Ghassan Salamé, head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), announced on Monday that he’s quitting the position. “For two years, I sought to reunite the Libyans, curb the interference of the outside, and preserve the unity of the country,” he said in a public Twitter message. “My health…
Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) has suspended participation in the Geneva negotiations on military issues, one of three national dialogue tracks established following the Berlin Conference on the conflict in January. GNA President Fayez Al-Sarraj said the decision followed the bombing of Tripoli’s port on Tuesday by the Libyan…
Ghassan Salamé, head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), had a stern warning Monday for other nations backing the warring parties in Libya, one he delivered after a closed-door session with the United Nations Security Council. “Keep your hands off Libya,” he said, when asked for his message…
Another bombing on the outskirts of Tripoli – impacting civilians for the fourth time this week – drew a fresh appeal from the United Nations representative in Libya for their protection. The Institute of Applied Engineering, located near hundreds of people sheltered in the Al-Nasser Migrants Center in Al-Zawiya, was…
Another 10 people have died in an airstrike in Libya, with the news coming as the United Nations Security Council heard testimony Monday from Ghassan Salamé, head of the UNSMIL mission, who warned of intensifying violence and “a race against time to reach a peaceful solution.” Salamé said the attack…
The special envoy to Libya painted a dire portrait for the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, warning of two potentially deadly outcomes if Libya fails to abandon the “chimera” that is a military solution. Ghassan Salamé told the council that one path leads to “continued fratricide amongst the Libyans”…
Libyan leader Fayez Al-Sarraj, head of the Presidential Council of the Government of National Accord, has summoned United Nations envoy Ghassan Salame in order to register disapproval about what the GNA says is “misinformation” provided to the U.N. Security Council on the situation there. At the same time, the Libyan…
Libya is on the edge of a long and bloody civil war that could permanently divide the nation, the United Nations special representative to Libya said during a briefing to the United Nations Security Council Tuesday. Ghassan Salamé, who also serves as head of UNSMIL, the UN mission in Libya,…
Fayez Al-Sarraj, head of the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Libya, met Thursday with Ghassan Salamé, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) to discuss the ongoing conflict over Tripoli. The meeting comes as the death toll in Libya…
There is still time to avoid “a dramatic, bloody battle for Tripoli,” the United Nations Secretary General said late Wednesday, but there’s little optimism that will be the case amid intensifying clashes. Abdel Salam al-Hassi, the commander of Libyan National Army (LNA) forces led by Khalifa Haftar, told Asharq Al-Awsat on…
It’s been five days since Khalifa Haftar, head of the Libyan National Army, vowed that the chaotic nation’s political crisis would come to an end in the next two weeks – comments he made to Al Arabiya news, with the promise of a national unity government. On Thursday, Haftar gave…
Libya’s Fayez Al-Sarraj, head of the Presidential Council for the Government of National Accord (GNA), met Wednesday with security officials and his interior minister to discuss Tuesday’s attack on the foreign ministry building in Tripoli. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed at least three people…
The internationally backed Government of National Accord in Libya (GNA) declared a state of emergency and the United Nations (UNSMIL) has called for an emergency meeting on Tuesday as the country’s security crisis escalates in and around Tripoli. Fighting in Ain Zara on the southern outskirts of the city led…
In Libya, clashes between armed groups in Tripoli have now killed 39 people and injured more than 100, while forcing closure of Mitiga Airport and leaving hundreds more stranded when it came under rocket fire. An update from the Libyan Ministry of Health on Friday said most of the dead…
The head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) says that despite an attack earlier this month at the High National Elections Commission (HNEC) offices in Tripoli, the country continues to move toward elections planned for later this year. Ghassan Salamé, speaking to the UN Security Council, said the…