Libya Updates 6/12/17

Libya’s cash tragedy lingers as commercial banks raise costs of service
12/28/16

“Shortage of cash at the Libyan banks is a security issue and our bank branches have been more than once put under pressure by those who shoulder weapons.” The CEO of Al-Jomhouriya Bank, Musbah Al-Ekari said.

In a statement following a workshop organized by the Administrative Control Authority in Waddan Hotel, Al-Ekari added Wednesday that fragile security made the banks decide to transfer their cash to the Central Bank of Libya, let alone the panicking businesspersons, who – out of fear, withdrew all of their money from banks.

[link to www.libyaobserver.ly (secure)]

Op-Ed: Russia expresses support for Libyan Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar
12/28/16

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov was critical of UN envoy to Libya, Martin Kobler whom he accused of favoring other political forces rather than Haftar and the HoR. Gatilov said that Libyans had to find a compromise on Haftar's participation in a new leadership. What Gatilov is doing is going against the UN resolution that recognizes the GNA as the sole legitimate Libyan government and also warns about having dealings with "parallel institutions" such as the government of the HoR. At the same time the sanctioned head of the HoR, Ageela Saleh, talks with a number of foreign officials in an attempt to solve the political crises and find a role for Haftar.

For some time now, Martin Kobler, has also insisted that Haftar have a significant role in any unified government and according to the Libyan Express even in the armed forces:

'The Head of the UNSMIL, Martin Kobler, said Friday that the most important issue in Libya now is to solve the current crisis by forming a unity strong army with Khalifa Haftar having a very essential role in it.'

[link to www.digitaljournal.com]

News Roundup - Thu, Dec 29, 2016

[link to www.libyaobserver.ly (secure)]

Al-Jemaly: NATO operations destroyed Libya
12/29/16

Al-Jemaly stated that “NATO intervention in Libya destroyed the country, security, and governmental institutions.” He added that “what happened in Libya resembled the Iraqi scenario, especially the disintegration of the army.”

[link to libyaprospect.com]

Libyan Civilians Take Up Arms and Form Protective Shield Around Ancient Ruins of Leptis Magna
12/29/16

Though the city of Leptis Magna is in ruins now, some fine architecture and art remain. There are only around 20 citizens armed with Kalashnikov rifles surrounding Leptis Magna and the surrounding archaeological ruins, which covers an area of about 120 acres (50 hectares).

After the United States and France bombed Libya in 2011, chaos spread to many parts of the north African country. Once the most prosperous country in Africa, Libya now has various factions fighting for control: official government agencies, Islamic organizations, tribal militias and rebels, says the website Realm of History .

The Guardian reported in August 2016 that the United States was bombing Libya again, five years after its initial attack.

[link to www.ancient-origins.net]

Very sad.

US wants to see “effective” unity government in Libya
12/31/16

The United States Special Envoy to Libya, Jonathan Winer, said Thursday that his country supports the ongoing efforts by the neighbouring countries of Libya to help bring about unity among Libyan factions to implement the Libyan Political Agreement.

The Libyan Political Agreement (LPA)was signed on December 17, 2015 by the two political rival parties, the Tripoli-based General National Congress and the Tobruk-based House of Representatives. Until today, the LPA has not been implemented as per the laws agreed upon.

[link to www.libyanexpress.com]
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Yeah, unity. Like what they got going on in Iraq. You know, unity. We support unity, at all costs. Good ol' unity.

Letter: Make Hillary ambassador to Libya

Make Hillary Clinton ambassador to Libya and station here in Benghazi. If things don't work out, well, "at this point, what difference does it make?"

[link to www.mortontimesnews.com]

Tobruk MP Tikbali hit with sex scandal
1/1/17

The hacker has also threatened to leak scandals related to Abdul-Majeed Maligta, the co-chairman of National Forces Alliance and a foreign affairs adviser for the eastern government of Abdullah Al-Thanni.

The simple citizen hacker had before published several sex scandals of pro-Dignity Operation politicians and militants.

[link to www.libyaobserver.ly (secure)]
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Simple citizen..more likely a concerted effort by the Serraj (UN) regime to defame their opposition....please......

Libya deputy PM quits, saying he has 'failed'
1/2/17

TRIPOLI, Libya (AFP) — One of three deputy premiers in Libya's UN-backed Government of National Accord resigned on Monday, saying he had failed in his mission.

Moussa al-Kouni told a press conference in the capital of the chaos-ridden North African country that he could no longer stay in the post.

"I'm resigning because I have failed," said a visibly moved Kouni, who is originally from southern Libya and represents the Tuareg minority in the GNA.

"We (in the GNA) are responsible because we accepted this mission.

[link to www.jamaicaobserver.com]

UK Documents: Libya Wanted to Pay $50 Million to Murder Thatcher
1/2/17

London- Libya wanted to give $50 million to murder former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, according to newly released Irish documents.

Libya’s Chief of Protocol Saad Muzber informed Irish ambassador to Rome Eamon Kennedy that Libya was eager to fund the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in a bid to wipe out Thatcher, during the latter’s visit to Tripoli in 1986 — The meeting was held in response to comments made by Libyan government officials in support of the IRA.

[link to english.aawsat.com]
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Haftar’s forces bomb Jufra airbase leading to passengers plane crash, one person killed
1/3/17

The warplanes of the air force of the eastern commander of the Operation Dignity, Khalifa Haftar, carried an airstrike on Jufra airbase in central Libya on Tuesday afternoon.

The airstrike of Haftar’s air force made a passengers plane that was trying to take off at the moment of bombardment crash on the ground.

[link to www.libyanexpress.com]

Forces from rival Libyan general attack base south of coast
1/4/17

BENGHAZI, Libya — Warplanes under the command of a rival Libyan army general have attacked an air base under the control of the U.N.-backed government in a central area south of the country’s Mediterranean coast, officials said Wednesday.

In a statement late on Tuesday, the Tripoli-based government said “several” government-allied troops were wounded when an aircraft they were travelling in was struck in the attack by the eastern-based forces.

[link to www.washingtonpost.com (secure)]
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Here we go...?

Libya: Amid threat of renewed conflict, UN envoy urges restraint
1/4/17

4 January 2017 – Expressing concern at escalating tensions and threat of renewed conflict following developments in central Libya, the United Nations envoy for the country urged all parties to work together on reconciliation and to refrain from any rhetoric that could inflame the situation.

“I urge all parties to act with restraint and to resolve issues through peaceful dialogue,” said Martin Kobler, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and the head of the UN Support Mission in the country (UNSMIL).

[link to www.un.org]
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lol

Chad closes border with Libya
1/5/17

Chad has closed its 2,000-km border with Libya and pledged to deploy troops to the area. The move is designed to prevent militant fighters fleeing conflict in its northern neighbor from crossing the border.

[link to www.dw.com]

The Kremlin Turns Its Attention to Libya
1/4/17

In recent months, the Kremlin has been ratcheting up its support of Khalifa Hiftar; describing him, as quoted in a Bloomberg report, as "a leading political and military figure" and as someone who is "doing a lot to fight Islamic State terrorists and help the government restore control of oil production." At the same time, Russia has criticized the UN organized unity government as ineffective and urged UN envoy Martin Kobler to find a prominent role for Hiftar in Libya's government.

Hiftar has been to Moscow twice in the past six months for high level meetings with the Russian Defense and Foreign Ministers. Russia has been providing military advice and training as well as "military experts" to the Libyan National Army, but insists that it has observed the UN mandated arms embargo to supply arms to anyone other than for the UN sponsored Government of National Accord.

During the Gaddafi regime, Libya was a major purchaser of Soviet and Russian arms. It's estimated that the Libyan Revolution that overthrew Gaddafi cost Russia some four billion dollars in contracted arms deals. In addition, during the 1970s and 1980s, the Soviet Union operated military bases in Libya, including access to the Okba Ben Nafi airfield (now Methega Airport), the former Wheelus air base operated by the United States in the 1950s and 60s. It's possible that Russia is again looking for access to military bases in Libya, as well as restoring its influence with a former Soviet client.

[link to www.military.com]

Libya prepares to deport IS women to their origin countries
1/8/17

The spokesman of the Special Deterrent Force (SDF) Ahmed Salim, said they have filed a case at the Attorney General’s Office including the number and names of the women arrested on charges of terrorism so that they be readied for deportation to their countries of origin.

[link to www.libyaobserver.ly (secure)]

Libyans dying trying to keep warm in freezing winter
1/8/17

With the advent of freezing wave of cold in Libya, the citizens of the country are suffering currently from a new type of crisis, which is the struggle to keep themselves and their children warm.

The General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL) has declared that all of the country’s cities and districts will see power cuts that range between 6 and 12 hours a day due to damages and monthly maintenance works at certain gas turbine units in the power plants that feed Tripoli and other western, southern and eastern cities.

[link to www.libyanexpress.com]

Western Libya could go into total blackout
1/9/17

Al-Zawiya Oil Refinery said Monday that an armed group had closed the gas pipeline that feeds the main power generation unit in Al-Harsha, pointing out that the group had not named any demands over the shutdown.
The administration of the refinery added that Al-Harsha power plant is working currently using the spare diesel fuel, which it said won’t be sufficient for more than a day and a half.

[link to www.libyaobserver.ly (secure)]

Tobruk-based HoR ponders changing Libya’s national anthem and flag
1/10/17

“Despite the fact that the changing of the flag and anthem should be proposed to the Constitution Drafting Assembly, we have suggested it on the HoR’s table due to the obstacles that the CDA is facing currently and the crises that are sweeping through the country. Thus, we preferred to put the CDA aside and use the HoR to pass the proposal.” The HoR members, who proposed the change indicated.
Rivals of the HoR have time and time again accused it of being controlled by Gaddafi’s regime henchmen, backing up their accusation by the HoR’s controversial decrees, including an amnesty for Gaddafi’s henchmen, who fled outside Libya and were received in Tobruk like heroes.

[link to www.libyaobserver.ly (secure)]
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They need a nation first.

Moscow eyes power in Libya as former Gaddafi stooge meets Russian officials on aircraft carrier
1/12/17

Haftar will be viewed, by the Kremlin – as well as perhaps the incoming Trump administration – as a stabilising force in Libya explained Eljahr. The nominal leader of Libya's armed forces, who is empowered by the country's elected parliament in the east, Haftar is – to his opposition – simultaneously seen as a Gaddafi stooge and a CIA asset.

Haftar led Libya's military during the county's disastrous war in Chad in the 1980s, but later fled to the US where he lived in Langley, Virginia.

[link to www.ibtimes.co.uk]
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He and Gaddafi allegedly became enemies after the Chad conflict (Mo canned his ass), and Haftar may have helped in the opposition. Not sure how he can be considered a 'stooge'....

Haftar has contracted US Blackwater military company to help in war on Benghazi
1/16/17

The pilots who are conducting airstrikes in support for the rogue General Khalifa Haftar and are taking off from Kharuba airbase near Al-Marij city are private military contractors that have been hired as mercenaries by Haftar, reported War is Boring website.

“On January 11, 2017, Intelligence Online - a professional journal covering the world’s intelligence services - revealed that the pilots of Air Tractor attack planes flying from Al Khadim air base in Libya are private contractors working for Erik Prince, the founder of the company formerly known as Blackwater.” War is Boring wrote on Saturday.

[link to www.libyaobserver.ly (secure)]

With Libya in Chaos, Migrant Deal with Italy Collapses
1/16/17

Italy’s Coast Guard was able to rescue only four people after a rubber dinghy with 110 migrants sank in rough waters in the Mediterranean Sea about 30 miles off the coast of Libya.

These situations are brought about by people smugglers. They charge desperate migrants thousands of dollars each. Typically, the people smugglers put hundreds of migrants into a single large rubber dinghy, and give the migrants enough fuel to leave Libyan waters and a cell phone to use to call the Italian coast guard.

The four who were rescued were among 550 who were rescued on one day, Friday.

It is expected (or feared) that, like last year, hundreds of thousands of migrants will attempt to cross from Libya to Italy this year. According to Malta Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.

[link to www.breitbart.com]

Libya may go offline, warns telecom company
1/17/17

The General Authority for Telecommunications warned on Monday that the country's telecommunication network is at serious risk of breakdown due to the ongoing power outages.
State-run Hatif Libya Company, the country's landline phone service provider, said telephone services might be interrupted at any moment due to the long hours of blackouts.

[link to www.libyaobserver.ly (secure)]
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Loss of Power Brings Libya to a Halt
1/17/17

“If the closure does not end, we will be ready for a total blackout in the west of Libya.” Al-Zawiya Oil Refinery elaborated.

The power outages are also believed to be connected to the internecine squabbling between Libya's rival factions in the wake of Qaddafi's overthrow in 2011.

[link to www.pipeline-journal.net]

Libya intervention & security failures prove Cameron isn’t up to top NATO job – senior Tory
1/17/17

According to the Tory backbencher Cameron’s “talents do not include wisely judging strategic issues,” as the ex-PM’s decision on military intervention in Libya showed.It is widely held in Westminster that Britain’s participation in deposing Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi lacked a coherent strategy.

[link to www.rt.com (secure)]

While U.S. Leaders Fiddle, Russia Makes Strategic Moves In Libya
1/23/17

While everyone has been preoccupied with whether and how Russia meddled in the U.S. presidential election, Russia has been continuing its bid to regain power and influence in the Middle East, this time in Libya.

This month, Russia made its largest display of support for a Libyan general who stands in opposition to the western-backed government in Libya. Gen. Khalifa Haftar boarded a Russian aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean to video-conference with Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu. They discussed the arming and training of Haftar’s Libyan National Army. Russia reportedly agreed to press the United Nations to drop an arms embargo put in place in 2011, while Haftar gave the Russians a list of equipment his army needs.

[link to thefederalist.com]

National Commission for Human Rights warns of humanitarian calamity in Libya
1/23/17

The NCHRL also blamed the House of Representatives (HoR) in Tobruk and the three rival governments as well as all of the parties of the political crisis in Libya for the current deteriorated living, health and security conditions, which the Libyans are enduring day in and day out, especially in the south.

[link to www.libyaobserver.ly (secure)]

Suspected Emirati spy killed in Libya's Tripoli
1/25/17

"He claimed to be a businessman with no ties to Dubai police but intelligence agents found photographs of sensitive sites on his phone, including of the Turkish embassy," Sour said.

"A member of Libyan intelligence killed the Emirati citizen before being gunned down by security forces," the prosecutor added, without giving a date for the incident.

[link to www.aljazeera.com]

Migration: EU rejects proposals for Turkey-style deal for Libya
1/25/17

EU leaders struck a grand bargain with Turkey in March 2016, which offered money for Syrian refugees and visa-free travel for Turkish citizens in exchange for a crackdown on people smugglers operating from the country. EU officials believe the deal has been the main factor behind the dramatic reduction in arrivals to Greece. Fewer than 50 people a day have arrived on Greek shores in recent weeks, compared with 1,900 a day one year ago.

In contrast, the number of people risking the sea crossing across the central Mediterranean to Italy has continued to rise, climbing to a record 181,000 arrivals in 2016, up from 154,000 the previous year. More than 90% of those migrants embark from Libya. The death toll has also hit a new record: more than 5,000 people lost their lives in the Mediterranean in 2016.

[link to www.theguardian.com (secure)]

Libyan passport holders to be stopped from having US visas
1/25/17

Libyans will face a visa suspension preventing them from entering the US when, as expected, the new President Donald Trump signs an executive order today that prohibits visas being issued to nationals from a number of Middle Eastern and North African states.

The other countries are Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Sudan and Somalia.

The order will not apply to those with dual US and Libyan nationality or those with passports from other countries. It is not clear if the ban will apply to those already in possession of a US visa.

[link to www.libyaherald.com (secure)]