Libya News and Interests

[anatta]

Kremlin’s game: What Moscow is looking to achieve in Libya
http://rbth.com/international/2017/02/28/kremlins-game-what-moscow-libya-710741

Marshal Khalifa Haftar, chief of the so-called Libyan National Army, leaves the main building of Russia's Foreign Ministry after a meeting with Russian M Lavrov (NOV 2016)
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On Feb. 20 Russian state company Rosneft signed an agreement on cooperation with Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC). This happened only a few days after Britain’s Secretary of State for Defense Michael Fallon warned Russia against interference in the affairs of Libya. The oil deal in the context of the events of the past year may mean a gradual increase of Russian involvement in Libya.
Hoping for the return of contracts

In 2008, then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin signed a number of major contracts with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. These contracts covered oil and gas production, construction, railways and weapons. The total value of the agreements was estimated to be about $10 billion.

The signing of the contracts became a breakthrough event in the relations between Moscow and Tripoli, whose cooperation was minimized after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The implementation of these promising agreements was prevented by the Arab Spring and the subsequent war in Libya. Russia lost contracts worth billions of dollars.

A slight hope for the return of Russian big businesses to Libya appeared in April 2015, when the head of the Council of Deputies, also known as the Tobruk government, Abdullah al-Thani came to Moscow. Al-Thani reminded Russia about its committed investments in Libya and proposed a return to the implementation of the earlier projects.

However, in January 2016 the United Nations declared that henceforth the legitimate authority in the country was the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, not the Tobruk government. This decision significantly reduced the role of government of Abdullah al-Thani, which was supported by the head of the Libyan National Army General Khalifa Haftar.
Moscow and General Haftar

Khalifa Haftar is a political heavyweight in the Libyan scene and is believed to enjoy real power in large parts of the country. The Western press often refers to him as ‘Libya's most potent warlord.’
Moscow formally recognized the government of national unity in Tripoli as the legitimate authority in Libya, but has partnered with General Haftar and the government in Tobruk as well.

The first real evidence of interaction of Moscow and head of the Libyan National Army was the request by Haftar to print 4 billion Libyan Dinar. The order was executed by the Russia’s state-owned Goznak enterprise, and in May 2016, a Russian ship delivered a batch of printed notes to Libya.

In June and November 2016, Khalifa Haftar visited Moscow, where he talked about the possibility of arms supplies. In response, Moscow reiterated that it would not violate the international embargo on arms supplies to Libya without the permission of the UN.

Finally, in January 2017, the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, en route from Syria, halted in Tobruk. Khalifa Haftar visited the ship and had a video conference call with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu.
Why Russia needs Libya

Officially, Russian involvement with Libya’s NOC was mostly confined to rhetoric.

However, there are assumptions that injured colleagues of Khalifa Haftarа have been sent for treatment to Moscow and a small number of Russian military instructors are already operating in Libya.

As noted by American analysts, it is unlikely that Moscow would seriously be interested in the supply of arms or a central role in rebuilding the country after the war.

From an economic point of view, Libya has great potential in the oil and gas industry. At the same time, according to Gazeta.ru the energy sector in the country today offers the possibility of quick returns but this comes with high risks associated with political instability.

Libya could help Russia significantly expand its capabilities in the Mediterranean. A big buzz was caused by the assumption that during the video conference on board the Admiral Kuznetsov, General Haftar agreed to Moscow’s informal request for the creation of two military bases in Tobruk and Benghazi.
International support

Today Libya is a failed state on whose territory there are two rival governments, radical Islamists and many small independent groups. In this regard, the prospects for increasing the involvement of Russia in the affairs of the North African country is assessed by different actors in different ways.

Thus, Egypt and the UAE actively support Khalifa Haftar, considering him the only force in Libya who can fight the Islamists in the future to stop the division of the country. These states are now bypassing UN sanctions, supplying arms to the Libyan National Army. They welcome any help to Haftar from the rest of the world.

According to some reports, Italy is positive about the idea of Moscow's participation in resolving the crisis in Libya. Rome might hope that Russia can thus help solve its key problem – tens of thousands of illegal migrants arriving in Italy via Libyan territory.

The rest of the Western world is wary about the increase of Russia’s influence in Libya. The EU is trying to convince Moscow to stop supporting the Libyan General, claiming that Haftar should be only part of the solution to the crisis in the country. However, some media have warned that Moscow's participation may lead to a new Pro-Russian dictator coming to power in Libya.

 

[anatta]

Libyan militias seize control of major oil terminals

Faisal al-Zwei, the spokesman for the 101 Brigade, based at the so-called oil crescent region, told The Associated Press that some 1,000 militiamen in 200 vehicles clashed with the eastern armed forces over the oil terminals of al-Sidra and Ras Lanuf on Friday, forcing the army units to retreat. He said the militias were joined by fighters loyal to eastern militia commander Ibrahim Jedran, the secessionist fighter who took over and oversaw the terminals until Hifter’s forces seized them last year. Mohammed al-Basit, the brigade’s commander, confirmed the report.

The militias, known as Benghazi Defense Brigades, are comprised of Islamic militants and former rebels who were recently defeated by Hifter’s forces in Benghazi, Libya’ second largest city. They were joined by militiamen from the western city of Misrata.

^ Defense Brigade forces in Benghazi
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Al-Zwei said that the militias advanced on four fronts, despite airstrikes waged by Hifter’s air forces. Hifter’s army is allied to the internationally-recognized parliament based in eastern Libya.
The internationally-recognized government based in the capital Tripoli— which is opposed to Hifter— condemned the fighting and said it has no role in it, according to a statement released by the so-called Presidency Council — the United Nations-brokered body tasked to form the government and which enjoys presidential powers.

Al-Sidra and Ras Lanuf ports

 

[anatta]

The team completed the excavation of the Haua Fteah cave in Cyrenaica, one of the most important prehistoric sites in all of Africa.
The fantastic nine of Libya: These archaelogists dodged ISIS threat to dig up an ancient cave
https://scroll.in/article/830857/th...-dodged-isis-threat-to-dig-up-an-ancient-cave

 

[anatta]

Sudanese rebel movements smuggling weapons into Libya
https://www.libyaobserver.ly/news/sudanese-rebel-movements-smuggling-weapons-libya
The weapons come from Chad, Central Africa and South Sudan and then the Darfur Movement rebels smuggle them to Libya, Al-Shami added, saying that border control patrols inspect cars around the clock and find stolen ones, smuggled ones and even smuggled people inside them, besides the smuggled weapons.

It is worth mentioning that eastern forces of Dignity Operation led by Khalifa Haftar are recruiting mercenaries from Chad and Sudan, especially from the Justice and Equality rebel group, to help them in their self-styled war on terrorism.

Several media and news sources have so far reported more than once that many African mercenaries have been seen among the forces of Haftar's Dignity Operation

S. Sudan rebels

 

[anatta]

Libya pan-African migrant routes

UK aid in Libya could be harmful - watchdog
About £9m is spent providing water and sanitation for refugees in detention centres, training Libya's coastguard, and helping migrants return home.

But the Independent Commission for Aid Impact says that support could be leading to more migrants being detained and denied a right to asylum.
The government said any such risks around aid had been considered.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-39221162
Libya is the main departure point for migrants attempting the sea crossing to Europe and is home to up to
one million migrants and refugees, according to ICAI.
All those detained by the Libyan government, including those rescued at sea, are held in often overcrowded detention centres where they risk being abused.

migrant center

 

[anatta]

Lampedusa immigrant reception center

Lampedusa, Italy
On the Italian island of Lampedusa, digital phones automatically set themselves to Tripoli time—perfectly rational clock behavior in a place 120 nautical miles from Europe’s coast, and only 70 from the edge of Africa. Here, a warm Sirocco wind blows over the small island and, long before summer, the sun shines strong enough to cook up a tan in a morning. On the southernmost tip of the island, a sculpture of an open door greets the sea. It’s called La Porta d’Europa—the door of Europe.

Lampedusa is the Mediterranean at its best: Turquoise waters surround the island’s 22 square kilometers (about 8 miles), and its white sand beaches are mostly empty. Its most beautiful beach, opposite an islet known as Isola dei Conigli (Island of the Rabbits), is a natural reserve, far from any car parks, or coffee shops. This beach is world-famous for two reasons: The first is the rare Caretta Caretta sea turtle, whose babies hatch on the sand and march into the sea. Its other claim to fame dates back just five years ago to Oct. 3, 2013, when at least 366 people drowned (link in Italian) in a shipwreck just offshore.

The Door of Europe, on the southern tip of Lampedusa

Like its sculpture, Lampedusa is known as “the door of Europe.” Over the past 20 years, an estimated 400,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean to arrive on Lampedusa. At least 15,000 have died trying. For the rest of the world, each tragedy has been an emergency: cause for shock, outrage, and eventually, amnesia. But for the residents of Lampedusa, this string of arrivals and disasters is just life—no longer shocking, but impossible to ignore. From fishermen to housewives, from activists to military personnel, everyone here has a role in and an opinion on Europe’s so-called migrant-crisis.

Every year, more people try to cross the Mediterranean. And the number of drownings keeps climbing. By the end of 2016, over 4,500 people die trying to reach Italy, more than ever previously recorded. The path from Libya to Italy is the deadliest of migrant routes.

Lampedusa performs two key roles in addressing Europe’s infamous “migrant crisis”: rescue, and migrant intake. Rescue is where Lampedusa stands out. Of the twenty emergency boats that Italy owns that can operate even in the worst weather conditions, four are in Lampedusa. They go out to sea with a crew of five, plus a sub, a doctor, and a nurse—both typically volunteers of the CISOM, the Italian rescuing corp of the Order of Malta. They have a capacity of 120, but sometimes exceed that, due to the nature of their work.

“In extreme cases we’ve embarked even 250 people,” Monaco says, “it’s too many [people to have on board] but when you have to decide between life and death we naturally do what we can.” The people who arrive in Lampedusa—and, generally, in Italy—mostly come from various African countries: Nigeria primarily, then Eritrea, Sudan, Gambia, and a few from countries in the Maghreb. Men and boys make up 70% of arrivals in the country. Minors make up 15% (pdf, p.46).

From those boats, rescued migrants are often transferred to another, larger vessel, where they receive first aid, and are checked by a doctor to make sure they don’t have infectious diseases. The vessels then take them to one of Sicily’s harbors, to be identified, and start the long and complicated process of applying for asylum.

A few of the rescued migrants are taken to Lampedusa. There is one intake shelter on the island, the first of Europe’s so-called hotspots, meant to quickly process migrants within 72 hours and distinguish asylum seekers from economic migrants. Built in 2007, the shelter has an official capacity of 450 people, but it’s not uncommon for it to host over 1,000. In the peak of summer 2016, more than 1,700 migrants (link in Italian) were hosted there, including many who refused to register for asylum.

migrant shelter on Lampedusa

ince management of the Mediterranean migrant crisis shifted into the hands of state and EU authorities in 2013, the fisherman and other locals see few new arrivals. Today, it’s not uncommon for migrants to receive assistance from an Italian- or Frontex-led rescue mission just a few miles off the coast of Libya.

This change in rescue strategy has prompted a shift in smugglers’ strategy: Many human traffickers have begun putting more fragile vessels to sea with the expectation of rescue. With the right timing, once those boats inevitably capsize, EU coast guard race to the rescue, turning humanitarian work into a de-facto extension of a carefully constructed human trafficking network.

(much more @link) https://qz.com/678164/in-the-medite...ees-and-migrants-is-a-matter-of-common-sense/

 

[anatta]

Will losing oil ports end Haftar's power?
The seizure of key oil ports in Libya's oil crescent by the Benghazi Brigade this week has been a major blow to Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar, Libyan analysts said.

On Tuesday, the Benghazi Defense Brigade (BDB) handed over the oil refineries to the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA). The balance could shift in GNA's favour and strengthen the position of prime minister Fayez al-Sarraj.

Following months of failed attempts to gain ground in the area, the BDB managed to capture the two key oil ports [Ras Lanuf and Es Sidr] on Friday after launching a surprise attack on forces loyal to Haftar.

Haftar gained control of the refineries last September after dislodging military units of the Petroleum Facilities Guard and their commander Ibrahim Jadhran, an ally of the GNA.

The strategic area, which contains a large concentration of the country's oil production, has been a point of contention among the rival factions fighting for control of the country.

As of Tuesday, Libya's oil output was on the rise with 673,200 barrels a day, according to Libya's National Oil Corp. However, Es Sidr is the country's largest oil port, and the clashes could affect the oil output.

Haftar, a figurehead for factions in eastern Libya who once fought beside long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi, refuses to acknowledge the political authority of the UN-sponsored Presidential Council led by Prime Minister Al-Sarraj.

Sarraj's authority has been progressively eroding when the Tobruk-based House of Representatives (HoR), under Haftar's direct influence, has refused twice to endorse Sarraj's proposed list of ministers.

Haftar has engaged in a power struggle with Tripoli that has strongly weakened prospects for a unification of the country. Last month, he reportedly refused to meet Sarraj in Cairo in an Egypt-led effort to discuss a plan to end the conflict in Libya.

Operation Dignity- Hiftar ( Bengazi 2014)

n 2014 Haftar and his allies launched "Operation Dignity", which allowed him to gain control of territory in eastern Libya, including Benghazi. According to the BDB, thousands of Benghazi residents were forced to flee as a result.

Armed groups such as the BDB viewed Haftar's forces, known as the Libyan National Army (LNA), as an Egyptian-backed relic of the old regime with presidential ambitions.

Made up of 3,000 men, the BDB includes revolutionaries from Benghazi, former members of the Libyan army and others who joined from different parts of Libya.

When the BDB launched an overnight attack that reportedly took the LNA and their allies by surprise, Haftar's forces responded with air strikes in an attempt to regain control of the ports.

Analysts say that this time around LNA war planes were not accompanied by the air power belonging to Haftar's international allies, reportedly the UAE, Egypt and France.

Previous attempts by the BDB to move into the "oil crescent" were usually met with a barrage of air strikes that would push back LNA's rival forces.

Haftar's power card for negotiations was the "oil crescent". Without the ports under his control, his possibly weakened state could force him to attend the political talks, explained Naeem Al Shaibi, a Libyan journalist who extensively covered the conflict in the country.

"These ports represent a fight over resources," Shaibi said as different players in Libya and the world try to assert their control over the country's resources. For instance, according to Shaibi, Haftar's meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov last November could have been seen by his western allies as a betrayal. "Haftar controlled key oil wells that could have potentially gone to Russia in the future, if he allied with the Russians," Shaibi explained.

Whichever reasons led to the decrease in air power support from Haftar's allies, the armed groups on the ground were not willing to continue protecting the oil refineries without the warplanes aiding them.

"With the decrease in air strikes, when the BDB entered the oil ports, armed groups such as the Justice and Equality Movement of Sudan, who are allied with the LNA, were not motivated to hold on to the ports," said Nezar Krikshi, a Libyan researcher and writer.

Moreover, internal strife between Haftar and his Libyan allies has further weakened him. An example of the internal disputes manifested when some of his tribal allies, such as the Baraaisi and Maghribi tribe, defected from Haftar's camp. "Haftar made political mistakes that caused some of his associates to abandon him," Krikshi said.

The oil ports of Es Sidr and Ras Lanuf are some of Libya's largest oil production ports, making them a strategic place to contro

The BDB's stated goal is to return to Benghazi and allow the thousands of the city's residents, displaced by Haftar's takeover, to also return to their homes.

In a press conference on Saturday, the BDB leader, Mustafa al-Sharksi, announced that they would go to Benghazi and leave the oil ports to the UN-backed government in Tripoli.

According to the latest reports, the BDB are currently trying to enter Brega, another of the oil ports that remains under Haftar's control.

Whether they reach Benghazi or not depends on the air power. If Haftar's allies return with their warplanes, analysts say, the BDB could suffer great losses in their attempt to move on to Benghazi.

"They had previously attempted to reach Benghazi, and were within reach of the city by 80km when air strikes carried out by allies of Haftar pushed them back," Shaibi said.

On Monday, Haftar was in Cairo meeting Egyptian and Russian commanders to discuss the situation in the oil crescent, reported the London-based daily al-Araby al-Jadeed. According to the paper's website, Haftar could possibly receive new military support from his backers to recapture the ports.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/fe...g-oil-ports-haftar-power-170308105438623.html

 

[anatta]

Russian contractors remove landmines in Bengazi

The owner of private Russian firm RSB-group, said he sent the contractors to eastern Libya last year and they were pulled out in February having completed their mission.

In an interview with Reuters, he said their task was to remove mines from an industrial facility near the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, in an area that Haftar's forces had liberated from Islamist rebels.

He declined to say who hired his firm to provide the contractors, where they were operating or what the industrial facility was. He did not say if the operation had been approved by the U.N.-backed government, which most states view as the sovereign ruler of Libya.

Krinitsyn, the contractors' boss, said that while in Libya his employees had run into a group of local militants. He said the militants were initially hostile, but became friendly when they realized the outsiders were Russians.

It was an uncomfortable situation but the image created by Putin in Syria played a positive role. We realized that Russia is welcomed in Libya more than other countries are,"

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-r...e891&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter

Chinese-*made Type-*72SP antivehicle landmines are stacked in preparation for their destruction in eastern Libya on March 21, 2012.

 

[anatta]

Russian vessel seized in Libyan waters
Libyan Coast Guard, Zawiya Squad, intercepted on Sunday a Russian vessel in the territorial waters off the country’s western coast.
The vessel, MERLE, was sailing to Zuwara Port to load scrap metal to Turkey, a booming illegal trade in Libya.

7 crewmembers from Russia were arrested on board the vessel without entry permission from Libyan authroites.

 

[anatta]

Hundreds if not thousands of armed men are converging on Libya's main oil shipping terminals, which the rival powers in the country's east and west are fighting to control in a battle being watched by global oil markets.

The struggle for the Ras Lanuf refinery and nearby Sidr depot threatens to spiral into an all-out conflict between east and west. Already, it has seen the bloodiest fighting yet between the two camps: Around 40 troops from the east were killed over four days as militias backed by western factions stormed the area last Friday, losing a handful of casualties.

Now forces from the east loyal to military strongman Khalifa Hifter are massing nearby, threatening a new assault to wrest back the facilities, which are nominally in the hands of the Tripoli government.

In another worrying step, the eastern parliament on Tuesday voted to withdraw support from the United Nations peace deal that created the Tripoli government in January 2016 in hopes of ending years of chaos in the North African country. The withdrawal of support further undermines the government, which has had difficulty asserting authority even in Tripoli.
http://abcnews.go.com/International...lit-finds-battleground-oil-terminals-46075493

 

[FUCK THE POLICE]

Who are the good guys?

 

[anatta]

Who are the good guys?

who are the good guys in Syria? it's kina like that.

The UN backed Tripoli government has no support outside Tripoli-except the Misrata Brigades who evicted ISIS from Sirte- but even they don't support the Government of National Accord (UN backed) -(GNA).
It was a marriage of convenience.

General Hiftar in the east rose to power from the old House of Representatives that self exiled from Tripoli
after the current (Civil war 2014 ~ Present),and the Islamists took over Tripoli ( General National Congress)
The GNC is supposedly still active -they are the old Libya Dawn coalition -but they fractured too.

here it gets even more complicated.
I'll try to find some reference to distill this- but this all happened because of the shelling of Parliament by Hiftar and the Tripoli Airport battle of 2014..

I'll do some backtracking there - but to answer your question......???

 

[FUCK THE POLICE]

I knew it was probably an impossible to answer question, just wanted to see how you would answer it.

 

[FUCK THE POLICE]

BTW in Syria the Kurds are the good guys.

 

[Minister of Truth]

BTW in Syria the Kurds are the good guys.

They're also the good guys in Turkey and Iraq.

 

[anatta]

BTW in Syria the Kurds are the good guys.

i can agree with that -but they aren't going to run Damascus.. ever.

 

[cancel2 2022]

who are the good guys in Syria? it's kina like that.

The UN backed Tripoli government has no support outside Tripoli-except the Misrata Brigades who evicted ISIS from Sirte- but even they don't support the Government of National Accord (UN backed) -(GNA).
It was a marriage of convenience.

General Hiftar in the east rose to power from the old House of Representatives that self exiled from Tripoli
after the current (Civil war 2014 ~ Present),and the Islamists took over Tripoli ( General National Congress)
The GNC is supposedly still active -they are the old Libya Dawn coalition -but they fractured too.

here it gets even more complicated.
I'll try to find some reference to distill this- but this all happened because of the shelling of Parliament by Hiftar and the Tripoli Airport battle of 2014..

I'll do some backtracking there - but to answer your question......???

Which wouldn't have happened if an intervention force with a robust mandate had been sent to Libya.

Sent from Lenovo K5 Note:
To piss off snowflakes, bottom feeders and racists

 

[anatta]

^ lol Tom.....OK if that makes you feel better...I completely disagree.. but we didn't.. so there it isn't

 

[cancel2 2022]

^ lol Tom.....OK if that makes you feel better...I completely disagree.. but we didn't.. so there it isn't

You tell me why sending in a team of specialists forces with amission to defend all government buildings, oil installations, ports and airports wouldn't have worked? I mean, we have special forces there now.

Sent from Lenovo K5 Note:
To piss off snowflakes, bottom feeders and racists

 

[anatta]

You tell me why sending in a team of specialists forces with amission to defend all government buildings, oil installations, ports and airports wouldn't have worked? I mean, we have special forces there now.

because there was no government to defend. The institutions crumbled with Qadaffi's demise.
it was a paper tiger upheld by militia rule, in fact there was no Libya-just warring factions.
The Prime Minister was kidnapped/Parliament was shelled running up to 2014 when the current civil war became hot again. Neighborhoods has no local security except for militias they hired, there was no central Libyan government to protect them...where would special forces fit in here?

western Special forces have no popular support to this day. most of Libyan factions want nothing to do with the west except the GNA, which allows in the special forces partnering with the Misrata Brigades who acted as their army to liberate Sirte from ISIS..General Hiftar is allying with Russia....the GNA is still a paper tiger.