Mediaboss Marketing

Libyan Foreign Minister Najla el-Mangoush. REUTERS/Hazem Ahmed

A senior official at Libya's new Presidency Council denied on Saturday that groups who entered a hotel where the body meets had been armed or used force, playing down an incident that had appeared to illustrate the risks facing the unity government.

Earlier, the Council's spokeswoman had said armed groups had stormed the Corinthia Hotel on Friday, though she also said nobody from the body had been in the building at the time.

"There was no kidnapping, gunfire, or an attack on me or the hotel," the head of the Presidency Council's office, Mohamed al-Mabrouk said in a social media video, adding that he had been in the hotel at the time of the incident.

Mabrouk said the head of the Presidency Council, which functions as Libya's head of state for now, would meet with the groups involved.

The Presidency Council was chosen through a United Nations-facilitated process that also selected a new Government of National Unity that took office in March, replacing rival administrations in east and west.

Armed groups based in western Libya have voiced anger at the Government of National Unity's Foreign Minister, Najla el-Mangoush.

CHALLENGES

Unity Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibeh has worked to win support from Libya's many rival factions, forming a large cabinet that includes an array of ideological and regional figures.

However, both the Presidency Council and Government of National Unity have faced internal criticism and challenges to their authority.

In eastern Libya, commander Khalifa Haftar and his Libyan National Army (LNA) still hold sway nearly a year after their 14-month offensive to seize the capital collapsed.

In Tripoli, the armed groups that pushed Haftar back from the capital with Turkish support still control the streets.

Foreign mercenaries remain entrenched on both sides of the heavily fortified front line, despite international calls for the warring sides to pull them from the country.

Last week, Foreign Minister Mangoush repeated the call for all foreign fighters to leave while standing next to visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Turkey says its military presence in Libya is different to that of other foreign forces because it was invited by the previous U.N.-recognised government and it will not withdraw until others do.

Before Friday's incident, an operations room for the Tripoli armed groups said on social media that it had met to discuss "irresponsible statements" by Mangoush and later called on the GNU to formally reject Haftar.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

See the article here:
Libya presidency denies armed groups attacked hotel where it meets - Reuters

Foreign Minister Najla al-Manqoush urges Turkey to comply with UN resolutions, expel foreign fighters from Libyan territory.

Libyas top diplomat has called for the departure of foreign forces and mercenaries from the North African country as it heads towards elections later this year.

Najla al-Manqoush, foreign minister of Libyas interim government, urged Turkey on Monday to implement UN Security Council resolutions demanding the repatriation of more than 20,000 foreign fighters and mercenaries from Libya.

We call on [Turkey] to take steps to implement all the provisions of the Security Council resolutions and to cooperate together to expel all foreign forces and mercenaries from the Libyan territories, al-Manqoush said.

Her remarks came at a joint news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. He visited Tripoli along with Defence Minister Hulusi Akar and other top military and intelligence officials.

The remarks were seen as a rebuke to Turkey, which has deployed troops and Syrian mercenaries to fight along with Tripoli militias since forces of eastern-based military commander Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive to wrest control of the capital their attack in 2019.

Cavusoglu responded by saying that Turkish forces were in Libya as part of a training agreement that was reached with a previous Libya administration.

We attach importance to preservation of Libyas integrity, sovereignty, independence, and political unity, he said.

In the face of the attacks on Tripoli, the legitimate government of Libya invited some countries, including us. Only Turkey replied in the affirmative to this call, he continued, saying there are some parties that sought to equal Ankaras presence with that of foreign mercenaries that are in Libya for monetary gain.

Turkey has been closely involved in Libya, backing the UN-recognised Government of National Accord based in Tripoli that controlled the west of the country, against the offensive by Haftar and his self-styled Libyan National Army.

Turkey sent military supplies and fighters to Libya, helping to tilt the balance of power in favour of the Tripoli government.

Turkey also signed an agreement with the Tripoli-based government delineating the maritime boundaries between the two countries in the Mediterranean, triggering protests from Greece and Cyprus.

Both countries denounced the agreement, saying it was a serious breach of international law that disregarded the rights of other eastern Mediterranean countries.

Libya was plunged into chaos when a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 toppled longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi, who was later killed. The oil-rich country was in recent years split between rival east- and west-based administrations, each backed by different armed groups and foreign governments.

Libyas interim government, which took power in March, is meant to steer Libya through a general election on December 24.

Security Council diplomats have said there are more than 20,000 foreign fighters and mercenaries in Libya, including 13,000 Syrians and 11,000 Sudanese, along with Russians and Chadians.

The United Nations Security Councils 15 member nations agreed in an informal meeting last week that getting the foreign fighters and mercenaries to go home was the only way forward, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was closed.

Original post:
Libyas top diplomat calls on Turkey to withdraw foreign fighters - Al Jazeera English

An Italian fisher wounded when his trawler was machined-gunned by the Libyan coastguard was fired on from a boat supplied by Italys government to help Tripoli control the flow of migrants.

Libyan authorities, who say the coastguard vessel fired warning shots into the air, said three Italian fishing vessels had entered Libyan territorial waters without authorisation before the incident on Thursday, the latest episode in a territorial dispute involving crews from the Sicilian port of Mazara del Vallo who fish for red prawns off the Libyan coast.

The fishers were freed following the intervention of an Italian navy vessel, which also managed to rescue the man after his arm was injured in a volley of machine-gun fire.

The Italian navy confirmed the patrol boat that fired the shots was the former Italian coastguard patrol boat 660, nicknamed Ubari, which was provided to the Libyans in November 2018 to intercept migrants crossing the Mediterranean. It followed a 2017 deal signed by Italys former interior minister Marco Minniti and the leader of Libyas UN-backed government, Fayez al-Sarraj, to train and equip its coastguard. The deal empowered the Libyan coastguard to intercept migrant boats at sea and redirect them to Libya, where aid agencies say refugees are abused and tortured.

The Libyan coastguard colonel Massoud Abdalsamad told Italian media his men fired warning shots into the air against vessels which had allegedly trespassed into Libyan waters. He was approached for comment but has not responded.

A Guardian investigation revealed in April that Massoud had been wire-tapped by Italian prosecutors investigating sea rescue charities for alleged complicity in people smuggling . On one occasion, in June 2017, when asked by Italian coast guards to rescue a migrant boat in distress, Massoud replied: Its a day off. Its a holiday here. But I can try to help. Perhaps, we can be there tomorrow.

According to data compiled by the International Organization for Migration by the end of that weekend 126 people died.

The trawler captain, Giuseppe Giacalone, told the Italian news agency ANSA: It is a miracle we are alive. We were shot at. The cabin of our boat is full of holes. It was 2pm on Thursday when it happened. While we were sailing towards the north-east, a Libyan patrol boat caught up with us and started shooting. The shots hit us and the dashboard glass shattered.

According to aid agencies, the Libyan patrol boat Ubari is the same vessel that allegedly ignored a distress call from a migrant dinghy before the deaths of 130 asylum seekers on 22 April.

The incident with the fishing boats is likely to spark a row in Italy after the prime minister, Mario Draghi, went to Libya in early April and complimented the coastguard, saying he was satisfied with the rescues carried out by Libya.

Italian fishing boats have previously been attacked by Libyan authorities as far back as the mid-1990s, when Tripoli began protecting its fishing waters from foreign vessels with the use of force.

In the 180 miles of sea that separates Libya from Italy, the War of the Gambero Rosso, named after the prized red prawn found in those waters, has continued for decades but intensified after 2005, when Muammar Gaddafi unilaterally decided to extend Libyas territorial waters from 12 to 74 miles offshore.

According to data from Sicilys Distretto della Pesca, a cooperative of fishing industry stakeholders, in the past 25 years more than 60 boats have been seized or confiscated, about 40 fishers detained and dozens of people injured.

The most serious recent incident took place in September 2020, when two Sicilian fishing boats named Antartide and Medinea were approached by Libyan patrol boats that accused them of fishing in Libyan territorial waters and, from there, were transferred to Benghazi, a region in eastern Libya controlled by Haftar.

The 18 fishers from Sicily eight Italians, six Tunisians, two Indonesians and two Senegalese were held captive in Libya for more than 100 days and were eventually freed in December, ending a political standoff between the two countries over the fate of the men.

Read the original post:
Libyan coastguard boat that shot Italian fisher was provided by Rome - The Guardian

Libyas recently installed Government of National Unity (GNU) must address the human rights crisis across the country, break the cycle of impunity and re-establish rule of law, Amnesty International said today.

In a letter to the GNU, which has faced tremendous challenges since taking office in mid-March to unify institutions in a deeply divided and conflict-torn country, the organization highlighted key areas that the new government must urgently address. The priorities include reining in militias and armed groups responsible for abductions, arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearances, forced displacement, looting and other crimes.

For 10 years, since Muammar al-Gaddafi's 42-year repressive rule ended in 2011, armed conflict and lawlessness have haunted civilians in Libya. Peoples daily lives have been upended by rival militias and armed groups who have committed war crimes and human rights abuses with impunity. The advent of the Government of National Unity provides a vital opportunity to reset the political agenda and put human rights at the heart of it, in order to begin healing a country reeling from a decade of bloodshed, chaos and rights abuses, said Diana Eltahawy, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.

The advent of the Government of National Unity provides a vital opportunity to reset the political agenda and put human rights at the heart of it, in order to begin healing a country reeling from a decade of bloodshed, chaos and rights abuses

The GNU has struggled to exert its full control over the country, which for many years has been ruled by unaccountable armed groups and militias, and in which foreign fighters backed by Turkey, Russia and UAE continue to operate. The Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF), an armed group in control of much of eastern Libya, claimed in a statement on 27 April to be under no obligation to answer to the GNU, after a planned trip by the GNUs Prime Minister to Benghazi was cancelled.

In an alarming revelation, the Libyan minister of foreign affairs told Italian parliamentarians in Rome on 23 April that the Libyan government has been discussing amnesties for commanders of militias and armed groups.

Successive governments have sought to appease powerful and unruly militias, and secure their loyalty through showering them with praise, high-level positions and legitimacy. The same mistake should not be made again. Amnesties for war crimes and other crimes under international law would only further embolden such actors and entrench their stranglehold on the country and are contrary to international law, said Diana Eltahawy.

Any attempts to integrate members of militias or armed groups must involve rigorous and thorough individual vetting. Those reasonably suspected of war crimes and serious human rights violations must be removed from positions of power or responsibility, pending criminal investigations and prosecutions.

In its letter, Amnesty International also called on the GNU, which is tasked with laying the ground for presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for 24 December 2021, to ensure non-discrimination and equal rights to participate in political and public life for all Libyans and uphold the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.

The GNU must ensure that groups that have long suffered marginalization and entrenched discrimination, including women, ethnic minorities and internally displaced people can meaningfully participate in political and public life and be protected from violence, coercion and intimidation by armed groups and militias, said Diana Eltahawy.

In its nine-point human rights agenda Amnesty International called on the GNU to:

The international community also has a key role to play by respecting and enforcing the UN arms embargo, ensuring the withdrawal of all foreign fighters from Libya and supporting efforts to establish accountability, including through the International Criminal Court and the UN Fact-Finding Mission.

No response from the GNU to Amnesty Internationals letter was received in time for publication.

View post:
Libya: New government must prioritize human rights and tackle impunity crisis - Amnesty International

Western countries on Thursday urged Libyas interim government to start preparations for the war-torn countrys planned elections in December.

Libya's interim government, which came into being in March through a U.N.-backed inter-Libyan dialogue, is mandated to lead the country to elections on Dec. 24, but formal preparations have not yet started.

"In addition to the political and security arrangements, the technical and logistical preparations will be critical," a joint statement of France, Germany, Italy, the United States and Britains embassies in Libya read, calling on the authorities to "agree the constitutional and legal basis for these elections by July 1."

"Now is not the time for any disruptive changes at the relevant bodies which enable that preparation to take place within the timescale set out."

The interim government replaced two rival administrations based in Tripoli and the country's east.

Both gave their backing to the new administration and the election timetable, generating cautious hope that Libya might move beyond the conflict and chaos that has entrapped it since the overthrow and killing of the longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

This week, the U.N.s special envoy for Libya submitted a draft proposal clarifying the constitutional basis for the upcoming elections to the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) plenary.

The draft proposal was finalized by the LPDF's Legal Committee following their meeting in the Tunisian capital on April 7-9, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said in a statement.

Formed on Dec. 17 based on a road map approved by the LPDF, the Legal Committee consists of 17 members who are tasked with following the constitutional road map leading to elections.

Jan Kubis recently met with Libyan interlocutors and officials to advance the implementation of a cease-fire and the LPDF road map leading up to national elections in December. Kubis stressed that holding the national elections on Dec. 24 is critical for Libyas transition toward unity, democracy, stability and prosperity.

However, despite these positive political developments, foreign mercenaries and a constant supply of weapons by foreign powers remain obstacles to lasting peace in the country.

Foreign mercenaries and arms have poured into the country since putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar launched his offensive, with Russia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) serving as the warlords top suppliers against the legitimate government in order to capture the capital Tripoli. According to the U.N., there are currently 20,000 foreign forces and/or mercenaries left in Libya.

The Russian Wagner Group, which is owned by businessperson Yevgeny Prigozhin, a figure close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, is known as one of the main groups that sent mercenaries to fight in Libya. Most of the foreign forces are concentrated around Sirte at Jufra air base held by Haftar's forces 500 kilometers (300 miles) south of Tripoli and further west in al-Watiya.

Read the rest here:
West calls on Libya to start election planning in joint statement | Daily Sabah - Daily Sabah