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LIBYA
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The southern Mediterranean braces for war
Libya has long been a battleground pitting several regional powers against one another. That competition for influence and control of energy resources, is about to get even more intense. While warlord Haftar has been receiving virtually unlimited support from the...
The cost of a civil war, tens of thousands of Libyans flee their homes
Tripoli, Dec 27, 2019 (By Nawas Al-Darraji) - Layla Mohammed barely had time to gather her children's belongings before fleeing their southern Tripoli home when shelling targeted the Libyan capital's outskirts earlier this year. For months she moved her family between...
Libya: Warlord Khalifa Haftar promises onslaught on Tripoli
Tripoli, Dec 12, 2019 - Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar announced a "decisive battle" for the capital Tripoli on Thursday, eight months after he launched an offensive to wrest it from the unity government. "Zero hour has come for the broad and total assault...
Sahel: Insurgency and criminal activity in the Sahel
Criminal activities such as arms and drug trafficking are crucial to the survival of jihadist groups in the Sahel, creating links with organised crime, a South African research centre said Tuesday. A study conducted by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) over two...
Libya: French oil company Total to buy Marathon Oil’s stake in Libya’s Waha oil concessions
Libya's National Oil Corporation said Tuesday it had agreed to let French oil giant Total buy US outfit Marathon Oil's 16.33-percent stake in the country's Waha oil concessions for $650 million (586 million euros). The NOC said in a statement it had approved the deal...
Libya: Civilians killed in air strikes on Tripoli, authorities say UAE drones used
Tripoli, Dec 2, 2019 - At least five civilians were killed and 10 wounded in overnight air strikes in a suburb of Libya's capital, the unity government's health ministry said on Monday. "Violent air raids on the residential area of al-Swani killed five civilians and...
Libya: Scores of migrants saved from drowning off the coast of Zawiyah
Libya's navy said Saturday it had rescued 205 migrants in an operation off the coast of Tripoli. The rescue took place on Friday, with 158 men, 33 women and 14 children taken from three inflatable boats off the coast of Zawiyah, 45 kilometres west of the capital, a...
Libya: Work at Al-Feel oil field in southwest Libya halts amid fighting
Tripoli, Nov 27, 2019 - Libya's National Oil Corporation said fighting triggered a suspension of production Wednesday at a key field in the country's southwest. Forces loyal to eastern Libya strongman Khalifa Haftar said they carried out air raids against "armed...
Libya: Russia’s alleged involvement in Libya prompts US re-engagement
Since Donald Trump became President of the United States, North Africa and the African continent in general, have not been a strategic focus for Washington. But on the crisis in Libya, the US administration is trying to reengage these days and to be less reactive and...
Libya: Concern over increase in Mediterranean Sea crossing from Libya
The UN voiced alarm Friday at a "spike" in migrant boats departing from Libya this week, following fresh raids around the capital Tripoli. "In the span of 48 hours, at least nine boats carrying more than 600 migrants have been discovered on the central Mediterranean...
Libya: Europe urges release of kidnapped Libyan lawmaker
Tripoli, Nov 17, 2019 - Thirteen European diplomatic missions in Libya, including the EU delegation, demanded Sunday "urgent investigations" into the disappearance four months ago of a lawmaker and called for her immediate release. Siham Sergewa disappeared on July 17...
Libya: Schools close, education minister pressured to resign
Tripoli, Nov 14, 2019 (By Nawas Al-Darraji) - A Libyan teachers' strike over salaries and "phantom" employees has closed schools for the past month in a country where education has already been hard hit by conflict and political turmoil. The teachers, who earn on...
Libya: New reports of Russian mercenaries in Libya
Russia on Thursday denied US media reports that it had sent mercenaries from private military group Wagner to fight in Libya. The New York Times reported Tuesday that some 200 Russian fighters from Wagner had arrived in Libya over the last six weeks including snipers....
Libya: Khalifa Haftar’s warplane strikes police station in Ain Zara, kills two
Tripoli, Nov 6, 2019 - Two Libyan policemen were killed in an air strike on a police station in the suburbs of Tripoli late Tuesday, the UN-recognised Government of National Accord said. Its interior ministry blamed the strike on the forces of east Libyan strongman...
Libya: Fearing an influx of immigrants, Italy renews deal with Libya to block migrants at source
Rome, Oct 31, 2019 - Italy has renewed a controversial agreement signed in 2017 with Libyan coastguard to block illegal migrants trying to leave from the North African country's coast, the government has said. Libya, wracked by conflict since the 2011 uprising that...
Libya: After a two month-closure, Mitiga airport to reopen
Tripoli, Oct 29, 2019 - Flights are to resume at Tripoli's Mitiga airport, closed for almost two months after being bombed multiple times in the ongoing battle for the Libyan capital, the unity government said on Tuesday. Transport Minister Milad Maatoug announced...
Libya: Warlord Haftar launches airstrike on Misrata, as rivalry between UAE and Turkey wrecks havoc on Libya
Forces of east-Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar said Friday they launched air strikes on military sites in Misrata, an area controlled by forces loyal to the UN-recognised Government of National Accord. The city of Misrata is 200 kilometres (120 miles) east of the...
Libya: Despite war, city of Tripoli to have its bus service for first time in three decades
Tripoli, Oct 15, 2019 - Parked in a hangar in downtown Tripoli, some 35 buses awaited this week's launch of a new urban public transport scheme -- the first in the Libyan capital in three decades. Imported from China, the brand new vehicles will make their first trips...
Libya: Warlord Haftar’s warplanes kill at least three children near Tripoli
Tripoli, Oct 14, 2019 - At least three children were killed and eight civilians wounded Monday in an air strike on a residential neighbourhood near the Libyan capital, the health ministry said. Spokesman Lamine al-Hachemi said another child was seriously wounded and...
Libya: Warlord Haftar’s air raid targets civilians, injures children
Tripoli, Oct 7, 2019 - An air raid on riding stables near the Libyan capital Tripoli has wounded at least six people, including children, sparking condemnation from the United Nations and the unity government. An African worker was also among the six people wounded in...
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