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…
Turkey’s ambassador to Tunisia has denied reports that extremist fighters from Syria are being transferred to Libya, a claim that has circulated in Libyan news outlets aligned with General Khalifa Haftar and the Libyan National Army (LNA) based in the country’s east. The new ambassador in Tunis, Refik Ali Onaner,…
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”…
The new commander for the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) traveled to Tunis this week to meet with Libyan leader Fayez al-Sarraj, the head of Libya’s internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA). U.S. Army Gen. Stephen Townsend, who replaced Marine Corps Gen. Thomas D. Waldhauser at the end of…
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…
The governments of six nations – including Egypt and the United Arab Emirates – called Tuesday for a halt to hostilities in Libya, in a joint statement that backed a United Nations process for the country that was derailed in April by the advance on Tripoli of Khalifa Haftar and…
The juxtaposition of the headlines was jarring, in a way that seemed newly unbearable despite all we’ve learned in recent years about African migrants seeking a pathway to Europe, the horrific realities they encounter in transit and in Libya – and the complicity of European governments in their suffering. The…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Six Turkish citizens were released by Libyan forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar on Monday, following Haftar’s declaration that all Turkish citizens and assets in the country are Libyan National Army targets – and an equally forceful message from Turkey that warned of retaliation. Turkey’s ministry of foreign affairs called the…
The Libyan National Army has orders to target any Turkish ships or boats it finds in Libyan territorial waters, after LNA leader Khalifa Haftar declared Turkey responsible for “illegitimate Turkish aggression which resulted in destructive acts.” The decision announced early Saturday also says Turkish interests on Libyan soil are to…
Libyan military leader Khalifa Haftar has defied calls for a ceasefire and instead appealed to his Libyan National Army fighters to take inspiration from the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began Monday, to defeat “terrorists” and take back Tripoli. Maj. Gen. Ahmed Almesmari of the Libyan National Army (LNA)…
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…
The death toll in Libya’s clash over Tripoli has reached 264 people, with another 1,266 wounded, according to United Nations officials speaking to reporters on Tuesday. The number includes 21 civilian fatalities and another 69 injured since the fighting began on April 4. There are large numbers of people fleeing…
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…
Khalifa Haftar, head of the Libyan National Army, has in recent days threatened to move on Tripoli, retaliate against Algeria over allegations its military is crossing into Libyan territory, and called Italy an enemy of the Libyan people. “Tripoli must be liberated and will not remain in spoiled hands,” Haftar…
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…