Libya

Mogadishu — Somalia’s Immigration and Citizenship Agency said Wednesday it foiled an attempt to smuggle a Somali minor out of the country to Libya after officers flagged irregular travel plans and uncovered a bid to fraudulently obtain travel documents. The agency said the girl, taken from Las Anod, was intercepted at an early stage of the journey after a verification process identified adults traveling with her as suspected members of a human smuggling network. Authorities said the effort to secure false documentation was…

TRIPOLI/ATHENS — At least eight people died in two separate Mediterranean crossings this weekend, as five bodies washed ashore near Libya’s capital and Greek authorities recovered three more off the island of Crete while rescuing dozens. Residents in the coastal town of Qasr al-Akhyar, east of Tripoli, found five bodies Saturday and alerted police, according to Hassan al-Ghawil, head of investigations at the local station. He told Reuters the dead were “dark-skinned people,” including two women, and said bystanders reported…

ANKARA, Türkiye — Türkiye on Thursday denounced Greece’s new agreement with U.S. energy major Chevron to explore for hydrocarbons south of Crete, calling the move unlawful and contrary to good-neighborly relations in the Eastern Mediterranean. “We oppose this unlawful activity, which is being attempted in violation of the 2019 Memorandum of Understanding on Maritime Jurisdiction between Libya and our country,” the Turkish Defense Ministry said at its weekly briefing. The ministry added that while the work does not directly…

The World Health Organization announced that Libya has eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, a milestone that clears the country of a disease long linked to poverty and limited access to hygiene and eye care. The validation makes Libya the 28th country worldwide and the eighth in its region to reach this specific target for trachoma, the WHO said. Trachoma is an infectious eye disease caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. It spreads through contact with infected eye discharge on hands, clothing or by…

TRIPOLI — A rubber boat carrying 55 migrants from several African countries overturned off the coast of Libya after taking on water about six hours after leaving al-Zawiya, the U.N. migration agency said, in one of the deadliest incidents this year on the Libya‑Europe route. Only two women from Nigeria survived and received emergency medical care from the International Organization for Migration, the agency said. Survivors told IOM officials the overcrowded dinghy departed late at night and capsized north of Zuwara. One…

Death of Saif al-Islam Gadhafi Confirmed Amid Controversy Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, the eldest son of the late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, has reportedly been killed. His lawyer, Khaled el-Zaydi, confirmed the news, although the details surrounding his death remain unclear. Saif al-Islam was a key figure in Libya prior to 2011. He was previously sentenced to death in absentia by a Libyan court. International charges were also pending against him for alleged crimes against humanity. Background and Influence…

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Reported Dead Amid Conflicting Accounts Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the 53-year-old son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, has reportedly been shot dead at his home in Zintan. Khaled al-Zaidi, his lawyer, stated that a four-man commando unit carried out the assassination, although the identities of those behind the attack remain unclear. Meanwhile, a conflicting account from Saif's sister suggests he met his end near the Algerian border. Once considered the most prominent and feared figure in Libya…

The Netherlands has sentenced an Eritrean national, Amanuel Walid, to 20 years in prison after finding him guilty of leading a transnational migrant-smuggling network that operated through Libya, Dutch prosecutors said Friday. Walid was convicted on a string of charges that included human smuggling, extortion, violence and money laundering. Prosecutors said members of the network detained migrants in Libya, subjected many to severe abuse in detention camps, and forced relatives in the Netherlands to pay ransoms — a pattern…

TRIPOLI, Libya — Libyan security forces have rescued more than 200 migrants from a clandestine underground prison in the southeastern town of Kufra, exposing what authorities described as brutal and degrading detention conditions along one of the world’s deadliest migration routes. Officials said the detainees — including women and children from sub-Saharan Africa, primarily Somalia and Eritrea — were found in multiple cells nearly three meters below ground. Some had been held for up to two years. The suspected trafficker…

Libya rescues more than 200 migrants from underground prison in Kufra as abuse allegations mount TRIPOLI, Libya — Libyan security forces have rescued more than 200 migrants from a clandestine underground detention site in the southeastern town of Kufra, where authorities say victims were held in brutal, degrading conditions for months and, in some cases, years. Security officials said the migrants were discovered in an improvised prison nearly three meters (about 10 feet) below ground, allegedly run by a Libyan trafficker.…