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
An Italian judge released migrant rescue ship captain Carola Rakete on Tuesday from a house arrest order in place since the weekend, after the German captain defied Italy’s ban on accepting migrants at its ports and docked at Lampedusa. “We are relieved our captain is free!” said the Sea Watch…
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…
A weeks-long standoff between the Italian government and migrant rescuers on the Mediterranean Sea came to an end early Saturday as the captain of a Sea Watch ship entered a port at Lampedusa and then faced immediate arrest. Carola Rakete was taken into custody as about 40 migrants who had…
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…
On the question of Libya, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with his Tunisian and Algerian counterparts Wednesday to discuss the crisis, agreeing to press for a ceasefire and advance the cause of a Libyan political agreement jeopardized by the fighting in Tripoli. Shoukry, Tunisian Khemaies Jhinaoui and Algeria’s Ramtane…
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…