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BENGHAZI, Libya

Libyas top electoral body said Wednesday that the son and onetime heir apparent of the late Libyan dictator Moammar Kadafi is disqualified from running in presidential elections that are to take place next month.

According to a list of barred candidates issued by the countrys High National Elections Committee, Seif Islam Kadafi is barred because of previous convictions against him. He can appeal the committees decision in court within the coming days.

Seif Islam was sentenced to death by a Tripoli court in 2015 for use of violence against protesters who were calling for his father to step down, but that ruling has since been called into question by Libyas rival authorities. He is also wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity related to the 2011 uprising against his father.

Libya is set to hold the first round of its presidential vote on Dec. 24, after years of United Nations-led attempts to usher in a more democratic future and bring the countrys war to an end. After the overthrow and killing of Kadafi, oil-rich Libya spent most of the last decade split between rival governments one based in the capital, Tripoli, and the other in the eastern part of the country. Each side in the civil war has also had the support of mercenaries and forces from Turkey, Russia and Syria and other regional powers.

The son of Libyas former dictator submitted his candidacy papers in the southern town of Sabha, 400 miles south of Tripoli, on Nov. 14. It was the first time the 49-year-old, who earned a doctorate at the London School of Economics, had appeared in public in years.

He was captured by fighters in the town of Zintan late in 2011, the year when the popular uprising, backed by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, toppled his father after more than 40 years in power. Moammar Kadafi was killed that same year in October amid the ensuing fighting that would turn into a civil war. The dictators son was released in June 2017.

The announcement of his possible candidacy has stirred controversy across the divided country, where a number of other high-profile candidates have also emerged in recent weeks.

Several controversial candidates came forward this month, including powerful military commander Khalifa Haftar and the countrys interim prime minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.

The long-awaited vote still faces challenges, including unresolved issues over laws governing the elections and occasional infighting among armed groups. Other obstacles include the deep rift that remains between the countrys east and west, split for years by the war, and the presence of thousands of foreign fighters and troops.

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Kadafi's son disqualified from running for president of Libya

ROME (AP) The United Nations migration agency said 75 migrants drowned in the Mediterranean Sea north of Libya earlier this week as they attempted to reach Italy by boat.

The International Organization for Migration reported the latest tragedy in a tweet on Saturday, attributing the information to 15 survivors who were rescued by fishermen and brought to the port of Zuwara in northwestern Libya. It did not immediately provide further information.

Also on Saturday, the Italian Coast Guard rescued more than 420 migrants, including dozens of minors, from boats in difficulty in the Mediterranean Sea,

A coast guard statement said 70 people were brought safely by one of its motorboats to the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa, south of Sicily.

Meanwhile, a different coast guard vessel was headed to the port of Porto Empedocle on Saturday evening in Sicily with more than 350 migrants aboard after they were plucked to safety from a foundering fishing boat 70 miles (115 kilometers) from the Sicilian coast, the statement said. Among them were more than 40 minors.

That fishing boat was in danger, due to the bad weather conditions at sea and due to the elevated number of persons on board, the Coast Guard said. After being rescued by two motorboats, they were transferred to a larger Coast Guard vessel.

The statement described the rescue of the larger number of migrants as complex. Four cargo ships in the area were pressed into service to mitigate the impact of the wind on the rescue operation, it said, allowing the migrants to be safely rescued.

Each year, thousands of migrants and refugees from Africa, the Middle East and South Asia attempt the deadly Mediterranean sea crossing to Europe on overcrowded and often unseaworthy boats. More than 1,300 men, women and children have died so far in 2021 trying to cross the Central Mediterranean from Libya and Tunisia to Italy and Malta according to IOM.

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Follow all AP stories on global migration at https://apnews.com/hub/migration.

Originally posted here:
UN agency: 75 migrants drown in Mediterranean off Libya ...

The bodies, including those of a baby and two women, were found late on Saturday in two separate locations in a coastal town.

The bodies of at least 27 Europe-bound refugeeshave washed ashore in western Libya, the countrys Red Crescent has said the latest tragedy on the worlds deadliest migration route.

The bodies, including those of a baby and two women, were found late on Saturday in two separate locations in the coastal town of Khoms, some 90km (55 miles) from Tripoli, the Red Crescent branch there said.

Three other refugeeswere rescued, and search efforts were underway for others, it said.

The bodies advanced state of decomposition indicates that the shipwreck happened several days ago, a security official told AFP news agency, adding the toll could rise.

Images published by Libyan media outlets showed corpses lined up along the shore then placed in body bags.

The refugeeslikely drowned in recent shipwrecks off Libya, a key departure point for African and Asian migrants making desperate attempts to reach Europe.

About 1,500 refugeeshave drowned in numerous boat mishaps and shipwrecks in the Central Mediterranean route this year, according to the UN migration agency.

Migrants often endure horrific conditions in Libya before embarking northwards on overcrowded, often unseaworthy vessels that frequently sink or get into trouble.

The latest tragedy comes only days after 160 refugeesdied within a week in similar incidents, bringing the total number of lives lost this year to 1,500, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The IOM says more than 30,000 refugeeshave been intercepted in the same period and returned to Libya.

The European Union has cooperated closely with the Libyan Coast Guard to cut numbers of refugeesarriving on European shores.

On their return, many face further horrific abuses in detention centres.

Excerpt from:
Bodies of some 27 refugees wash ashore in Libya: Red Crescent - Al Jazeera English

It is located in western Libya in the Nafusa mountain at the bottom of it, about 170 km away from the Libyan capital, Tripoli. It is bordered to the south by Jadu, to the west by Al-Jawsh, to the east by Qasr Al-Hajj, and to the north by Sahal Jafara.

It consists of three tribes; Awlad Al-Badri, Awlad Shebl, and Al-Shaqran.

It is considered an oasis, it has palm trees and more than six water springs.

In the past, it supplied Jadu area and other areas with vegetables and grains, as it was famous of the cultivation of the cress or onions at the level of the western mountain.

Most of its residents depend on sheep and camels grazing.

It has many archaeological sites, among of which is the Qasr Al-Ahmer (Red Castle), which is about 400 years old was and it was named because of the use of red bricks in its construction, in addition to a number of old houses in which our ancestors lived.It also has an electricity station, which feeds most of the mountain regions.

Its population reached about 3000. It has hot climate and is famous for its rocks, as it was a destination for geology studies at Libyan universities, due to the diversity of rocks in it.

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The Shakshuk Town - The Libya Observer

Deterrence Anti-terrorism and Anti-organized-crime Apparatus has denied association with Brigade 444 of the Tripoli Military Zone, saying it's working autonomously and isn't connected to the recent "skirmishes", referring to the security unrest that took place in Tripoli between Brigade 444 and other capital-based armed factions.

The apparatus said in a statement that those who claim affiliation to the apparatus represent themselves. It added that only the commander and those whom he appoints represent the apparatus.

"We fight organized crime and terrorism all over Libya without exception. This is something that all Libyan police and security apparatuses should rally around." The statement added.

Tripoli saw security unrest after the Presidential Council had appointed Abdelkader Mansour as Tripoli Military Zone commander in place of Abdelbasit Marwan, which triggered a reaction by armed factions.

Brigade 444 is a part of the Defense Ministry under Tripoli Military Zone. It used to be a part of Deterrence Apparatus under the name "20-20 Battalion". It split from the apparatus after the war on Tripoli and renamed itself to Brigade 444.

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Deterrence Apparatus denies affiliation to Brigade 444 - The Libya Observer