Maghreb Edition

Moscow’s possible lifting of arms embargo on Libya could trigger new violence, setback to Western interestsF

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Posted On 10 January 2017

Number of times this article was read : 443

The North Africa Journal | Jan. 10, 2017 | Hakim Briki: For the period of January 02 to 08, 2017, there were 30 critical incidents in Libya, resulting in 38 deaths. As a result, the MEA Risk Incidents Index for the period was 2.2. The index measures the extent of the instability on a scale of 0.5 to 5, where 0.5 means the country or region are risk free, and 5 meaning the region qualifies as a failed state. As such, Libya remains a Severe/High-Risk zone, with terror-related incidents accounting for almost 27% of the total pool of incidents. The most interesting event of the week was the announcement by Marshal Khalifa Haftar that Vladimir Putin has confirmed his commitment to lifting the arms embargo on Libya. The Russian president has yet to confirm this, but Russia has recently voiced its support to the unrecognized eastern government.

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The North Africa Journal is a leading English-language publication focused on North Africa. The Journal covers primarily the Maghreb region and expands its general coverage to the Sahel, Egypt, and beyond, when events in those regions affect the broader North Africa geography. The Journal does not have any affiliation with any institution and has been independent since its founding in 1996. Our position is to always bring our best analysis of events affecting the region, and remain as neutral as humanly possible. Our coverage is not limited to one single topic, but ranges from economic and political affairs, to security, defense, social and environmental issues. We rely on our full staff analysts and editors to bring you best-in-class analysis. We also work with sister company MEA Risk LLC, to leverage the presence on the ground of a solid network of contributors and experts. Information on MEA Risk can be found at www.MEA-Risk.com.