Libya

Forces in western Libya on Wednesday released more than 100 detainees who had been captured during fighting under Putin general Khalifa Haftar, in a conciliatory gesture following the latest agreements, officials said. The fighters were liberated in the coastal city of Zawiya during a televised ceremony attended by senior officials of the newly appointed transitional government. The men fought for the 107th Brigade under the leadership of Haftar. Mohammad Younes Menfi, head of the presidential…

According to figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), almost 1,100 migrants have been intercepted off the Libyan coast by the Coast Guard since Saturday 27 March. They are being sent back to internment camps in Tripoli where conditions are deplorable. Five people died during rescue operations on Tuesday and 77 were rescued, according to the IOM, which condemns the return of these migrants to a country in chaos. "This is a consequence of an irresponsible migration policy," tweeted Safa Msehli, an…

A Libyan lawmaker revealed on Tuesday that an agreement has been reached to unite the two rival groups in the country's parliament following a meeting in the capital Tripoli. Fawzi al-Nuwairi, deputy speaker of the Tobruk-based parliament, told the Libyan television network Alahrar that "the presidency of the Libyan parliament met on Tuesday in Tripoli and agreed to unite the parliament." However, Al-Nuwairi did not provide further details about the agreement or who had attended the meeting. Libyan…

The arrival of the new unified commander has not yet changed the security situation in Libya. In both the East and the West, human rights abuses, abductions and arbitrary detentions continue. In recent times, the largest city in eastern Libya has been the scene of an unprecedented series of murders and kidnappings. The new CEO seems powerless in the face of the uncertainty that prevails throughout the country. Since March 18, when a dozen bodies full of bullets strewn across the streets of Benghazi, atrocities have…

France resumed its embassy in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Monday after a seven-year closure. "The embassy reopened in Tripoli on March 29, 2021," said a tweet from the diplomatic mission. Last week, Mohammad Menfi, head of the Libyan Presidency, announced during a press conference during his visit to Paris that the French embassy in Tripoli would be resumed. In July 2014, amid unrest following the 2011 ouster of strongman Moammar Gadhafi, the embassy closed its doors in Tripoli, but continued its work from Paris.…

Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Sunday that an oil spill north of the country had been brought under control. In a statement published on its Facebook page, NOC said that the leak occurred in one of the supply lines in the Dahra oil field. "Technical teams were able to complete the work and stop the leak," the statement said, while the cause of the leak was not disclosed. According to the oil group, the leak did not affect production operations. The Dahra oil field is one of the oldest oil fields…

After Paris and Cairo, Mohamed el-Menfi, President of the Libyan Presidential Council, visited Ankarace on Friday 26 March. There he met with Turkish Prime Minister Reçep Tayyip Erdogan. A "working meeting", confirms the news agency Anadolu, to "discuss the multi-rooted relations" between the two countries. An official request came to President Reçep Tayyip Erdogan to withdraw Syrian mercenaries as well as Turkish military experts who were present in Tripoli at the end of May 2020. According to a Libyan government…

Ocean Viking, the boat from NGO SOS Méditerranée, completed its eleventh rescue mission in the central Mediterranean this week. He arrived on Tuesday at the Italian port of Augusta where the 116 people he rescued outside the Mediterranean could disembark. The crew carried out two interventions, one of which disrupted the role played by the Libyan security forces.…

The foreign ministers of France, Germany and Italy were in Tripoli to meet their Libyan counterpart on Thursday in a demonstration in support of the war-torn country's newly formed unity government. The joint visit of French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, Germany's Heiko Maas and Italy's Luigi Di Maio comes ten days after the formation of an interim government to lead Libya to the December elections. Oil-rich Libya sank into chaos after dictator Moammar Gadhafi was overthrown and killed in a 2011 NATO uprising,…

The UN's new special envoy for Libya called on foreign forces and mercenaries on Wednesday to leave the conflict-torn country required in last year's ceasefire agreement. Speaking to the UN Security Council, Jan Kubis warned of "pitfalls" that could hinder or delay the December elections in order to provide a unified government for the nation after years of division. Kubis said the ceasefire agreement in October remains in force, but foreign forces and mercenaries have not provided and "there are reports of ongoing…