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,…
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…
Some 65 people have drowned off the coast of Tunisia, after their boat sank early Friday about 83 kilometers from the shore as they attempted a Mediterranean Sea crossing. Another 16 people were rescued and brought to the coastal city of Zarzis by the Tunisian Navy, according to UNHCR, the…
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…
The government of eSwatini says it’s waiting to see more evidence that King Mswati III is in possession of USD$30 million, allegedly sent to South Africa by former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi before his 2011 death and then later shipped from South Africa to his nation. Spokesman Percy Simelane told…
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…
Five men arrested aboard the El Hiblu 1, following the alleged hijacking of the tanker after it picked up desperate migrants in the Mediterranean Sea this week, have been identified as West Africans. That’s according to the German humanitarian NGO Mission Lifeline Search and Rescue, speaking with the Times of…
This week’s drama aboard a Turkish oil tanker with 108 rescued migrants aboard illustrated yet again the desperation of those seeking to flee the lawlessness of Libya on dangerous routes across the Mediterranean – and now there’s some evidence that Libyan officials, tasked with the rescues, don’t respond when called…
Gambian journalist Deyda Hydara was assassinated while headed home from work in Banjul in December 2004. He was a fierce critic of former dictator Yahya Jammeh, and an advocate for press freedom working with The Point newspaper, AFP and Reporters Without Borders. He is one of many African journalists who…