Both sides in Libya’s battle over Tripoli are getting military equipment from foreign countries, with widely shared social media images raising new questions over violations of a 2011 United Nations ban on sending weapons and equipment to Libya. Forces aligned with Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) posted one set…
Libya’s Fayez Al-Sarraj, head of the Presidential Council for the Government of National Accord (GNA), met with President Emmanuel Macron of France on Wednesday and urged Macron to condemn the attacks on Tripoli led by Khalifa Haftar and the Libyan National Army (LNA). Macron assured Sarraj of his support for…
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…
Attacks on residential neighborhoods in Tripoli continued overnight into Wednesday with new fatalities reported in Abu Salim, as the death toll continued to rise since the advance of Libyan National Army (LNA) forces led by Khalifa Haftar on April 4. President Fayez Al-Sarraj, leader of the internationally recognized Government of…
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…
At least 35 people have died since Thursday, when Khalifa Haftar – head of the Libyan National Army and its eastern forces – gave the order to retake Tripoli, home of the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Fayez Al-Sarraj. As the conflict escalated on Sunday, the…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
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…
Conflict in the eastern Libyan city of Derna is at the forefront again, as the humanitarian coordinator for the United Nations appealed Friday for humanitarian aid access in its hard-hit old city center. “I am deeply concerned by the escalation of hostilities in the eastern city of Derna,” said Maria…
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…
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…
General Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) has recaptured Derna, the last bastion of Islamist forces in the country’s east. The victory is not only an important strategic breakthrough in Haftar’s four-year-long campaign to rid Libya of extremist militias, but also carries important symbolic value: Derna, after all, was the…
I am a London-based researcher specialized in security issues and environmental protection. He is currently writing a book about the role lobbying plays in keeping African leaders in power.
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…
Libya’s Khalifa Haftar has returned to Benghazi, where he addressed the nation in a televised broadcast following weeks of speculation about his health and the future of his Libyan National Army (LNA). Haftar assured Libyans of his good health, while admitting that he needed to be seated to speak rather…