages in the country, combined with high temperatures, have led to fatalities. Last week, temperatures reached 47 degrees in the capital, having a devastating effect on the elderly and sick, as well as causing food waste, which contributes to food-price inflation.
"Ultimately, for the SG militias there are only two alternatives: either fighting until they are physically eliminated in a series of battles or [until they] negotiate a place at the table for the management of the capital," Toaldo said.
But, he added, the battle was about more than the capital alone.
"The battle is about Tripoli but not only about Tripoli: it is essentially about the survival of the SG militias that are excluded by the syndicate that manages the capital," Toaldo said, referring to the GNA-backed militias.
Smoke rises in the center of the Libyan capital of Tripoli after the clashes on 26 May 2017
Libyan eastern executioner Al-Werfalli conducting summary execution of captives
An IS-styled video was published on Sunday on social media showing the notorious Captain at the Special Force of Dignity Operation, Mahmoud Al-Werfalli, conducting a summary execution of about 20 captives in Benghazi.
Al-Werfalli appears in the video standing on the side with about 20 men in orange suits blindfoldedly sitting on the ground on their knees awaiting gunshots by the firing squad.
One group of shooters followed the other in massacring the captives by opening fire on them at point blank range, the video shows.
Blood-thirsty Al-Werfalli, who is accustomed to mass murdering captives and prisoners, mentioned in the video that the execution took place on July 17 - less than a week ago.
The date of the video is twice as shocking knowing that it nearly coincided with the call of the UN spokeswoman for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Liz Throssell, on the eastern forces of Khalifa Haftar to probe summary executions committed by Al-Werfalli against detainees, prisoners and captives.
Throssell demanded Al-Werfalli be suspended from his post as part of Haftar's killing squad, but instead, he appeared today massing up captives kneeling down before he ordered a group of protégés to execute them.
Al-Werfalli has been featuring in many execution IS-styled videos lately clearly showing himself in action, killing captives at point blank range.
In May, Benghazi Security Directorate accused Al-Wirfalli’s rogue groups for the killing of police officer Captain Musa Al-Mijibri, which forced him to announce a fake resignation. Later he was promoted by Khalifa Haftar’s self-styled army from captain to major.
An IS-styled video was published on Sunday on social media showing the notorious Captain at the Special Force of Dignity Operation, Mahmoud Al-Werfalli, conducting a summary execution of about 20 captives in Benghazi.
Al-Werfalli appears in the video standing on the side with about 20 men in orange suits blindfoldedly sitting on the ground on their knees awaiting gunshots by the firing squad.
One group of shooters followed the other in massacring the captives by opening fire on them at point blank range, the video shows.
Blood-thirsty Al-Werfalli, who is accustomed to mass murdering captives and prisoners, mentioned in the video that the execution took place on July 17 - less than a week ago.
The date of the video is twice as shocking knowing that it nearly coincided with the call of the UN spokeswoman for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Liz Throssell, on the eastern forces of Khalifa Haftar to probe summary executions committed by Al-Werfalli against detainees, prisoners and captives.
Throssell demanded Al-Werfalli be suspended from his post as part of Haftar's killing squad, but instead, he appeared today massing up captives kneeling down before he ordered a group of protégés to execute them.
Al-Werfalli has been featuring in many execution IS-styled videos lately clearly showing himself in action, killing captives at point blank range.
In May, Benghazi Security Directorate accused Al-Wirfalli’s rogue groups for the killing of police officer Captain Musa Al-Mijibri, which forced him to announce a fake resignation. Later he was promoted by Khalifa Haftar’s self-styled army from captain to major.
President Emmanuel Macron opened meetings on Tuesday with the two main rival leaders of chaotic Libya, trying to play peacemaker for a country where the stakes are high for both Europe and Africa.
The series of meetings at a chateau in La Celle Saint-Cloud, west of Paris, bring together Fayez Serraj, prime minister of the U.N.-backed unity government, and Gen. Khalifa Hifter, the Egyptian-backed commander of Libya’s self-styled national army. Macron was meeting separately with each ahead of an encounter between the two Libyans in the presence of U.N.’s newly appointed special envoy for Libya, Ghassan Salame.
The encounters were expected to end with a joint declaration between the two Libyans which the French have billed as a first.
Talks were centered on creating a propitious climate for elections next year — which the Libyan prime minister announced plans for in May — security and military issues, respect for human rights and economic development of the oil-rich nation where residents struggle despite the resources, French officials said.
Macron, Salame and Serraj, along with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, walked into the chateau to begin the first set of talks after shaking hands before Republican Guards in their ornate gear. Hifter arrived later, with no greeting from the president already at a table with his rival.
French officials hope the meetings will facilitate a political entente. The joint declaration that will close off the meetings is to include, among other things, the need for a political — not military — solution to the crisis. It would also lay down the principle of a cease-fire — except for fighting Islamic militants, an official of the French presidential palace said. The declaration would be “simple but constructive,” according to the official, and be a first between the two protagonists despite past meetings. The official could not be named in keeping with presidential policy.https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...33c52b2f014_story.html?utm_term=.9eab822f6975
The series of meetings at a chateau in La Celle Saint-Cloud, west of Paris, bring together Fayez Serraj, prime minister of the U.N.-backed unity government, and Gen. Khalifa Hifter, the Egyptian-backed commander of Libya’s self-styled national army. Macron was meeting separately with each ahead of an encounter between the two Libyans in the presence of U.N.’s newly appointed special envoy for Libya, Ghassan Salame.
The encounters were expected to end with a joint declaration between the two Libyans which the French have billed as a first.
Talks were centered on creating a propitious climate for elections next year — which the Libyan prime minister announced plans for in May — security and military issues, respect for human rights and economic development of the oil-rich nation where residents struggle despite the resources, French officials said.
Macron, Salame and Serraj, along with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, walked into the chateau to begin the first set of talks after shaking hands before Republican Guards in their ornate gear. Hifter arrived later, with no greeting from the president already at a table with his rival.
French officials hope the meetings will facilitate a political entente. The joint declaration that will close off the meetings is to include, among other things, the need for a political — not military — solution to the crisis. It would also lay down the principle of a cease-fire — except for fighting Islamic militants, an official of the French presidential palace said. The declaration would be “simple but constructive,” according to the official, and be a first between the two protagonists despite past meetings. The official could not be named in keeping with presidential policy.https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...33c52b2f014_story.html?utm_term=.9eab822f6975
Al-Qaeda leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar pictured with Al-Saadi al-Nawfali in Ajdabiya.
l-Qaeda’s relationship with Libya dates back to 1990s, after the Libyan group joined its lines before most of the group’s fighters returned to Libya once again. Although a number of its leaders continued to fight within al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, such as Abu Yahya al-Libi, a deputy of Osama bin Laden, in the past decade, however, the group has claimed that they have carried out intellectual reviews inside Qaddafi prisons to give up its loyalty to al-Qaeda.
The group emerged again after the revolution in February 2011 within the lines of the rebels, to spread quickly after the overthrow of Qaddafi’s regime through their most prominent leaders and held important positions and functions in the state, like their commander Abdul Hakim Belhadj. But it did not give up its weapons, which were working under several names such as Ansar al-Sharia and Shura Councils in Benghazi, Derna and Sirte, and finally the defense group of Benghazi.
Iyad Ag Ghaly announced in early March that his branch of al-Qaeda in Mali would support the “Jihad defense group of Benghazi” and praised the role played by Al-Sadiq Al-Ghariani by inciting the members of the group to fight.
Shura Council of the rebels of Ajdabia” on March 25, 2015, showing behind them the banner of al-Qaeda.
his was not the first support al-Qaeda has shown for militant groups in Libya. In October 2016, the leader of al-Qaeda in Morocco, Abdul Malik Droudkal (also known as Abu Musab Abdel Wadud) called for supporting the Benghazi Shura Council.
Mubarak Yazid, one of the most prominent leaders of al-Qaeda in Algeria (also known as Abu Ubaida Yusuf al-Annabi) demanded during the siege of the army forces of the region of Qanfouda, the stronghold of terrorism in Benghazi “to lift the siege of what they called Mujahdi Benghazi.”
Although the Benghazi Defense Group, formed in June 2016 from the remnants of past terrorist groups, have eventually escaped from Benghazi, they have been linked to the militant groups and al-Qaeda in Libya. Here are some of their leaders and fighters who were designated as terrorists both regionally and internationally:
Al-Qaeda member Al-Saadi Abdullah Ibrahim Bukhazem with the Circassian in the founding of the terrorist defense group of Benghaz
Al-Saadi Abdullah Ibrahim Bukhazem (aka “Al-Saadi al-Nawfali”) is a founder and leader of the Benghazi Defense Brigades in Libya -- a terrorist militia designated by the four countries calling for combating terrorism in June 2017.
Al-Nawfali fought with al-Qaeda militants in Iraq before returning to Libya to serve as a commander in Ansar al-Sharia. Al-Nawfali was involved in a March 2017 attack by terrorist militants on Libyan oil facilities west of Benghazi. Al-Nawfali is an associate of al-Qaeda leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar. In 2015, Mokhtar Belmokhtar was targeted in a US airstrike near Benghazi at a gathering of Ansar al-Sharia and other militant leaders at a farm belonging to Al-Saadi al-Nawfali, according to regional media reporting.
Ahmed Abd al-Jaleel al-Hasnawi:
Ahmed Abd al-Jaleel al-Hasnawi is a militia leader in southern Libya. Hasnawi provided logistical support to terrorist organizations in the Sahel region, including al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Ansar al-Dine in Mali, according to the UN. In February 2017, Ahmed al-Hasnawi met with Benghazi Defense Brigades leaders, including Ismail Mohammed al-Sallabi, to coordinate operations, according to the UN and reporting from Boshra News Agency
Mohammed Bakir:
Mohammed Bakir accompanied by a number of financial mercenaries belonging to al-Qaeda in the Maghreb during the attempted attack on Benghazi in July 2016.
he terrorist Mohammed Bakir, a leader of the Benghazi Revolutionary Shura Council, and the Supporters of al-Sharia group, he is known as the “Bee”. He has another name, “the cut off”, because he lost his left arm in a battle in the Benina region late 2014. Bakir transferred and distributed an Al-Qaeda group from Mali and other areas to fight in Libya against the army, before he became known as the leading commander of the Benghazi defense group moving between Jafra, Tripoli and Misrata.
Mohammed al-Dursi:
Mohammed al-Dursi, who was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Jordanian authorities since 2007 for terrorist acts, was released and returned to Libya in exchange for the release of the Jordanian ambassador kidnapped by terrorist groups in Libya, “Fawaz Al-Atian” in April 2014.
Al-Dursi is one of the founders of the Benghazi Shura Council, he appeared as a leader in an interview with Al-Mesri newspaper published by Al-Qaeda in Yemen in November 2016. He called on supporters in Algeria, Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, Burma, Chechnya, Somalia, Mali and Central Africa to join his forces in Benghazi.
Al-Qaeda’s media arm in Libya:
Al-Tanasoh institution for culture, information and propagation and al-Nabaa channel is considered as one of the most important channels of the militias in Libya; which often did not hide their relation with the militias, in September 2015, the channel hosted “Abdel-Haii Yousef, one of the world’s most prominent leaders of the militias, he was close to Osama bin Laden. Al-Nabaa channel as well declared its early belonging to Al-Qaeda as its founder and owner is “Abdul Hakim Belhadj”.
solated mufti and loyal to Bin Laden Abdul-Yusuf appearing on al-Qaeda media.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/fea...gerous-al-Qaeda-terror-suspects-in-Libya.html
Al-Qaeda leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar pictured with Al-Saadi al-Nawfali in Ajdabiya.
l-Qaeda’s relationship with Libya dates back to 1990s, after the Libyan group joined its lines before most of the group’s fighters returned to Libya once again. Although a number of its leaders continued to fight within al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, such as Abu Yahya al-Libi, a deputy of Osama bin Laden, in the past decade, however, the group has claimed that they have carried out intellectual reviews inside Qaddafi prisons to give up its loyalty to al-Qaeda.
The group emerged again after the revolution in February 2011 within the lines of the rebels, to spread quickly after the overthrow of Qaddafi’s regime through their most prominent leaders and held important positions and functions in the state, like their commander Abdul Hakim Belhadj. But it did not give up its weapons, which were working under several names such as Ansar al-Sharia and Shura Councils in Benghazi, Derna and Sirte, and finally the defense group of Benghazi.
Iyad Ag Ghaly announced in early March that his branch of al-Qaeda in Mali would support the “Jihad defense group of Benghazi” and praised the role played by Al-Sadiq Al-Ghariani by inciting the members of the group to fight.
Shura Council of the rebels of Ajdabia” on March 25, 2015, showing behind them the banner of al-Qaeda.
his was not the first support al-Qaeda has shown for militant groups in Libya. In October 2016, the leader of al-Qaeda in Morocco, Abdul Malik Droudkal (also known as Abu Musab Abdel Wadud) called for supporting the Benghazi Shura Council.
Mubarak Yazid, one of the most prominent leaders of al-Qaeda in Algeria (also known as Abu Ubaida Yusuf al-Annabi) demanded during the siege of the army forces of the region of Qanfouda, the stronghold of terrorism in Benghazi “to lift the siege of what they called Mujahdi Benghazi.”
Although the Benghazi Defense Group, formed in June 2016 from the remnants of past terrorist groups, have eventually escaped from Benghazi, they have been linked to the militant groups and al-Qaeda in Libya. Here are some of their leaders and fighters who were designated as terrorists both regionally and internationally:
Al-Qaeda member Al-Saadi Abdullah Ibrahim Bukhazem with the Circassian in the founding of the terrorist defense group of Benghaz
Al-Saadi Abdullah Ibrahim Bukhazem (aka “Al-Saadi al-Nawfali”) is a founder and leader of the Benghazi Defense Brigades in Libya -- a terrorist militia designated by the four countries calling for combating terrorism in June 2017.
Al-Nawfali fought with al-Qaeda militants in Iraq before returning to Libya to serve as a commander in Ansar al-Sharia. Al-Nawfali was involved in a March 2017 attack by terrorist militants on Libyan oil facilities west of Benghazi. Al-Nawfali is an associate of al-Qaeda leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar. In 2015, Mokhtar Belmokhtar was targeted in a US airstrike near Benghazi at a gathering of Ansar al-Sharia and other militant leaders at a farm belonging to Al-Saadi al-Nawfali, according to regional media reporting.
Ahmed Abd al-Jaleel al-Hasnawi:
Ahmed Abd al-Jaleel al-Hasnawi is a militia leader in southern Libya. Hasnawi provided logistical support to terrorist organizations in the Sahel region, including al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Ansar al-Dine in Mali, according to the UN. In February 2017, Ahmed al-Hasnawi met with Benghazi Defense Brigades leaders, including Ismail Mohammed al-Sallabi, to coordinate operations, according to the UN and reporting from Boshra News Agency
Mohammed Bakir:
Mohammed Bakir accompanied by a number of financial mercenaries belonging to al-Qaeda in the Maghreb during the attempted attack on Benghazi in July 2016.
he terrorist Mohammed Bakir, a leader of the Benghazi Revolutionary Shura Council, and the Supporters of al-Sharia group, he is known as the “Bee”. He has another name, “the cut off”, because he lost his left arm in a battle in the Benina region late 2014. Bakir transferred and distributed an Al-Qaeda group from Mali and other areas to fight in Libya against the army, before he became known as the leading commander of the Benghazi defense group moving between Jafra, Tripoli and Misrata.
Mohammed al-Dursi:
Mohammed al-Dursi, who was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Jordanian authorities since 2007 for terrorist acts, was released and returned to Libya in exchange for the release of the Jordanian ambassador kidnapped by terrorist groups in Libya, “Fawaz Al-Atian” in April 2014.
Al-Dursi is one of the founders of the Benghazi Shura Council, he appeared as a leader in an interview with Al-Mesri newspaper published by Al-Qaeda in Yemen in November 2016. He called on supporters in Algeria, Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, Burma, Chechnya, Somalia, Mali and Central Africa to join his forces in Benghazi.
Al-Qaeda’s media arm in Libya:
Al-Tanasoh institution for culture, information and propagation and al-Nabaa channel is considered as one of the most important channels of the militias in Libya; which often did not hide their relation with the militias, in September 2015, the channel hosted “Abdel-Haii Yousef, one of the world’s most prominent leaders of the militias, he was close to Osama bin Laden. Al-Nabaa channel as well declared its early belonging to Al-Qaeda as its founder and owner is “Abdul Hakim Belhadj”.
solated mufti and loyal to Bin Laden Abdul-Yusuf appearing on al-Qaeda media.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/fea...gerous-al-Qaeda-terror-suspects-in-Libya.html
s the Islamic State terror network loses territory across Iraq and Syria, analysts and experts assert that the terrorist outfit is increasingly capitalizing on the chaos of Libya, positioning the country as its point of resurgence.
Sirte 2017
The black-clad jihadist outfit is believed to be regrouping and recruiting in the rural regions south of the main east-to-west coastal highway and in the far-west town of Sabratha, which is poised just 60 miles from the Tunisian border, since being run out of its Libyan “caliphate” capital of Sirte late last year.
Col. Ahmed Almesmari, spokesperson for the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), told Fox News that ISIS first appeared in Libya at the end of 2013, even before its dominance in Iraq, borne out of “Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated militias” and Al Qaeda dissidents in Libya’s eastern port city of Derna near the Egyptian border.
But over time, ISIS has seemingly moved its operatives from the eastern Egyptian border and now appears to be clustering closer to the western Tunisian side. According to Almesmari, the terror faction has recently established camps around 25 miles east of the town of Bani Waleed, as well as south of Sirte.
Sirte
Mohamed Ghasri, spokesperson and senior commander of the Mistrata-based al-Bunyam al-Marsous militia, which waged bloody battles with ISIS fighters in Sirte, stated last week that they too have observed movements by the group south of Sirte, where they are “trying to regroup and break through our forces’ lines in the south.”
"Bunyan Marsous" Misrata militias who fought ISIS in Sirte in May 2017 concerned the terrorist outfit is resurging. (Robert Young Pelton)
Joseph Fallon, Islamic Extremism expert and U.K. Defense Forum research associate, concurred that “ISIS has retreated south of Sirte to regroup” and that its global threat cannot be underestimated.
ISIS still maintains strong presence in Libya, capitalizing on the chaos that has engulfed the country since 2011.
A prominent portion of Libya’s oil fields and reserves are located south of Sirte, along with major refineries. The country is home to Africa’s largest reserves, and its optimum quality of light crude is highly sought. Despite its ongoing political crisis, production in Libya last week climbed to around 885,000 barrels per day – triple its production this time a year ago – making the region ever more important to the global oil equation, and ISIS's presence there ever more troubling.
The terrorist army has, in Iraq and Syria, used oil fields as a means to fund its barbaric reign.
While more fighters are now expected to flow into Libya as the pressure on Iraq and Syria mounts, exactly how big the ISIS ranks in Libya are at present, remains largely contested.
ISIS DEFEATED, BUT NOT DESTROYED, AS TERROR GROUP STILL HOLDS STRATEGIC SWATHS OF IRAQ
In March, Marine Corps. Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, head of the U.S military’s Africa Command, told Pentagon reporters that their fighter numbers had fallen below 200 from an estimated five to six thousand a year earlier. But a spokesperson for Africa Command told Fox News this week that their strength has been assessed to be around 500.
In sharp contrast, LNA’s Almesmari said ISIS numbers are far larger – around “five to seven thousand people of different nationalities.”
INSIDE AFGHANISTAN'S WAR HOSPITALS: CHILDREN LEFT FOR DEAD AMID ESCALATING VIOLENCE
The terrorist group, Pelton indicated, is well positioned to survive territorial losses such as Mosul, Raqqa and Sirte as its savvy propaganda promotion ensures ongoing recruitment.
“ISIS is a transnational franchise that comes with funding, trainers and PR packages,” Pelton noted. “They seek out groups who will re-brand themselves and project the image of an international organization by standardizing logos, messaging and even design criteria for tweets and videos.”
Sirte 2017
The black-clad jihadist outfit is believed to be regrouping and recruiting in the rural regions south of the main east-to-west coastal highway and in the far-west town of Sabratha, which is poised just 60 miles from the Tunisian border, since being run out of its Libyan “caliphate” capital of Sirte late last year.
Robert Young Pelton in the city of Sirte in May 2017 as soldiers belonging to the "Bunyan Marsous" - Misrata militias who fought in Sirte to run ISIS out of its Libyan stronghold.
Col. Ahmed Almesmari, spokesperson for the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), told Fox News that ISIS first appeared in Libya at the end of 2013, even before its dominance in Iraq, borne out of “Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated militias” and Al Qaeda dissidents in Libya’s eastern port city of Derna near the Egyptian border.
But over time, ISIS has seemingly moved its operatives from the eastern Egyptian border and now appears to be clustering closer to the western Tunisian side. According to Almesmari, the terror faction has recently established camps around 25 miles east of the town of Bani Waleed, as well as south of Sirte.
Sirte
Mohamed Ghasri, spokesperson and senior commander of the Mistrata-based al-Bunyam al-Marsous militia, which waged bloody battles with ISIS fighters in Sirte, stated last week that they too have observed movements by the group south of Sirte, where they are “trying to regroup and break through our forces’ lines in the south.”
"Bunyan Marsous" Misrata militias who fought ISIS in Sirte in May 2017 concerned the terrorist outfit is resurging. (Robert Young Pelton)
Joseph Fallon, Islamic Extremism expert and U.K. Defense Forum research associate, concurred that “ISIS has retreated south of Sirte to regroup” and that its global threat cannot be underestimated.
ISIS still maintains strong presence in Libya, capitalizing on the chaos that has engulfed the country since 2011.
A prominent portion of Libya’s oil fields and reserves are located south of Sirte, along with major refineries. The country is home to Africa’s largest reserves, and its optimum quality of light crude is highly sought. Despite its ongoing political crisis, production in Libya last week climbed to around 885,000 barrels per day – triple its production this time a year ago – making the region ever more important to the global oil equation, and ISIS's presence there ever more troubling.
The terrorist army has, in Iraq and Syria, used oil fields as a means to fund its barbaric reign.
While more fighters are now expected to flow into Libya as the pressure on Iraq and Syria mounts, exactly how big the ISIS ranks in Libya are at present, remains largely contested.
ISIS DEFEATED, BUT NOT DESTROYED, AS TERROR GROUP STILL HOLDS STRATEGIC SWATHS OF IRAQ
In March, Marine Corps. Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, head of the U.S military’s Africa Command, told Pentagon reporters that their fighter numbers had fallen below 200 from an estimated five to six thousand a year earlier. But a spokesperson for Africa Command told Fox News this week that their strength has been assessed to be around 500.
In sharp contrast, LNA’s Almesmari said ISIS numbers are far larger – around “five to seven thousand people of different nationalities.”
INSIDE AFGHANISTAN'S WAR HOSPITALS: CHILDREN LEFT FOR DEAD AMID ESCALATING VIOLENCE
The terrorist group, Pelton indicated, is well positioned to survive territorial losses such as Mosul, Raqqa and Sirte as its savvy propaganda promotion ensures ongoing recruitment.
“ISIS is a transnational franchise that comes with funding, trainers and PR packages,” Pelton noted. “They seek out groups who will re-brand themselves and project the image of an international organization by standardizing logos, messaging and even design criteria for tweets and videos.”
Derna suffers as military forces tighten siege
http://news.trust.org/item/20170807153259-gthcz/
Everything is stopped, the supplies are depleted"
* Blockade tightened after fighter jet shot down
* Residents say their movements are restricted
* Supplies of medicine and food depleted
Members of the Libyan pro-government forces gesture as they stand on a tank in Derna, Libya 2015
BENGHAZI, Libya/TUNIS Aug 7 (Reuters) - Residents of Derna in east Libya say they are facing critical shortages after Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) tightened its longstanding siege around the city last week.
Haftar's eastern-based LNA, one of a number of factions that have vied for power in Libya since a 2011 uprising ended Muammar Gaddafi's four-decade rule, is waging a military campaign against a coalition of Islamist militants and ex-rebels known as the Derna Mujahideen Shura Council (DMSC) that controls Derna.
Attention has shifted to the coastal city after Haftar announced victory in a three-year military campaign against a similar coalition in Benghazi, 350 km (210 miles) to the west, a month ago.
The LNA launches occasional air strikes over Derna and at the end of July, one of its fighter jets was shot down. The pilot was killed. The LNA subsequently reinforced its siege.
"The situation is extremely bad. Everything is stopped, the supplies are depleted and nothing is getting into the city," one resident told Reuters by telephone.
"There is a total blockade with no entry or exit. They only allow you to leave as a displaced person."
Another resident said most bakeries had closed because of a shortage of fuel, and that petrol stations had been shut for eight months. There was an acute shortage of medicine, he said, though some oxygen tanks were delivered to a hospital in Derna on Monday.
The United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Libya has expressed concern over reports of "severe shortages of basic necessities, including life saving medical supplies" in Derna, while the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli called on all sides to "facilitate ways to provide for all the needs of the citizens".
The LNA is aligned with a parliament and government based in the eastern Libya that has spurned the GNA.
Haftar and the head of the GNA met in Paris in late July amid efforts to broker a peace settlement for Libya. A ceasefire was announced, though it excluded "counter-terrorism" operations. The LNA commonly brands its rivals as terrorists.
Derna has a history of militancy. It was occupied by Islamic State militants in late 2014, but they were later ousted by the DMSC. Since then, forces loyal to the LNA have bolstered their blockade. Supplies of food, cash and medicine were disrupted or confiscated even before the latest tightening of the siege.
The LNA says it has been hitting militant targets that it has identified on the outskirts of in Derna, including ammunition stores. It says it is preparing to use further strikes if peace efforts with local leaders fail.
http://news.trust.org/item/20170807153259-gthcz/
Everything is stopped, the supplies are depleted"
* Blockade tightened after fighter jet shot down
* Residents say their movements are restricted
* Supplies of medicine and food depleted
Members of the Libyan pro-government forces gesture as they stand on a tank in Derna, Libya 2015
BENGHAZI, Libya/TUNIS Aug 7 (Reuters) - Residents of Derna in east Libya say they are facing critical shortages after Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) tightened its longstanding siege around the city last week.
Haftar's eastern-based LNA, one of a number of factions that have vied for power in Libya since a 2011 uprising ended Muammar Gaddafi's four-decade rule, is waging a military campaign against a coalition of Islamist militants and ex-rebels known as the Derna Mujahideen Shura Council (DMSC) that controls Derna.
Attention has shifted to the coastal city after Haftar announced victory in a three-year military campaign against a similar coalition in Benghazi, 350 km (210 miles) to the west, a month ago.
The LNA launches occasional air strikes over Derna and at the end of July, one of its fighter jets was shot down. The pilot was killed. The LNA subsequently reinforced its siege.
"The situation is extremely bad. Everything is stopped, the supplies are depleted and nothing is getting into the city," one resident told Reuters by telephone.
"There is a total blockade with no entry or exit. They only allow you to leave as a displaced person."
Another resident said most bakeries had closed because of a shortage of fuel, and that petrol stations had been shut for eight months. There was an acute shortage of medicine, he said, though some oxygen tanks were delivered to a hospital in Derna on Monday.
The United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Libya has expressed concern over reports of "severe shortages of basic necessities, including life saving medical supplies" in Derna, while the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli called on all sides to "facilitate ways to provide for all the needs of the citizens".
The LNA is aligned with a parliament and government based in the eastern Libya that has spurned the GNA.
Haftar and the head of the GNA met in Paris in late July amid efforts to broker a peace settlement for Libya. A ceasefire was announced, though it excluded "counter-terrorism" operations. The LNA commonly brands its rivals as terrorists.
Derna has a history of militancy. It was occupied by Islamic State militants in late 2014, but they were later ousted by the DMSC. Since then, forces loyal to the LNA have bolstered their blockade. Supplies of food, cash and medicine were disrupted or confiscated even before the latest tightening of the siege.
The LNA says it has been hitting militant targets that it has identified on the outskirts of in Derna, including ammunition stores. It says it is preparing to use further strikes if peace efforts with local leaders fail.
An African migrant aboard the Spanish humanitarian rescue boat Golfo Azzurro in June.
he Libyan navy fired two warning shots after a migrant rescue ship was seen patrolling near Libyan waters on Monday.
Open Arms, a humanitarian aid vessel belonging to the Spanish NGO ProActiva said it was chased away by Libyan coast guards although it was within its territorial bounds at around 1.5 miles from Libyan territorial waters.
In a statement, the Libyan navy said the Open Arms rescue boat was within the remit of the Libyan Coast Guard's search and rescue operation and asked the boat to leave. When it didn't, they opened fire into the air.
The Libyan Coast Guard said the Open Arms ship had been "wishing for a precious trophy" of illegal immigrants.
speaking to CNN by phone on Tuesday, Libyan Brigadier Qassem said, "We are capable of conducting rescue work. Our presence cancels their presence."
A former prime minister who once led Libya’s first democratically elected government has been abducted by militiamen for a second time in the capital, Tripoli, witnesses said Monday.
They say Ali Zidan was led by an armed group out of a hotel where he was meeting with security officials late Sunday. The militiamen were from the Tripoli Revolutionaries’ Brigade, which is allied with the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli. A competing government and parliament are headquartered in eastern Libya.
There was no official statement on Zidan’s whereabouts.
Libya has been rife with chaos since the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Much of the vast North African country is ruled by a patchwork of local militias, and the two governments are locked in a power struggle.
Zidan was abducted once before by Tripoli’s unruly militias, in October 2013, but was released within days. He fled the country before competing militias seized Tripoli in 2014, but later returned.
A former diplomat and human rights lawyer, Zidan joined the opposition in exile in the 1990s. He was appointed as a prime minister by Libya’s first elected parliament, the General National Congress, in 2012.
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They say Ali Zidan was led by an armed group out of a hotel where he was meeting with security officials late Sunday. The militiamen were from the Tripoli Revolutionaries’ Brigade, which is allied with the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli. A competing government and parliament are headquartered in eastern Libya.
There was no official statement on Zidan’s whereabouts.
Libya has been rife with chaos since the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Much of the vast North African country is ruled by a patchwork of local militias, and the two governments are locked in a power struggle.
Zidan was abducted once before by Tripoli’s unruly militias, in October 2013, but was released within days. He fled the country before competing militias seized Tripoli in 2014, but later returned.
A former diplomat and human rights lawyer, Zidan joined the opposition in exile in the 1990s. He was appointed as a prime minister by Libya’s first elected parliament, the General National Congress, in 2012.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...0fa8d7a0db6_story.html?utm_term=.e5257fb50f97
A senior Libyan military commander allied with Khalifa Haftar and suspected of involvement in the deaths of 33 people in eastern Benghazi has been arrested.
The general command of the Libyan National Army (LNA) - the force that controls most of eastern Libya, including key oil ports - said on Thursday that Mahmoud al-Werfalli was being investigated by a military prosecutor.
The arrest comes after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Werfalli earlier this week, accusing him of "murder as a war crime in the context of the non-international armed conflict in Libya".
The LNA said in a statement "the defendant in your judicial case, Mahmoud al-Werfalli, is under investigation for the cases against him by the general military prosecutor and is now under arrest".
Werfalli is wanted by the ICC for allegedly executing dozens of prisoners "in seven incidents, taking place on or before 3 June 2016 until on or about 17 July 2017, in Benghazi or surrounding areas", according to the ICC document seen by Al Jazeera.
READ MORE: Haftar's forces declare victory in battle for Benghazi
The military commander allegedly shot or ordered the execution of people who were either civilians or wounded fighters, according to the document.
"There is no information in the evidence to show that they have been afforded a trial by a legitimate court, whether military or otherwise, that would comport to any recognised standard of due process," the ICC's judges said.
The LNA, which is led by Haftar, commended the ICC on its "efforts to achieve stability and social security".
"We announce our readiness to cooperate with you in informing you of the result and course of the judicial case," LNA said.
However, the statement gave no indication that the LNA would be prepared to hand Werfalli over to the ICC.
British FM Johnson discussed Libya's future with Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, who heads Libya's National Army
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He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that "we were way over-optimistic" about Libya's future, adding that the elections of 2014 "made things worse".
His comments came after a two-day visit to Libya, where he urged rival parties to compromise and unite the country.
Mr Johnson pledged £9m to help tackle people trafficking and terrorism.
In a landmark meeting, Mr Johnson became the first senior Western politician to visit the Libyan military commander Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar on the ground at his home base near Benghazi.
'Selfish interests'
He said Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, who controls eastern Libya, has pledged to give up military rule if he becomes the country's president.
Mr Johnson said he pushed the point of political compromise to Libyan politicians.
He said: "I think the politicians need as it were to suppress their own selfish interests, compromise for the good of the country and get behind the UN plan."
But he said he told Libyan politicians to learn from UK Prime Minister Theresa May's mistake - and not to hold an election before they were ready.
Oliver Miles, the UK's former ambassador to Libya and deputy chairman of the Libyan British Business Council, said that Mr Johnson's visit was a "useful and good follow-up" to the French president's meeting during which Field Marshal Haftar and his rival, the UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, agreed to a ceasefire.
But he told the Today programme it was "misleading" to think of Libya as divided into two parties, adding that it is much more divided than that.
Though it is six years since the removal of Col Gaddafi, he said: "There's been a complete breakdown of government authority - Libya is not in a state of civil war - it would be more accurate to describe it as in a state of anarchy.
Field Marshal Haftar's forces control much of eastern Libya and he is seen as a key player if Libya is ever to be united, something the UN-backed government of national accord has failed to achieve.
While there have been questions about whether Field Marshal Haftar would ever allow his forces to be subject to civilian control, the foreign secretary said he had been given at least one assurance.
Mr Johnson told the BBC earlier: "We are very clear, and so is Ghassan Salame, the UN special representative, that there has got to be civilian leadership in this country."
Adding that while that does not mean there cannot be a role for Field Marshal Haftar, Mr Johnson said he accepted that were he to stand and be successful, "then he could not continue in his military role".
After visiting the many different sides of this deeply divided country, Mr Johnson said he was encouraged and that there was a chance of a political deal.
But he said other countries with different ideas about Libya's future should unite behind a new UN plan expected to be announced next month.
"A secure and stable Libya, better able to deal with the threat from terrorism and the challenge of migration, is firmly in the UK interests," Mr Johnson said.
"The Libyan people need a stable state that can meet their fundamental economic and security needs.
Adding that all sides needed to "compromise and work together", Mr Johnson said only a united Libya could "defeat the terrorists and smuggling networks who are exploiting the instability".
Though Mr Johnson did not say which countries should unite behind the UN, Mr Miles told Today: "I hope he had in mind the fact that the United Arab Emirates and, to some extent, Egypt have been supplying arms - contrary to the UN embargo to Hafta and his forces.
"And [there are] allegations that Qatar and Turkey have also been supplying arms to the other sides. I think that we and the other 'big boys' in the UN, the Security Council, should be stamping this out because I don't think it's helping a solution."
The BBC's James Landale, who is travelling with the foreign secretary, said the visit highlighted just how insecure Libya remains.
"There is no government authority who runs the country and there are large parts of it where there is no government at all".
Shortly after Col Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011, thousands of Libyans turned out to cheer former Prime Minister David Cameron and then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Benghazi - hailing the pair as heroes for their support.
At least 11 people have been beheaded in southern Libya following an attack apparently carried out by the Islamic State militant group (ISIS). Nine fighters loyal to the Libyan National Army (LNA), the force aligned with Libya’s eastern government, and two civilians were executed following an assault on a checkpoint 300 miles south of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, in Jufra. No group has claimed responsibility for the killings, but according to Agence France-Presse, LNA spokesman Colonel Ahmed al-Mesmari, ISIS carried out the gruesome attack. The onslaught against the LNA forces, under the command of Gaddafi-era General Khalifa Haftar, comes as Libyan military sources warn ISIS is regrouping
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Libyan Army band murdering God Save the Queen.