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In Libya, for womens rights defenders, even the dead are not permitted to rest.

The grave of Hanan al-Barassi, a vocal critic of corruption and armed groups in the east of the country, was desecrated just days after she was assassinated.

The daughter of the prominent dissident lawyer posted pictures of the little shards of shattered gravestone scattered on the ground.

Al-Barassi was gunned down in broad daylight in Benghazis busy city centre on Tuesday, a day after she had posted on her Facebook page saying she was going to release a video exposing the alleged corruption of the family of east-Libyan renegade commander General Khalifa Haftar.

She was startling open and brave in her criticism of the armed factions which have run rife across Libya in the war-wracked years since the 2011 demise of Muammar Gaddafi.

And for that she and her daughter had received numerous death threats, she was eventually silenced, and her grave destroyed.

But Al-Barassi is not an exception. Her murder came just 16 months after the disappearance of another prominent Benghazi woman, rights activist and parliamentarian Siham Sergewa, who was kidnapped by armed men in the middle of the night from her home, after openly criticising Haftars war on Tripoli. No one knows what happened to Sergewa, there are horrific reports she was potentially raped, tortured and murdered.

Salwa Bugaighis, Fariha Barkawi and Salwa Yunis al-Hinaid, all three of them prominent outspoken female rights defenders, were murdered in east Libya in 2014.

They are part of a long procession of women in Libya, who are usually the most vocal human rights defenders and for that have been threatened, assaulted, raped, kidnapped, disappeared and murdered for speaking out.

Women who, because they are women, are more vulnerable: they do not have powerful military brigades and militias to protect them. Instead many of them are blamed for the violence against them because they dared to step out of the traditional gender roles and speak their mind. They are not even protected by the powerful tribes they may hail from because few are willing to go out on a limb for a noisy woman.

In the six years that I have closely covered Libya, one of the most frustrating and heartbreaking truths of the messy war-torn country is the absence of space given to Libyas highly educated and capable women and the dangers faced by those who try to carve out an arena anyway.

Women, who have for years spearheaded Libyas civil society movements, are largely frozen out of the decision-making process at a potentially catastrophic loss to the country. While there are female members of parliament and a sprinkling of ministers, the internationally recognised presidential council anchored in Tripoli is all male and headed up by Faiez Serraj.

The rival administration in the east is largely male too. All the armed brigades and militias are staffed by men and play a worryingly powerful role in the peace negotiations.

Even in the United Nations-brokered peace negotiations taking place right now, women are woefully underrepresented: of the 75 Libyans participating in the latest round of talks in Tunis, only a touch more than a dozen are women.

Exclusion of women has become the norm, says Rida al-Tubuly, a pharmacology professor, peacebuilder and founder of Together We Built It, which promotes inclusion of women in the peace process.

She said after addressing the UN security council last November about violence against women and the need for freedom of expression, she was accused of being a spy for foreign countries on social media groups and by a well-known Libyan TV channel. She subsequently received death threats by people who said they knew where she lived.

We are frustrated and disappointed with the international community facilitating the process, that they are not gender mainstreaming what is coming, she added.

She said nothing underscored this issue more than the fact that Hanan al-Barassi was murdered in the middle of the peace talks, and no one has been held to account.

I am calling on [the UN] to make sure this agreement incorporates significant measures that protect women.

Civil society activist and lawyer, Hala Bugaighis, whose is the cousin of murdered Salwa Bugaighis, said at the heart of the problem was the incorrect assumption that women in Libya shouldnt participate in the political area because it is not their place and they are not qualified.

She recently volunteered with the UN on a side-track to the ongoing negotiations where women penned recommendations for the country. Around 120 women, many of them lawyers and academics, laid out plans for transitional justice, saving the economy and restructuring the military.

We are trying to push the UN to use these recommendations, she added with frustration in her voice.

Hanan Salah, a Human Rights Watch researcher for Libya who has documented numerous attacks on women, said the lack of female participation in the current peace process will have worrying knock on effect as they cannot put forward their views on key issues like the drafting of the constitution and how the country presses ahead with elections.

She feared that instead women will be relegated to positions in less critical ministries like culture and tourism, or family affairs.

Women are exposed, she said and the space for them to speak is shrinking by the hour.

In the interim there is almost complete impunity for perpetrators of violence against women. No one has been punished for the murders of Bugaighis, Barkawi or Yunis al-Hinaid Sergewa is still missing there is little hope that anyone will be held to account for Al-Barassis killing.

People in Libya think that when women dare to participate in political life, they have broken a moral social code and deserve what happened to them, said Hala Bugaighis, describing how people blamed her cousin for her own brutal murder.

She related the horrific conversations taking place on Libyan social media about what might have happened to Sergewa as punishment for her activism. Echoing Al-Tubuly, she said they were all accused of working for foreign agents.

No woman who speaks out is safe.

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Libyas women face many dangers for speaking out they need protection so they can help rebuild their country - The Independent

The House of Representatives, the High Council of State, and the Constituent Drafting Body have reiterated that the draft constitution is now in the hands of the Libyan people, who have the sole right to accept or reject it through a public referendum.

In a joint statement, the three blocks demanded the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) to adhere to its mission by supporting the constitutional process and help clear the way for holding the constitutional referendum, which would lead to a permanent constitutional stage.

The statement noted that any dialogue that does not lead to a referendum on the constitution to end the transition phase would not fulfill the expectations of the Libyan people.

The blocks called on all stakeholders not to prejudice the draft constitution that has been accomplished and reinforced by the Supreme Courts ruling, which states that no authority could override the work of the elected constituent body except for the Libyan people themselves.

The UN mission announced on Friday that the participants in the Libyan Political dialogue Forum agreed to hold national elections on December 24, next year.

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Three political blocks in Libya insist: constitutional referendum must be held before the polls - The Libya Observer

Pope Francis prays for the fruitful outcome of international talks aimed at halting hostilities in Libya and at paving the way for a peaceful future for the country.

By Vatican News staff writer

Pope Francis on Sunday decried years of hostilities and strife in Libya and prayed for fruitful peace negotiations taking place at an international level.

He turned his thoughts to a group of Italian and Tunisian fishermen who were seized on 1 September by Libyan patrol boats, accused of fishing in territorial waters, and still detained in Benghazi.

Speaking after the recitation of the Angelus prayer in St. Peters Square, the Pope said "I pray for the various talks taking place at the international level, that they may be relevant for the future of Libya.

The time has come to stop all forms of hostility and encourage dialogue that will lead to peace and stability in the country, he said.

Mentioning the plight of the fishermen and his closeness also to their families, he asked those present in the square to pray together for the fishermen and for Libya, in silence.

"I would like to address a word of encouragement and support to the fishermen stopped more than a month ago in Libya and their families, the Pope said and he invoked Our Lady Star of the Sea to keep the hope alive that they will soon be able to embrace their loved ones.

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Pope prays for peace and stability in Libya - Vatican News

(The author Saeed Naqvi is a senior commentator on political and diplomatic issues. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached on saeednaqvi@hotmail.com)As I settled down to write on Libya, the news ticker opened up the whole West Asian vista.

IAF pilots flying the first batch of Rafales from the Dassault Aviation Facility in France had barely settled down to relax at the UAE's Al Dhafra air base, where they were breaking journey, when they found themselves exposed to what they feared might be fatal danger. They scrambled for cover because an Iranian missile landed nearby. They must have heaved a sigh of relief when it was established, without the shadow of a doubt, that neither they nor the UAE, were in the Iranian firing line. Iranians, inventive as the achaemenids have always been, were shooting missiles at a prototype of a US aircraft carrier Nimitz they had floated in the Strait of Hormuz.

This exchange is representative of the mood in the entire region. There has not been a day free of tension in the region for decades but for this narrative let us consider July 20 as the cut-off when Israeli aircraft fatally targeted a Hezbullah Commander, Ali Kamel Mohsen. Promptly came the Hezbullah response: Zionists should be ready for a suitable retaliation.

Just as the cauldron was simmering, came the startling disclosure by Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyah. He told, Qatari newspaper Al Lusail that major powers had offered $15 billion in aid for Gaza "provided Hamas gave up armed struggle and laid down arms". The offer was rejected.

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Not only is the Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon road link a menace, the Hezbullah, Hashd al Shaabi in Iraq and the Houthis in Yemen, the pro Iranian arc, are persistently menacing the Saudis and Israel.

In these choppy waters, Jordanian Prime Minister, Omar Razzaz tosses a boulder: he made the startling suggestion that a single Israeli-Palestinian state would be acceptable to Jordan provided "equal rights were given to both people". This was novel beyond recognition in an area where a two-state solution has been the mantra for three decades. Not only is the thought absurd in itself, it blissfully overlooks the "Jewish nation state law" passed by the Knesset. The law states that all occupied Palestinian territories belong exclusively to the Jewish people. It is politically impolite to say so in Amman, but the only Palestinian state which the Right wing Israelis will ever concede happens to be Jordan. Advertisement

Now to the Turkish-Egyptian confrontation building up in Libya: it will be like the clashing of the Cymbals, the crescendo in a Wagner symphony. When Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, was toppled by US-Israeli machinations in 2013 and the then Saudi Crown Prince turned up in Cairo with an offer of $eight billion to help Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi ascend the Egyptian throne, what was the Saudi motivation? Remember Juhayman al Otaybi and his 400-500 supporters had occupied the Mecca mosque in 1979, virtually the same month as when the Ayatullahs ousted the Shah of Iran. This internal rebellion by an extreme variety of the Brothers is what Saudis fear more than Iranian Shiaism. Sisi is Hosni Mubarak II reincarnated to keep the Brothers under his heel. To Israel's chagrin, the Brothers are a powerful influence on Hamas, whose links with Qatar are secure. Qatar, meanwhile, relies on the Turkish army. Notice the linkages?

Tayyip Erdogan who restarted "Namaz" at Hagia Sophia, has come out, all guns blazing as an unabashed Brother. His clash with Sisi, the oppressor or Brothers in Egypt, will cut the ground from under Sisi's feet. That clash has to be avoided by forces which, alas, are these days preoccupied with issues of their own survival.Advertisement

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OPINION: West Asia is building up to a Turkey-Egypt catastrophe in Libya - Business Insider India

Libyans and extremist groups experts have expressed concerns that radical organizations may exploit the unrest in Libya to establish new strongholds for their activities in northern and western Africa and the Sahel region.

Such concerns are justified as Turkey continues to bring in droves of mercenaries and extremists from northern Idlib in Syria to Libya.

Ankara had intervened in the Libyan crisis in favor of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA).

Founder of the Silphium center for studies and research Gamal Shallouf said Turkey has transformed Libya into a backyard base for terrorists because it continues to bring in extremists from Idlib and northern Syria to Tripoli.

This may pave the way for Libya to turn into an open ground for such terrorist organizations or for the emergence of new groups that may defect from present ones, he warned to Asharq Al-Awsat. These new groups could be more radical than the original ones.

He explained that after any defeat, terrorist groups often split up into smaller ones. This was demonstrated in Syria, where some terrorists have moved from one old battleground to a new one.

The international community should have rid Syria of these organizations, but Ankara swept in instead and moved them to Libya, he remarked.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had revealed that Turkey has transferred some 10,000 extremists from Syria to Libya. Many of these fighters were members of al-Qaeda and are wanted internationally on terror charges.

Shallouf cited confirmed reports in March that said members of the Hurras al-Din al-Qaeda affiliate had moved to Libyas Misrata. Some have even headed to Mali. Former members of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group also headed to Libya in April

As for ISIS, members of the group have joined the affiliate in southern Libya, know as the army of the desert, that operates in southern Algeria, Chad and Niger.

Shallouf warned that the emergence of such fighters and new alliances will pose a danger not only to Libya, but the entire region. Some new groups, including ISIS affiliates, may align themselves with Boko Haram that is active in Nigeria, Chad and Mali. Others may join the Ansar Beit al-Maqdis.

Moreover, Shallouf warned that the extremists may take advantage of Libyas strategic location and head to Europe. Unconfirmed reports said that some have even made it to the continent after traveling onboard illegal migrant boats.

Tunisian extremist groups expert Dr. Alaya Allani said Turkey is seeking to reduce the number of ISIS members in camps it oversees in Syria by transferring them to Libya under the pretense of backing the GNA.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he said ISIS and al-Qaeda extremists will join present groups that are active in Africa. Even though they follow contradictory ideologies and different leaderships, they have recently divided areas of influence, namely in Mali and Burkina Faso, he added.

Despite the seemingly bleak outlook, he expressed confidence that the radical extremist groups will no longer be able to keep a foothold in Libya once the Berlin conference agreements are implemented.

Contrary to Syria, no one in Libya will accept them, which means they will have to move to the Sahel region that borders Libya and also towards the Sahara Desert, he said. The Sahara could some day become a main stronghold for such groups.

A report by the Egyptian Center for Strategic Studies found a sharp rise in terrorist activity in Africa in 2019. It documented 3,471 terror attacks that killed at least 10,000 people.

This article has been adapted from its original source.

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What is The Connection Between Mercenaries in Syria and Libya? - Al-Bawaba