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Instability in Libya
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)
Libya’s Rival Parliaments Sign Joint Spending Framework
- 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)
Former Libyan Prison Official Accused of War Crimes Arrested in Germany
- Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri, allegedly one of the most senior officials at Miriga Prison in Tripoli, where thousands of people were detained, was arrested in Germany after being accused by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of crimes against humanity and war crimes (AP)
- He is suspected of both committing and overseeing murder, torture, rape, and sexual violence between February 2015 and early 2020, and is the first Libyan suspect at the court, which the ICC is hailing as an “important development” to seek accountability for violations in Libyan detention facilities (ICC)
UN Calls for Calm Amid Rising Tensions in Tripoli
- Amid recent armed group mobilizations in and around Tripoli, the UN Support Mission in Libya expressed concern over the potential for violence and conflict to erupt and called for the forces to withdraw immediately (UN)
EU Delegation Declared Persona Non Grata by Benghazi-Based Government
- Following a meeting with Libya’s UN-recognized government in Tripoli, the EU migration commissioner and ministers from Italy, Malta, and Greece were denied entry into Osama Hamad’s government in eastern Libya and were considered persona non grata; the day before, the Hamad government said all foreign visitors and diplomatic missions must get permission from the Hamad government before entering Libya (Reuters)
Libyan Migrants Detained
- Greek authorities said that more than 1,200 migrants from Libya have been detained in the past several days. They are being held in Crete and Gavdos; the surge of arrivals comes as Greece’s foreign minister is in Libya to discuss the migration crisis (WaPo)
- Later this week, European Commissioner Magnus Brunner is also expected in Libya to encourage stronger action on migrant departures (AP)