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BENGHAZI, LIBYA

The head of Libya's committee tasked with writing the constitution called upon the eastern parliament Tuesday to hold a national referendum on a final draft, setting in motion a long-awaited step that it's hoped will end the current political stalemate and terminate power struggles among the country's rival parties.

More than three years overdue, the draft still leaves many of Libya's key questions unanswered. Experts warn that its lack of clarity will pave the way for another phase of instability, which has plagued the country since the 2011 uprising that ousted longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi.

The call by Nouh Abdel-Sayyed to "take all necessary measures to enable the Libyan people to practice their constitutional right" came after days of confusion over whether his committee is following proper legal procedures.

On Saturday, disgruntled protesters stormed the committee's session in the eastern town of Bayda, calling for a redo of their vote, which was in favor of putting the final draft up for a nationwide referendum. Opponents included secessionists who wanted greater say over the redistribution of resources in the oil-rich country and those in favor of the country's 1951 constitution, which would mean a return to the monarchy.

The 60-member committee was elected in a direct vote in 2014; it was scheduled to deliver a draft in 120 days. However, unrelenting conflicts forced delays.

Legal expert Sami al-Atrash said articles of the constitution look innocent enough on the surface, but "it's not a homogenous document and this is not an honest attempt to produce an inclusive constitution."

A look at the draft shows efforts to keep most of the articles as vague as possible to avoid conflicts among the country's rival parties. The draft made no mention of the national anthem or the flag, to avoid friction between those who backed the 2011 uprising against Gadhafi and those who continue to support him.

'Legislative trap'

"It was done in a way to just escape from the current situation and crisis," said al-Atrash, who warned this would, "postpone, rather than face, harsh realities."

He added that leaving the articles open to interpretation "could lead to a legislative trap."

The draft failed to live up to the aspirations of many easterners, who long complained of discrimination under Gadhafi. Eastern secessionists call for the return of autonomy to Cyrenaica, saying their lands are the major source of oil. However, for decades, Libya's centralized system has driven oil gains to the capital.

In Article 143, the draft states decentralization is the basis of governance. However, Article 148 defers the issues of local municipalities and their budgeting to future legislation. The draft also removed an earlier mention of the eastern city of Benghazi as the economic capital and seat of the central bank.

As for presidential elections, the draft places several restrictions on candidates; candidates with dual citizenship must revoke their non-Libyan nationality a year before registration for elections begins, and if married it must be to a Libyan national. The article risks isolating some of the most powerful Libyan politicians who under Gadhafi lived in exile and were granted non-Libyan nationalities or married non-Libyans.

The draft also deprived non-Arab minorities like the Amazigh who make up between 5 and 10 percent of Libya's population of having their language recognized alongside Arabic as a state language.

The push for the vote came less than a week after Libya's top rivals the internationally recognized, designated prime minister, Fayez Serraj, and army chief Marshal Khalifa Hifter met in Paris, where they shook hands on a cease-fire and agreed to work toward parliamentary and presidential elections as soon as possible.

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Libya Constitutional Committee Pushes for Vote on Draft - Voice of America

LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC oil output has risen this month by 90,000 barrels per day (bpd) to a 2017 high, a Reuters survey found, led by a further recovery in supply from Libya, one of the countries exempt from a production-cutting deal.

A dip in supply from Saudi Arabia and lower Angolan exports helped to boost OPEC's adherence to its supply curbs to 84 percent. While this is up from a revised 77 percent in June, compliance in both months has fallen from levels above 90 percent earlier in the year.

The extra oil from Libya means supply by the 13 OPEC members originally part of the deal has risen far above their implied production target. Libya and Nigeria were exempt from the cuts because conflict had curbed their production.

A gain in Libyan and Nigerian output has added to the challenge the OPEC-led effort is facing to get rid of excess supply on world markets. To address this, ministers at a July 24 meeting moved to cap Nigerian output and officials are holding talks next week on improving compliance.

"There is a need to align all countries to achieve full compliance," a source close to OPEC said of the compliance talks, which will be held on Aug. 7-8 in Abu Dhabi.

As part of a deal with Russia and other non-members, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is reducing output by about 1.2 million bpd from Jan. 1, 2017 until March next year.

High compliance with the deal, and much-reduced output in the exempt countries, pushed supply lower earlier in the year. But extra Libya and Nigerian production has prompted output to rise since May, and adherence has slipped in some other countries.

July's biggest rise came from Libya, where output, curbed by years of conflict and unrest, rose to an average of more than 1 million bpd. Production remains short of the 1.6 million bpd Libya pumped before its 2011 civil war.

Iraqi supply was revised up for June and in July output has edged higher, the survey found. Supply also increased slightly in the United Arab Emirates, Gabon and Ecuador - which said it planned to pump more, citing its lack of funds.

Among countries with lower output, the biggest decline was in Angola, which exported 50 cargoes, two less than in June. August volumes are expected to increase.

Nigeria pumped slightly less in July after an increase in June, partly due to a force majeure on Bonny crude exports. Growth could resume next month if exports reach the planned rate of at least 2 million bpd.

Top exporter Saudi Arabia pumped 50,000 bpd less, the survey found, although output in June was revised higher to just above its OPEC target. The reduction achieved by OPEC's biggest producer in July is back above the target cut of 486,000 bpd.

OPEC announced a production target of 32.50 million bpd last year, which was based on low figures for Libya and Nigeria. The target includes Indonesia, which has since left OPEC, and does not include Equatorial Guinea, the latest country to join OPEC.

The Libyan and Nigerian increases mean OPEC output in July averaged 32.85 million bpd, about 1.1 million bpd above its supply target, adjusted to remove Indonesia and not including Equatorial Guinea.

With Equatorial Guinea added, total OPEC production in July has reached 33.0 million bpd.

The Reuters survey is based on shipping data provided by external sources, Thomson Reuters flows data, and information provided by sources at oil companies, OPEC and consulting firms.

Reporting by Alex Lawler, with additional reporting by Rania El Gamal; Editing by Jane Merriman

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OPEC oil output jumps to 2017 high on further Libya recovery - Reuters

The Italian government recently authorized a navy patrol boat to begin reconnaissance in response to a Libyan request for help in dealing with its persistent migrant smuggling issue. While Italy is undoubtedly enthusiastic to help curb migrants arriving on Italian shores, the circumstances surrounding Libya's request may indicate deeper domestic sovereignty issues as the country deals with immigrant smuggling by sea.

The Italian government will present to its parliamentary Commission on Foreign and Defense Policy a plan on Aug. 1 to send Italian navy ships to Libya, in cooperation with local forces there to protect against migrant smuggling. The Italian government approved the plan during a July 28 meeting, with plans for the mission to start within a week. Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said the plan was based on a July 23 request by letter from U.N.-recognized Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj asking for technical support from Italy by sending ships into Libyan territorial waters.

Only days later, on July 28, al-Sarraj denied that he had requested Italian ships enter Libyan waters, saying that Libyan sovereignty was a red line that could not be crossed. But later that same day, al-Sarraj and the Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti discussed possible Italian assistance and managed to overcome domestic resistance in Libya.

Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Siala confirmed that al-Sarraj did invite Italy to send warships into Libyan waters with the permission of the Presidency Council (PC), a group of nine people that represent the U.N.-recognized government's executive branch. Siala said in an official statement that Libya asked for "logistical, technical and operational support to the Libyan coast guard," which will require "the presence of some elements of the Italian Navy at the port of Tripoli, but only for this purpose and only if necessary." The discrepancy in accounts of what request was actually made may indicate a deeper issue for al-Sarraj: Libyan sovereignty remains a central issue and is likely to bring further controversy and complications as he negotiates with other rival Libyan figures.

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Italy: Answering a Libyan Call for Help - STRATFOR

Benghazi - A committee tasked with writing a constitution for Libya voted in favour of a draft, paving the way for parliament to approve a referendum and causing uproar among opponents.

Critics, including secessionists and people in favour of the country's 1951 constitution, called for a redo of Saturday's vote.

Protesters broke into the committee's building in the eastern town of Bayda, according to two committee members, who said they called on the committee to reconvene Sunday. It was not immediately clear whether the committee met again.

Committee members opposing the decision issued a signed statement saying that voters failed to consider amendments proposed by opponents to articles in the draft.

Amraja Noah, a committee member from the eastern city of Tobruk, said protesters stormed the building to stop the session, forcing the members to rush the vote.

Chaos

He said 44 members attended the session and 42 voted in favor of passing the draft.

An opponent of the decision, Abdelkader Kadura, a committee member from Benghazi, expressed skepticism about the legitimacy of the voting.

"This serves a small minority and a certain geographical area," he said, referring to members who voted in favour.

The 60-member committee has been assigned to work on a draft constitution since 2014.

Libya descended into chaos following the 2011 civil war that toppled and killed dictator Muammar Gaddafi. The oil-rich nation is now split between rival governments and militias.

Libya's internationally-recognised parliament is based in the east and allied with the powerful military commander Khalifa Hifter.

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Libya committee votes in favour of constitutional draft | News24 - News24

As the Islamic State terror network loses territory across Iraq and Syria, analysts and experts assert that the terrorist outfit is increasingly capitalizing on the chaos of Libya, positioning the country as its point of resurgence.

The black-clad jihadist outfit is believed to be regrouping and recruiting in the rural regions south of the main east-to-west coastal highway and in the far-west town of Sabratha, which is poised just 60 miles from the Tunisian border, since being run out of its Libyan caliphate capital of Sirte late last year.

The majority of their fighting force comes from Tunisia, so Sabratha is also a growing center, prominent terrorism analyst Robert Young Pelton told Fox News. ISIS in Libya can regenerate quickly.

Robert Young Pelton in the city of Sirte as soldiers belonging to the "Bunyan Marsous" - Misrata militias who fought in Sirte to run ISIS out of its Libyan stronghold.

Col. Ahmed Almesmari, spokesperson for the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), told Fox News that ISIS first appeared in Libya at the end of 2013, even before its dominance in Iraq, borne out of Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated militias and Al Qaeda dissidents in Libyas eastern port city of Derna near the Egyptian border.

Col. Ahmed Almesmari, spokesman for the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA).

But over time, ISIS has seemingly moved its operatives from the eastern Egyptian border and now appears to be clustering closer to the western Tunisian side. According to Almesmari, the terror faction has recently established camps around 25 miles east of the town of Bani Waleed, as well as south of Sirte.

Mohamed Ghasri, spokesperson and senior commander of the Mistrata-based al-Bunyam al-Marsous militia, which waged bloody battles with ISIS fighters in Sirte,statedlast week that they too have observed movements by the group south of Sirte, where they are trying to regroup and break through our forces lines in the south.

"Bunyan Marsous" Misrata militias who fought ISIS in Sirte concerned the terrorist outfit is resurging. (Robert Young Pelton)

Joseph Fallon, Islamic Extremism expert and U.K. Defense Forum research associate, concurred that ISIS has retreated south of Sirte to regroup and that its global threat cannot be underestimated.

Here, it can jeopardize western interests through guerrilla warfare sabotaging Libyas oil facilities and ports and through calculated use of terror to unleash a mass migration of people to destabilize neighboring countries and Europe, he said.

ISIS still maintains strong presence in Libya, capitalizing on the chaos that has engulfed the country since 2011.

A prominent portion of Libyas oil fields and reserves are located south of Sirte, along with major refineries. The country is home to Africas largest reserves, and its optimum quality of light crude is highly sought. Despite its ongoing political crisis, production in Libya last week climbed to around 885,000 barrels per day triple its production this time a year ago making the region ever more important to the global oil equation, and ISIS's presence there ever more troubling.

The terrorist army has, in Iraq and Syria, used oil fields as a means to fund its barbaric reign.

While more fighters are now expected to flow into Libya as the pressure on Iraq and Syria mounts, exactly how big the ISIS ranks in Libya are at present, remains largely contested.

ISIS DEFEATED, BUT NOT DESTROYED, AS TERROR GROUP STILL HOLDS STRATEGIC SWATHS OF IRAQ

In March, Marine Corps. Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, head of the U.S militarys Africa Command, told Pentagon reporters that theirfighter numbershad fallen below 200 from an estimated five to six thousand a year earlier. But a spokesperson for Africa Command told Fox News this week that their strength has been assessed to be around 500.

In sharp contrast, LNAs Almesmari said ISIS numbers are far larger around five to seven thousand people of different nationalities.

INSIDE AFGHANISTAN'S WAR HOSPITALS: CHILDREN LEFT FOR DEAD AMID ESCALATING VIOLENCE

The terrorist group, Pelton indicated, is well positioned to survive territorial losses such as Mosul, Raqqa and Sirte as its savvy propaganda promotion ensures ongoing recruitment.

ISIS is a transnational franchise that comes with funding, trainers and PR packages, Pelton noted. They seek out groups who will re-brand themselves and project the image of an international organization by standardizing logos, messaging and even design criteria for tweets and videos.

ISIS BODIES PILING UP IN LIBYAN MORGUE, REPORT SAYS

Sirte, Libya under ISIS occupation in 2016. (Robert Young Pelton)

Since the death of its longtime leader Muammar Qaddafi who was killed in 2011 following then-U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Obama administrations alleged maneuvers to back rebels in the quest for regime change Libya as a country remains in a protracted state of conflict and a breeding ground for violent militias to emerge. Its flushed with radical militias, weapons, human traffickers and two main although there are many competing factions.

July 2016: Haunting remains of what is left of Sirte, Libya. (International Committee of the Red Cross)

There is the U.S. and U.N.-supported Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Prime Minister Fayez Serraj in Tripoli, at odds with the LNA which is helmed by the Egypt-endorsed, Benghazi-based Gen. Khalifa Haftar. One U.S official affiliated with the GNA, who requested anonymity, told Fox News that the political and security vacuum that existed in the country post 2011 allowed ISIS to take root.

ISIS still poses a threat not just to Libya, the U.S official added, but to its neighbors, Europe and the United States.

Hollie McKay has been a FoxNews.com staff reporter since 2007. She has reported extensively from the Middle East on the rise and fall of terrorist groups such as ISIS in Iraq. Follow her on twitter at @holliesmckay

Link:
ISIS, squeezed out of Iraq and Syria, now 'regrouping' in Libya, analysts say - Fox News