Although Khalifa Haftar and his eastern Libyan forces have rejected the call for a ceasefire put out by Government of National Accord (GNA) leader Fayez Al-Sarraj, the United Nations says it continues to back diplomacy in resolving the long-standing crisis. “I’ve just read out a rather comprehensive humanitarian update, which…
Dozens of African migrants were rescued this week from what international migration agencies say is the largest shipwreck this year off the Libyan coast, but the death of at least 45 others has renewed attention to policies that fail to protect Mediterranean Sea migrants. The International Organization for Migration (IOM)…
The United States on Friday added to what it says is the growing body of evidence that Russia, through the private military Wagner Group, is actively providing military equipment and fighters to factions in Libya in violation of a United Nations Security Council resolution that establishes an arms embargo. U.S….
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry urged the need for a ceasefire in Libya in order for political negotiations to move forward during his Tuesday telephone call with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, but he also warned that Egypt makes its own security situation a priority. Shoukry’s comments come one day after…
The United States says it has clear evidence that the Wagner Group of mercenary fighters, linked to Russia, is responsible for landmines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) laid in and around Tripoli in violation of a United Nations arms embargo. “Verified photographic evidence shows indiscriminately placed booby-traps and minefields around…
The outlook on Libya is gloomy, says United Nations chief António Guterres, warning that “time is not on our side” in the effort to achieve a political solution for a nation divided by nearly a decade of war. Guterres, speaking to the UN Security Council, said the conflict was in…
As fighting between the UN backed GNA and rebel troops increased amid desperate attempts to deal with the coronavirus crisis, the seizure of an illegal fuel shipment to rebel leader General Haftar meant that the country could add yet another item to its already extensive list of problems. Not only…
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.
By NJ Ayuk, African Energy Chamber Sometimes it is easy to forget how interconnected human lives across the globe have become. Perhaps we no longer talk as much about globalization as we used to in the 1990s because it is no longer an issue to be discussed or protested against,…
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…
Social media giant Facebook says it has removed a network of accounts based in Egypt that targeted countries across North Africa and the Middle East with inauthentic political messages, including some of the same groups it took offline in August and October 2019. “Although the people behind this activity attempted…
Italy has agreed to accept nearly 300 Mediterranean Sea migrants stranded aboard the Ocean Viking rescue ship, but the country’s interior minister says they have to go in quarantine along with the ship’s crew as the country deals with a large cluster of deadly coronavirus cases. The ship operated by…
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…
As progress on a Libyan ceasefire inches forward, experts warn of a new challenge: land mines. An international meeting on mine action wraps up today in Geneva, and one of the renewed concerns is the recontamination with unexploded ordnance (UXO) on land in and around Tripoli since the April 2019…
The United Nations mission in Libya says continued violations of the arms embargo threaten any progress made in securing peace between the factions fighting for control of the nation. “The 12 January truce agreed by the Government of National Accord (GNA) and the Libyan National Army (LNA), which led to…
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, host of Sunday’s international conference on Libya in Berlin, said all parties have agreed to honor an oft-violated arms embargo as the parties move forward in a new framework for peace. Both Government of National Accord leader Fayez al-Sarraj and rival Khalifa Haftar of the Libyan…