UN Libya Envoy Calls for Country’s Unification Ahead of Elections
The comments by Abdoulaye Bathily were an apparent change in position from the United Nations, which previously said that new elections should precede the unification of Libya’s two warring factions; the announcement comes after the UN-recognized capital, Tripoli, saw its worst violence in years last week (Reuters)
Central Bank of Libya Reunifies
The governor of Libya’s central bank met with the country’s prime minister yesterday to mark the bank’s reunification into one institution; the country’s conflict had previously split the bank into two entities, with one controlled by the UN-recognized government in Tripoli and another by military forces (Al-Monitor)
Clashes in Libya’s Capital Kill at Least Twenty-Seven People
The violence between rival militias in Tripoli broke out after a commander of one militia was reportedly detained at the airport by the rival group; Libya has experienced relative calm for the past several months as two opposing political authorities in the country remained locked in a stalemate (AP)
Libya Finds At Least Twenty-Seven Migrants Dead in Desert
Authorities said a forensic team found the bodies near the Tunisian border, where Libya is providing medical aid to other migrants stranded in the desert by Tunisian authorities (AP)
Libya’s High State Council Elects New President in Narrow Vote
The Tripoli-based advisory body was established by a 2015 agreement to advise Libya’s rival governments and has been negotiating an election roadmap with the eastern-based House of Representatives (HoR); the impact of the leadership change on those talks remains uncertain (Al Jazeera)
Libya Continues Rescuing Migrants Expelled by Tunisia
Libyan authorities say they have rescued hundreds of migrants in the desert over the last two weeks; Tunisia has reportedly pushed at least 1,200 migrants across its borders in mass expulsions (African News)
Libyan Authorities Rescue Nearly Four Hundred Migrants in Raid
Security forces reportedly freed at least 385 Pakistani migrants held by traffickers in eastern Libya; smugglers had detained the migrants and demanded ransom (AP)
Rare Commercial Italy-Libya Flight Marks Plan to Reopen Bilateral Route
The head of Libya’s Tripoli-based government took the first direct commercial flight between the two countries in ten years and announced that Libyans would be able to book direct flights to Italy beginning in September; Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has touted the measure as part of efforts to improve ties between Libya and the broader Mediterranean region (AP)
Haftar and Prigozhin Face Lawsuit Over Alleged Extrajudicial Killings
A Libyan national filed the suit in Washington, alleging eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar and Wagner Group’s Yevgeny Prigozhin killed members of his family during an offensive in 2019 (WaPo)
Oil Production Resumes at Two of Three Closed Libyan Oil Fields
While the 108 oil field remains closed, production at Libya’s Sharara and al-Fil oilfields resumed after security services released Faraj Bumatari at the demand of the protesters who had shut down the fields (Al Jazeera)
Meanwhile, Libyan authorities rescued at least eighty migrants who said Tunisian authorities had forcibly taken them to the desert and left them with no food or water (Guardian)
Protesters Halt Production at Three Libyan Oil Fields
Production at various Libyan oilfields was halted in protest against the release of Faraj Bumatari, a former finance minister who was kidnapped; the closed sites included Sharara, Libya’s second-largest oil field (Bloomberg;Reuters)
Libya Jails Thirty-Eight Human Traffickers Over Migrant Deaths at Sea
The convicted were part of a network of smugglers responsible for eleven deaths in the Mediterranean; Libya’s instability has made it a top transit country for migrants hoping to reach Europe (AP)
Italy Agrees to Restart Flights to Libya
Libya’s Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah called the decision, indicative of the improved security situation, a “breakthrough” in efforts to boost cooperation with Italy; many European countries have banned Libyan planes from their airspace since the start of the civil war over a decade ago (AP)
Libya’s Haftar Threatens Military Action Over Oil Revenue
The eastern-based military general complained that oil deposits lie mostly in eastern Libya but the Central Bank allots most of the revenue to western Libya, demanding equitable distribution of future revenue (Guardian)
Drone Strikes Hit Wagner Base in Libya
Despite accusations against it, the UN-recognized Libyan government denied responsibility for the attacks, which did not result in any casualties (Al Jazeera)
The rival governing administration accused the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) of misusing revenues and has threatened to block oil exports, a common political tactic in the eastern parliament’s quest to unseat the GNU (Reuters)
Loopholes in Libya 6+6 Deal Cast Doubt on Likelihood of Election
The establishment of a new interim government, the eligibility of presidential candidates, and vagueness are among the most pressing issues that could cause the deal to unravel or threaten the success of elections (Al Jazeera)
UN Envoy Urges International Coordination on Libya Peace Deal
As the country takes promising steps toward national elections, Abdoulaye Bathily said Libyan factions still disagree on contentious issues and called on relevant international backers to pressure key Libyan leaders to “demonstrate the political will” to hold elections (UN)
UN Envoy: Proposed Libyan Laws Insufficient for Holding Election
Abdoulaye Bathily said the proposal marked a step forward but fell short in addressing the most contentious issues, warning that ongoing disagreements could “trigger a new crisis” (Reuters)
Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah was chosen to lead a transitional government in 2021, promising to serve only in an interim capacity, but he has since consolidated power and failed to bring about elections (Reuters)
NGO Rescues 117 Migrants Off Of Libya’s Coast
The migrants from Eritrea, Sudan, and Libya were attempting to cross the Mediterranean in an overcrowded wooden boat (Reuters)
Khalifa Haftar Backs Proposal for Interim Libyan Government
Haftar, the leader of the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA), said he supports the 6+6 committee’s recommendation to form an interim Libyan government in Tripoli ahead of elections, a move that Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah will likely oppose (Reuters)
The 6+6 committee is a board made up of members of the House of Representatives (HoR) and the High Council of State (HCS) and tasked with writing laws to prepare Libya for elections (Africa News)
Seventy-Nine Migrants Dead After Libyan Boat Capsizes
The overcrowded fishing boat left Tobruk, Libya, bound for Italy but sank off the coast of Greece; seventy people survived, and many more are feared missing in one of the worst disasters in the Mediterranean this year (AP)
Eastern Libyan Authorities Crack Down on Migrants
Authorities raided trafficking warehouses in a border town and deported thousands of Egyptians, forcing them to leave on foot (AP;Middle East Eye)
Eastern-Based Libyan Parliament Suspends Prime Minister
The parliament spokesperson criticized Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha for failing to take control of the capital, Tripoli, and announced finance minister Osama Hamada had assumed his duties as head of the House of Representatives (AP)
ICC Prosecutor: Four New Arrest Warrants Issued
International Criminal Court (ICC) judges have issued four new arrest warrants in their probe of alleged war crimes in Libya in 2011, the court’s prosecutor said (AP)