The United Nations and UN-backed government in Tripoli have condemned dozens of killings that resulted in a mass grave discovered east of Benghazi. Military strongman Khalifa Haftar, whose forces control eastern Libya, has vowed an investigation; witnesses said the victims had been arrested by Haftar’s forces (Al Jazeera)
UN Relocates Thousands of Migrants in Libya
The United Nations has transferred some four thousand migrants from informal camps in the city of Sabratha to a hangar there after clashes between rival groups fighting to control the city. Crossings into Europe from Sabratha, a smuggling hub, dropped sharply in July when one armed group struck a deal with the Tripoli government to block departures (Reuters)
United States Conducts Airstrikes in Libya
U.S. airstrikes killed seventeen self-proclaimed Islamic State militants in Libya in the first such operation in the country under President Donald Trump (CNN)
Libyan Armed Group Prohibits Asylum Seekers From Boarding Boats
An armed group in the Libyan city of Sabratha is prohibiting asylum seekers from boarding boats set for Italy. Migrant arrivals to Italy from North Africa in July dropped by more than half from a year earlier (Reuters)
Rival Libyan Parties Announce Cease-Fire
Libya’s two main rival parties announced a cease-fire and said they intend to hold elections “as soon as possible” after they met in Paris for negotiations mediated by French President Emmanuel Macron (CNN)
Libyan National Army Captures Benghazi
The Libyan National Army declared on July 5 that it captured the city of Benghazi from rival armed groups after a three-year campaign (Reuters)
UN Convoy Attacked by Gunmen, Workers Briefly Detained
Gunmen attacked a UN convoy in western Libya, damaging one car and briefly seizing seven workers before releasing them. The identities of the attackers are unknown (Voice of America)
International Criminal Court Calls for Arrest of Gaddafi’s Son
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi should be arrested and turned over to the court in The Hague. Gaddafi is wanted for his role in supporting his father Muammar Gaddafi’s rule, but his lawyers say that he will not turn himself in to the court (Reuters)
Libyan Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Released From Jail
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, was released from jail under an amnesty law. Saif is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity committed during the 2011 Libyan uprising (BBC)
UN-Backed Libyan Forces Take Tripoli Airport
Libyan forces loyal to the UN-backed GNA seized Tripoli’s international airport from a rival militia. The airport had been under the control of the Fajr Libya coalition since 2014 (Reuters)
Libya Becomes Focus in Manchester Bombing Probe
Salman Abedi, the man behind the May 22 suicide bombing in Manchester, spent four weeks in Libya, then returned to the United Kingdom days before the attack. Authorities arrested Abedi’s brother and father in Libya and are investigating possible ties to the Islamic State (Washington Post)
Southern Libya Air Base Under Control of Eastern Forces
The eastern-based Libyan National Army under the Khalifa Hifter took control of an air base in southern Libya. The base had previously been under the control of a rival faction from Misrata (west) loyal to the UN-backed Government of National Accord (Reuters)
Libya’s Rival Governments Meet in Rome
Italy brokered a meeting in Rome between representatives from Libya’s legislature and its UN-backed state council. The council said in a statement that the two sides agreed to reach “peaceful and fair solutions to outstanding issues” (Guardian)
Ninety-Seven Migrants Missing After Libyan Boat Sinks
The Libyan coast guard said that at least ninety-seven people are believed to have drowned when a Europe-bound boat capsized about ten kilometers from the capital of Tripoli. Twenty-three people were rescued (Al Jazeera)
Report: Migrants Sold in Libyan ‘Slave Markets’
African migrants attempting to cross into Europe from Libya are being rounded up by smugglers, then auctioned off as slave laborers or held for ransom, according to a new report from the International Organization for Migration. The report called the forced labor “a disturbing new trend in the already dire situation for migrants in Libya” (Voice of America)
Libyan Militias Aim to Take Benghazi
Libyan militias that occupied two strategic oil terminals last week they intend to take Benghazi and unseat General Khalifa Hifter. The so-called Benghazi Defense Brigades claim that more than 3,000 men are ready to continue eastward now that they have taken over the oil terminals of al-Sidra and Ras Lanuf (Associated Press)
UNICEF Identifies Libya as Epicenter for Child Migrant Abuse
A recent UNICEF report found that many of the 26,000 children migrating from Libya to parts of Italy have experienced malnutrition, lack of medical care, violence, and sexual abuse from smugglers or human traffickers along their routes through the country (BBC)
Migrant Bodies Found in Western Libya
Some seventy-four bodies of people believed to have been asylum seekers attempting to cross international waters were found in the western Libyan city of Zawiya, according to the Red Crescent (Guardian)
Egypt Mediates Between Rival Libyan Factions
The head of the UN-backed Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) and a powerful military commander spoke through an Egyptian intermediary after refusing to meet in Cairo meant to move toward a political settlement (Associated Press)
Libya Says Oil Sector Reopen for Business
Libyan National Oil Corporation Chairman Mustafa Sanallah said the country is reopening its oil sector to foreign investments for the first time since a civil war erupted and toppled longtime dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi in 2011 (Wall Street Journal)
Libya has the largest petroleum reserves in Africa
U.S. Official: IS Remains Threat in Libya
Despite defeat in its stronghold in Sirte this week, the Obama administration’s special envoy to Libya said the Islamic State was likely forming cells elsewhere in the country, and remained a threat (New York Times)
Libyan Militias Claim Sirte Freed From Islamic State
Libyan troops claim they ousted the self-proclaimed Islamic State from the coastal city of Sirte following a six-month assault on the city, which was supported by American air strikes (New York Times)
With the defeat, the Islamic State is believed to no longer control any Libyan towns (Al Jazeera)
Allied Fighters Drive Islamic State Out of Sirte
Libyan officials confirmed that allied fights have driven self-proclaimed Islamic State militants from the city of Sirte, though clearing operations are still ongoing (AP)
Tripoli Revolutionaries Brigade Clashes With Armed Groups East of the City
Armed clashes were reported November 30 in Arada after the Tripoli Revolutionaries Brigade attacked an armed force’s building in the same area. The Tripoli Revolutionaries Brigade, led by Haitham Al-Tajouri, clashed with another armed force in the city and took over military and administrative buildings it used to control, including the mail company building in Al-Zawiya St. and Health Ministry in Firnaj district (Libya Observer)
Car Bombing Kills Two in Benghazi
A car bombing in Benghazi killed two people and wounded seventeen, a Libyan medical official reported (AP)