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The newly elected Prime Minister, Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah, said he was ready to cooperate with all state institutions in Libya in order to preserve national sovereignty and keep out negative foreign intervention.

Dbeibah told the High Council of State (HCS) Tuesday that the new interim government would work on establishing consultations with the HCS and House of Representatives as well as the Presidential Council and 5+5 Joint Military Commission so that all Libyans can sense security.

Dbeibah said he had started outlining the new government that should work on and abide by the roadmap commitments of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum.

He reiterated the importance of the general elections in December, saying to hold elections on time, some elements that had been burdening Libyans must be resolved, and reiterating that national reconciliation is very significant in reaching the targeted elections.

"The briefing at the HCS was part of consultations with all authorities. We hope this positive consultation helps boost chances of stability." Dbeibah wrote on Twitter.

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Dbeibah says to form new government after consulting with Libya's state institutions - The Libya Observer

Libya's weak new government needs to strike a deal with strongman Haftar to stay afloat.

A businessman with Gaddafi regime ties, Abdelhamid Debaiba defied the odds when a UN-led dialogue chose him as prime minister earlier this month, despite French and Egyptian backing for a rival list led by the east Libyan parliament speaker Aguileh Saleh and west Libyan interior minister Fathi Bashagha. One powerbroker, however, breathed a sigh of relief. Khalifa Haftar, the military commander who launched a devastating war on Tripoli in 2019 only to be defeated and increasingly marginalised, was back in the saddle.

Haftars life long ambition to take control of the country had ended embarrassingly, with his troops fleeing from Tripoli after weeks of Turkish drone strikes in May 2020. Russia and Egypt, which had both backed his offensive, pushed forward Haftars grudging ally Saleh as the main representative in the east. Haftar had unsuccessfully tried to sideline Saleh just a few months before the end of the war by assuming overall political command of the east.

READ MORE Libya: After five years at the helm, PM Sarraj having trouble letting go

Instead, he was summoned to Cairo with Saleh in June 2020 to endorse a ceasefire and political initiative by the parliament speaker. Back in his headquarters in Rajma, Haftar stewed as Saleh took the lead and floundered about for a response. In one meeting with Russian officials that left them in shock, Haftar threatened to launch another offensive, this time targeting Misrata, officials briefed on the encounter told The Africa Report.

With Salehs loss, and the victory of a relatively weak president and prime minister known for striking opportunistic deals and who will need Haftars support to succeed, the field marshal now finds himself kingmaker again.

73 delegates cast their ballots in the the dialogue to elect a new temporary unity government that would replace the internationally recognised one in the west, and the Haftar-aligned prime minister in the east, until elections in December 2021. The delegates representing Haftar were instructed to cast their ballots for Debaiba when his list and Salehs made it to the second round of voting, says Mohamed Eljarh, a Libya expert and head of the Libya Outlook for Research and Consulting think tank.

READ MORE Libya: How Colonel Gaddafi continues to haunt the living

Salehs list, in which he was the candidate for president while Bashagha contended for the premiership, narrowly lost by five votes. The combination of the two attracted opposition from vested interests in Tripoli and western Libya that opposed the interior ministers security reform agenda that targeted powerful militias, and Salehs role in supporting the war on the capital. Haftar and his supporters, meanwhile, feared to be further sidelined.

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A Bashagha list represented an existential threat to the armed groups in Tripoli and to Haftar. One of the reasons it was an existential threat to Haftar was widespread international consensus (supporting the Bashagha-Saleh) list, and because Haftar was already being sidelined by the fact that Aguileh Saleh became the primary interlocutor for the east since the end of the war, says Eljarh.

Haftar is really really content with the result, he adds.

The result is an executive that perhaps never expected to win and now finds itself bound to strike deals to stay afloat. Debaiba, who like Bashagha hails from the influential western city of Misrata, had overpromised positions to supporters if he won and now finds himself caught between fulfilling those pledges and international pressure to appoint a small, technocratic government. The president on his list, Mohammed Menfi, is from the east, but is not close to Haftars Libyan National Army.

The situation is very much in flux, says the International Crisis Groups Claudia Gazzini. There is on paper this new proposed executive [that] would appear unsatisfactory for Haftar but there are also signs that conversations are taking place and a more transactional relationship could develop between the nominated prime minister and the LNA, she says.

READ MORE US: Post-Trump vision for the Maghreb

I think (Haftar) can live better with this. Although Aguileh Saleh is an LNA supporter, and he as president of the House of Representatives crowned Haftar as commander of the armed forces, in the last months there hasnt been a good rapport between them, and some people in Haftars circle were worried that Aguileh if empowered would pull the carpet from under Haftar, says Gazzini.

The priority now for Haftar would be to maintain his position in charge of the LNA while securing allies into some of the new governments most important posts, including the defence and finance ministers. Seen as an increasingly irrelevant and troublesome interlocutor even by his foreign allies, Haftar may now get his way again.

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With Libyas surprise vote result, a defeated Haftar is back in the saddle - The Africa Report

During the past week Libyan coast guards intercepted more than 1,500 Europe-bound migrants, according to a non-governmental organization. UN officials and human rights advocates have denounced the return of migrants to Libya because they face violence and arbitrary detention.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) confirmed Wednesday that around 1,500 people had been picked up from boats off Libyas western shores within one week.

"The Libyan coastguard has conducted several rescue operations from a week ago until (Wednesday) and rescued about 1,500 people," Adel al-Idrissi from the IRC told the news agency AFP.

Libyan authorities said that on Wednesday (February 10) alone, two boats with a total of 240 Africanmigrants on board were intercepted off the port city of Al-Khums.

The UN migration agency IOM in Libya confirmed on Twitter that over 200 migrants had been intercepted and returned to Libya on Wednesday.

Images of migrants being returned to Al-Khums show women and children.

Some of the migrants picked up by coast guards on Wednesday reportedly resisted getting on the coast guard vessel. "We encountered difficulties in getting the (migrantsfrom the first boat) on board," but the second group "showed less opposition," Lieutenant-Colonel Mohammed Abdel Aali told AFP.

Migrantsintercepted by Libyan authorities off the North African coast often object to being returned to the country and prefer to wait for humanitarian rescue ships.

"Men, women and children taken back to Libya against their will," the head of Spanish rescue organization Open Arms, Oscar Camps, said on Twitter on Wednesday. Their rescue ship Astral was on its way to the location of a distress call, he said. But when the ship arrived, the migrants had already been picked up by the Libyan patrol boat Fezzan V658, Camps tweeted in a thread.

The UN migration agency IOM in its most recent update recorded 1,487 returns to Libya between February 2-8. Since the start of the year, the IOM recorded 1,956 returns, among them 185 women and 124 minors.

International agencies and rights groups have repeatedly denounced the return of migrants to Libya, where many face violence and arbitrary detention.

Reports of rape, torture, forced labor and murder have all emerged from Libyan detention camps. Images smuggled out of these facilities show migrants detained under inhumane conditions.

Because of this, rights group have called on European countries to stop their collaboration with Libyan authorities on migration issues -- in particular, they want Italy and the EU to stop financing Libya's coast guard.

Despite its notorious reputation, Libya remains an important transit point formigrantsfleeing instability in other parts of Africa, the Middle East or south-eastern Asia who hope to reach Europe.

The Mediterranean crossing remains one of the deadliest migration routes in the world. In January of this year, a shipwreck off Libya claimed more than 40 lives. IOM says that more than 1,200migrantsand asylum seekers died while crossing the Mediterranean in 2020.

With AFP

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More than 1500 migrants intercepted off Libya and returned - InfoMigrants

Feb 10, 2021

On Feb. 5, members of the UN-led Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) voted on interim leadership for its executive council, selecting Mohammad Younes Menfi as chairman of the Presidency Council and Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah as interim prime minister. The outcome of the vote by the 74-member forum came as a big surprise to external sponsors of the Libyan peace process and Russia was no exception here. Moscow believed that a list it had agreed upon with Ankara and Cairo, led by Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha and Chairman of the House of Representatives Aquila Saleh, should have claimed the victory.

On the other hand, for Russia in Libya, by and large nothing has changed after the vote. Moscow still expects that its favorite figures will retain their positions, both in the new interim government of Libya possibly receiving ministerial portfolios there and following the national elections set for Dec. 24, 2021.

It is significant that precisely a week before the LPDF vote, Moscow received delegations from the opposing sides from the west and east of the country.

On Jan. 29, Deputy Prime Minister of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) Ahmed Maiteeq met in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister SergeyLavrov. A day earlier, Maiteeq also held talks with Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov.

At the same time, a delegation from Libyas eastern-based governmentheaded by Minister of Foreign Affairs and the International Cooperation of the eastern-based governmentAbdelhadi Khuweij was in Moscow. In particular, he met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. Khuweijspoke to the Russian newspaper Kommersant about the economic part of the talks in Moscow,saying the two sides had discussed projects for railway construction, electricity, education and health, including the possibility of supplying the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine to Libya.

And on Jan. 25, Bogdanov received in Moscow a member of the Libyan House of Representatives also known as the Tobruk government Abdul Nasser Ben Nafi.

Moscow believes Washington organized the current stage of the peace process in Libya in its own interests while US diplomat Stephanie Williams was the interim head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya. At the same time, Russia does not consider it expedient to openly oppose these steps by the United States, which may be beneficial to the Kremlin to a certain extent.

The Kremlin expects that certain figures with whom the Russian side was able to establish constructive interaction will retain their positions and influence in the country. It also cannot be ruled out thatin the event of the failure of the current stage of a political settlement in Libya,Moscowwhich actively receives representatives from both the west and the east of the countrywill be ready to support an alternative unofficial format of the inter-Libyan dialogue. Such a format could be conducted during a joint visit of the delegations from the east and west in Moscow.

Maiteeq is one of the politicians in western Libya with whom Moscow works most actively and on whom it counts as a conductor of its interests. He retains some chances of getting a ministerial portfolio in the new government, and he will likely remain in the highest echelons of power after the December elections. He has been a frequent visitor to the Russian capital since 2017and also visited Moscow with GNA Foreign Minister Mohammed Siyala in June 2020.

In September 2020, Maiteeq held important negotiations in Sochi, where he signed an agreement with one of eastern Libyan strongman Khalifa Hifters sons to unblock Libyan oil exports. This was a landmark event that confirmed Moscow's role in Libyan affairs and demonstrated its ability to find a common language with the Libyans, bringing the warring parties to the negotiating table on its territory. Then, at the end of December 2020, Maiteeq together with Siyala again arrived in the Russian capital.

At the same time, Saleh, who although unable to become chairman of the Presidential Council retained the post of head of the House of Representatives, is still the Kremlin's favorite among political leaders in eastern Libya. This happened after the Russian side once again became convinced that it could no longer trust Hifter, who finally discredited himself in front of his external sponsors against the backdrop of the collapse of the operation to conquer Tripoli. It is important to recall that it was Russian experts who prepared for Saleh a project to reform the presidential council and the GNA, some provisions of which are still in use.

At the same time, the Russian side has not yet developed relations with the influential Minister of Internal Affairs in the government of Fayez al-Sarraj, Fathi Bashagha, who has very close ties not only with Turkey but also with Western countries.

The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GNA would like to visit Moscow in order to hold talks and establish a constructive dialogue. In particular, it was planned that on Jan. 28, Russia was not supposed to meet Maiteeq, but Bashagha, who received an invitation from Bogdanov.

There are two factors to consider here. An informed Russian source working on the Libyan file told Al-Monitor that work on organizing Bashaghas visit to Moscow was carried out in the spring and summer of 2020, and possibly started even earlier. But then the official Russian side was pressured by various influential nongovernmental structures, including, for example, the Foundation for the Protection of Traditional Values, to cancel the visit. The latter is a Moscow-based organization with links to an infamous Russian troll farm. Two of its employees Maxim Shugaley and Samer Sueyfan were being held in Libya at the time Bashaghas visit was being prepared, after having been detained on charges of working for Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, son of oustedleader Moammar Gadhafi. The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the GNA was directly accused of their capture.

Therefore, at that time, negotiations could not take place. Bashagha was also extremely negatively presented in a Russian feature film about the fate of the two men held in Libya, which aired on the Russian federal channel NTV. And in a number of Russian media outlets, the head of the Libyan Interior Ministry is referred to as "the leader of the terrorists." Accordingly, when Moscow itself began to express its interest in developing ties with Bashagha, this negative background hindered the development of any dialogue.

In fact, many politicians in western Libya, including those related to the GNA, have tried to compete with each other to become Russia's favorites. So the process of freeing the Russian nationals was delayed precisely because of the competition between the most influential players in the Libyan GNA, such as Sarraj, Maiteeq and Bashagha.

The decision to release the pair was made at the end of October, and Sarraj supported this decision. But when the interior minister and the prosecutor general wanted to release them and present their release as their own initiative, then there was a delay. The GNA chairman did not want the decision to release them to be made behind his back or through bypassing him. Sarraj feared that Bashagha would look good in the face of Moscow, so he postponed the release to try to prevent any rapprochement between Bashagha and Russia, as this could strengthen the position of the interior minister. The Russians were only released in December 2020.

Therefore, the arrival of Maiteeq instead of Bashagha to Moscow can also be seen as a reflection of internal competition.

Also, Moscow does not discount the possibility of negotiating with alternative candidateswho generally oppose the current format of the inter-Libyan dialogue and, if it fails, may play a role. In September 2020, former head of the General National Congress of Libya and now head of the Ya Biladi Party Nouri Abusahmain visited Moscow, where he held talks with Bogdanov and representatives of the Russian security agencies.

It is also important to pay attention to the presence at the January talks in Moscow among the delegation from Benghazi of head of the General Commander's Office of the Libyan National Army (LNA) Hayri al-Tamimi. Within the framework of the military block of contacts, his presence could hint at Russia's plans to maintain its military presence in Libya and find legitimate grounds for this. This becomes especially important against the backdrop of increasing pressure from Washington after the arrival of President Joe Bidens administration over the presence of Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group.

It cannot be ruled out that Russia would like to create its own permanent military bases in Libya, primarily where Russian mercenaries are already present. Thus, a naval base could be created in Sirte, or an air force installation in Jufra. The problem is that Sirte is named as the city planned to house the new authorities the GNA and the Presidential Council and the city itself should be demilitarized. The withdrawal of mercenaries is the first stage of this process.

However, a possible option for maintaining the Russian presence in Sirte and Jufra could be the deployment of an official Russian mission of the Ministry of Defense at these bases, which could assist the new Libyan authorities in creating a unified armed force, and Russian mercenaries could be withdrawn from the country. To do this, Russia will need to obtain the consent of the officially recognized new authorities in Libya, and for this Moscow can use "its own figures" in the Libyan field.

Also, on this issue, Russia and Turkey could probably reach a mutual understanding. It should be borne in mind that Ankara is already creating two bases for itself in the country an air base in al-Watiya and a naval base in Misrata. A rapprochement of the positions of Moscow and Ankara on the Libyan track is also to be expected in view of the plans announced by the United States about the need to free Libya from a foreign military presence not only Russian but also Turkish or Emirati which was directly stated by US Ambassador to the UN Security Council Richard Mills. This US position contradicts the interests of these states, which on the contrary are seeking to gain a foothold in Libya. They will now be ready to make mutual concessions and compromises to realize plans to deploy military contingents in this country.

Continued here:
Russia seeks to outplay the US in Libya - Al-Monitor

Press Release

International United Nations Watch, think-tank claims that the sale of arms either directly to Libya, or to regimes which are providing military support to militias involved in the conflict, is hampering peace efforts and contributed to war crimes.

The British Government must immediately halt the sale of weapons to Libya and those countries which are fuelling the deadly civil war, says human rights group.

The group, the International United Nations Watch (IUNW), believes that the sale of arms either directly to Libya, or to regimes which are providing military support to militias involved in the conflict, is hampering peace efforts and has contributed to war crimes.

In particular the group call for an urgent investigation into the activities of Russia and the UAE, which they claim supplied rebel forces loyal to Major General Khalifa Haftar with weapons, breaking the international arms embargo.

These weapons appear to have been used against civilians and unarmed combatants found in a series of mass graves, which would be a war crime under international law.

The IUNW report,Mass Graves in Libya: Parties involved and the role of the UN, says: "The arms embargo approved by the UN Security Council in 2011 remains in effect, but no party has been punished for violating it.

"Violations of the laws of war by the armed forces and associated foreign forces have been documented, including disproportionate and indiscriminate artillery bombardment, airstrikes and drone strikes that have killed and injured hundreds of civilians and destroyed civilian infrastructure. The forces have also used cluster munitions, landmines and internationally banned booby traps in the southern suburbs of Tripoli.

"Torture, field executions, and mutilation of the corpses of fighters were also documented by these fighters. There are recent reports that at least eight mass graves have been discovered in the town of Tarhuna, southeast of Tripoli, and other sites on the outskirts of Tripoli contain an unknown number of bodies. The Government of National Accord confirmed reports that at least 160 bodies have been discovered in Tarhuna General Hospital, some of which may have been victims of war crimes. Tarhuna was under the control of the al-Kani Militia [a militia loyal to Major General Haftar]."

Maya Garner, a spokesperson for the IUNW commented: "The UK and its allies, which played a key role in the removal of Colonel Gaddafi's murderous regime in 2011, have failed to do enough to stabilise Libya, while profiteering from the sale of weapons to Tripoli.

"Between 2008-17 the Government approved a total of 284 arms licenses, while many more were approved to countries such as the UAE have provided weapons to some of the armed militias in a deadly proxy war aimed at boosting their regional influence. The provision of weapons either directly, or indirectly to forces in Libya must stop."

The report goes on to highlight how these militias are linked to war crimes and the mass graves which contain the bodies of women, children and men dressed in non-military clothes. It calls on the UN/International Criminal Court to fully investigate these allegations and to bring those responsible to justice.

"The International Criminal Court, which has a mandate to investigate war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Libya since 2011, issued a warrant in 2017 and another in 2018 for the arrest of armed forces commander Mahmoud Al-Warfalli, but he is still free. Al-Werfalli should be immediately handed over to the court. There were no other public warrants for crimes committed after 2011."

It goes on to say that the newly established fact-finding mission that is investigating the mass war graves and other allegations should co-operate with the International Criminal Court in its ongoing investigations.

The report goes on to set out a series of recommendations. These include:

Ms Garner concluded: "The current situation in Libya is a result of a failure by the UK and its allies to plan for a post-Gaddafi era, something former President Obama described as his worst mistake[1]. It created a dangerous power vacuum that was filled by a number of regional players and Russia which fuelled the conflict by supporting forces opposed to the internationally recognised government.

"We are deeply concerned that even the supposedly 'legal' sale of arms to the internationally recognised government or forces linked to them is preventing de-escalation. The arms embargo should apply to all sides and a renewed effort must be made to drive all sides to the negotiating table and compromise. This will only happen if the UK Government and its allies better enforce the UN arms embargo to stop sanction busting by regional players and Russia.

"Alongside the search for peace, the international community must hold those responsible to account over the allegations of war crimes, including torture, indiscriminate shelling of civilians and the execution of non-combatants - men women and children - whose bodies have been found in numerous unmarked mass graves."

ENDS

Notes to editors

International United Nations Watch (IUNW) is an international platform aiming to support and advance human rights standards, everywhere, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status.

IUNW brings together political campaigners, unionists, and human rights activists to promote, support, and advance human rights standards. That includes both civil and political rights, as well as economic social and cultural rights.

To this end, the IUNW systematically monitors UN member states to ensure they adhere to standards of rights to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, defined by International Human Rights Law.

IUNW also monitors UN organs and agencies to ensure that the principles set by the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are upheld and advanced at all times and to the same standard.

[1]https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-36013703

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Government must halt arm sales to Libya and countries fuelling the deadly civil war, says human rights group - Journalism.co.uk