Libyan Civil War

After terrorizing Libya's Tarhuna for several years during their rule over the city, the Kaniyat militia has still not been held accountable for its war crimes as authorities continue to locate mass graves. "They spared no child, no woman, no old man," said Mohamed Amer, mourning the murdered under the reign of terror by six brothers who ruled the Libyan city with bloodshed. "I am the father of the martyr Moaid, cold-blooded killed by the criminal gang Kaniyat," said Amer, a silver-haired father in his…

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a report released on Wednesday called on the UN Security Council to set up a "monitoring component" to operate in and around Libya's Sirte province and compliment the Libyan-led mechanisms to monitor the ceasefire. In the report presented to the Security Council, Guterres did not say how many UN observers would be needed for the UN mission, known as the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). "I call on the Security Council to give UNSMIL a clear but flexible…

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 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…

France will resume its embassy in the war-torn Libyan capital Tripoli next Monday, President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday, promising to support the new interim government. Macron met with Mohammed Menfi, head of Libya's three-member presidency council, in Paris. Menfi was elected in February as part of a UN-hosted political process. Menfi and Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah are tasked with guiding the Government of National Unity (GNU) until the national elections scheduled for December…

Mohammad Menfi, head of Libya's presidential council, called for reconciliation between the war - torn country's institutions on Monday and expressed his support for the executive branch. Menfi received Jan Kubis, the UN Special Envoy to Libya, at his office in Tripoli and Raisedon Zenenga, the coordinator of the UN Libya Support Mission (UNSMIL), according to a statement from the Presidential Council. Menfi pointed out that the new executive is dependent on the decisions taken in Geneva and said that…

The conduct of free, fair and credible national elections in Libya requires a favorable political and security environment in which all stakeholders commit themselves in advance to respect and follow the results and voters are allowed to exercise their democratic rights in a safe manner without threat or interference. The International Monitoring Committee on Libya stated on Thursday. The group, co-chair of Algeria, Germany, the Arab League and the UN mission in Libya, held a meeting on Thursday to…

The European Union will extend its military mission in the Mediterranean for two years and police the UN arms embargo on conflict-torn Libya, senior EU officials said on Wednesday. The unit's member states will "adopt a decision next week to extend its mandate by another two years until the end of March 2023", said a senior EU official. The decision to extend the mandate comes when UN experts warned that the embargo imposed on Libya in 2011 was "completely ineffective" as it was clearly violated by…

Libya's 5 + 5 joint military commission announced on Wednesday that the road between Sirte and Misrata will be open in two weeks when mercenaries begin to withdraw from the region. After speaking with the Anadolu Agency (AA) after the eighth meeting of the Commission, one of the members, Al-Fituri Girbil, stated that with the opening of the coastal road, the mercenaries in Sirte and Jufra will leave the area. The Commission is expected to hold a new meeting in the next few days, in particular on road…

Libya's Joint Military Commission 5 + 5 held a meeting in the coastal city of Sirte on Monday to discuss ongoing efforts to clear mines and remnants of war from the coastal road connecting the city to Misrata. "The meeting will discuss progress in removing mines along the coastal road," Mohamed Turjuman, director of the Libyan Demining Center, told Anadolu Agency (AA). "The Commission will submit technical reports on cleared areas for mines to UNSMIL representatives and international observers," he…