In a bilateral meeting with Egyptian security officials, Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar received a stern warning that continued support for Emirati weapons transfers to RSF rebels in western Sudan could imperil his government’s relationships with key regional players (Middle East Eye)
Over Two Hundred Migrants Freed From ‘Secret Prison’
According to Libya’s attorney general, security forces found the victims—the majority of whom are migrants from East Africa—in an underground facility in the country’s remote southeast region (Reuters)
Libyan Authorities Discover Mass Grave
Authorities discovered a mass grave in eastern Libya containing approximately twenty-one migrant bodies; ten survivors showed signs of torture after being released from captivity (Reuters)
Libya, Turkey Agree to UK Black Box Analysis
Government officials announced at a joint press conference that London will analyze the black box from the Falcon 50 jet that crashed, killing Libya’s army chief and four aides (Africa News)
Plane Crash Kills Army Chief
Five Libyan military officers, among them Lt. Gen. Mohamed al-Haddad, died in a plane crash attributed to electrical failures (CNN)
Since 2020, al-Haddad led the Libyan Government of National Unity’s efforts to strengthen internal unity among the country’s armed forces (NYT)
Pakistan Secures $4 Billion Weapons Deal With Libyan Forces
Pakistan reached a defense agreement worth more than $4 billion to sell military equipment to the Libyan National Army, marking one of Islamabad’s largest weapons sales (Reuters)
Sanctioned Libyan Militia Leader Killed in Security Raid
Libyan authorities reported that Ahmed Oumar al-Fitouri al-Dabbashi, a militia leader sanctioned by the United Nations and the United States for migrant trafficking, was killed in a security raid in Sabratha; the raid followed an attack by his militia, the Brigade of the Martyr Anas al-Dabbashi, on a security outpost that seriously injured six security personnel (AP)
U.S. AFRICOM Commander Makes First Visit to Libya
U.S. AFRICOM Commander Dagvin Anderson made his first visit to Libya, meeting with leaders from the eastern and western governments during trips to Benghazi and Tripoli; Anderson encouraged both sides to work together to build lasting peace and security for all Libyans (AFRICOM)
Libyan War Crimes Suspect at the ICC
Prosecutors at The Hague detained Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri, a Libyan prison official suspected of war crimes, in an ongoing investigation into torture, sexual violence, and murder between 2015 and 2020 (Al Jazeera)
The eastern-based House of Representatives and Tripoli’s High State Council agreed to coordinate the allocation of oil revenue after more than a decade of competing budgets; the Central Bank said the deal creates a unified structure for managing government expenditures (Reuters)
Forty-Two Migrants Presumed Dead After Boat Capsizes Near Libya
At least forty-two migrants, including twenty-nine displaced Sudanese, are missing and presumed dead after a boat capsized off the coast of Libya last week, according to the UN (AP)
A group of survivors were stranded at sea for nearly six days before being rescued by the Libyan Coast Guard, who gave the survivors emergency medical treatment before transferring them to a detention center in Tripoli (NYT)
UN Presses Libya to Close Migrant Detention Sites
At a UN rights review in Geneva, several countries reiterated that the detention centers are rife with torture, extortion, and killings; Tripoli’s representative acknowledged serious problems but suggested that the establishment of new committees and cooperation with the International Criminal Court already constituted significant reform (Reuters)
Lebanon Frees Hannibal Gaddafi
Hannibal Gaddafi, the youngest son of Libya’s late ruler Muammar Gaddafi, was in detention for over a decade over allegations tied to the 1978 disappearance of Shiite cleric Musa al-Sadr; Libya’s Tripoli-based government welcomed the move and said it hoped it would help restore bilateral ties (Reuters)
Boat Capsizes Off Libyan Coast
The incident led to the deaths of eighteen migrants, while emergency personnel rescued ninety survivors (Reuters)
European Lawmakers Call for End to Funding for Libyan Security Forces
Thirty-eight members of the European Parliament signed a letter urging the European Commission to halt funding for Libyan security forces; the letter also condemns violent actions by the Libyan Coast Guard against humanitarian vessels (Euronews)
AFRICOM Announces Libyan Participation in Flintlock 2026
During a visit to Tripoli, AFRICOM Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. John Brennan announced Libya’s participation in the upcoming Flintlock 2026 military exercise; forces from both eastern and western Libya will take part, marking a step toward military reunification (AFRICOM)
Libya Recovers Sixty-One Migrant Bodies
The recoveries occurred over the past two weeks, as Libya continues to be a major transit hub for migrants heading toward Europe (Reuters)
Libya Discusses Military Cooperation With Italy
Senior military officers from Italy and Libya met in Tripoli to discuss security cooperation; Italy’s Joint Operations Commander Lieutenant General Giovanni Maria Iannucci and Libyan Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Mohammed al-Haddad also assessed ways to strengthen training and security and military consulting initiatives between the two countries (Libya Observer)
At Least Fifty Sudanese Refugees Killed in Libyan Boat Fire
The International Organization for Migration said a vessel carrying seventy-five Sudanese refugees caught fire off Libya’s coast, leaving at least fifty dead and twenty-four survivors receiving medical care (Al Jazeera)
United States Confirms Talks With Libyan Officials in Rome
The U.S. Embassy in Libya confirmed that it mediated talks between eastern and western Libyan officials following media reports that Ibrahim Dbeibah, an advisor to Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, and Saddam Haftar, a general in the Libyan National Army, met with U.S. adviser Massad Boulos in Rome; discussions covered security, political, and energy issues as well as the UN push for a unified Libyan government (Libya Observer)
Russian Defense Minister Meets Libyan National Army Chief
Andrey Belousov hosted Colonel General Khaled Haftar in Moscow to discuss defense cooperation and regional security; the talks followed Khalifa Haftar’s May meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, demonstrating Moscow’s continued engagement with eastern Libya (Anadolu Agency)
Car Bomb Targets Libyan Brigade Base
A suicide bomber detonated a car outside the 444 Brigade’s camp in Bani Walid, though the unit said there were no casualties and operations continue “with full readiness” as investigations into the attack proceed (Libya Observer)
UN Warns Islamic State in Libya Seeking Ties With Sahel Criminal Networks
Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council that Libyan operatives from the self-proclaimed Islamic State are attempting to merge with transnational smuggling groups, citing seven arrests this year of suspects tied to criminal networks in the Sahel (Libya Observer)
Boat Carrying Migrants Capsizes Off Italian Coast
A boat departed from Libya carrying nearly a hundred migrants, capsized in international waters off the Italian island of Lampedusa, killing at least twenty-six people and leaving around another dozen missing, the Italian coast guard and UN agencies said; sixty survivors were brought to a center in Lampedusa and authorities are still searching for any remaining survivors (AP)
Turkish, Italian, and Libyan Leaders Discuss Migration and Libya’s Stability
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hosted Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah in Istanbul for a closed-door meeting on migration, regional cooperation, and political stability in Libya; afterward, Meloni’s office praised the “excellent results achieved” through collaboration with Turkey on migration control and called for applying those lessons to support Libya’s Government of National Unity, while Erdoğan emphasized the need for “long-term and sustainable” solutions to address the root causes of migration (AP)
Libya remains a major transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East, with frequent drownings off its coast, including the deaths of at least sixty-one migrants, many of them women and children, near the town of Zuwara in December 2024 (AP)