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A member of Libyas Team Impact works on his teams robot during the first day of the FIRST Global Challenge on Monday at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington.

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Over the past month, international media have been captivated by the story of a team of six teenage girls from Afghanistan who finally gained entry into the United States for a competition after their visa applications were twice denied. Politico reported on July 12 that Trump prompted the State Department to allow the team into the country. The girls arrived Saturday night in Washington, where they joined 162 other high schoolage teams for the FIRST Global Challenge robotics competition from Sunday to Tuesday. Trumps supporters and skeptics alike have applauded the president for his intervention, and his daughter Ivanka helped kick off the last day of the competition to celebrate women in STEM. Some have argued that the presidents small act of mercy does not excuse the cruelty of the travel ban he instituted.

The ban didnt just make travel nearly impossibleit was also a perpetual obstacle in acquiring funding for the team.

Afghanistan is not one of the six countries covered by the ban. However, the travel ban was a significant stumbling block for the team from Libya. Because of challenges presented by the ban, the Tech Impact team was only able to send two boys, 18-year-old Anis Jorny and 17-year-old Oumer Jehad, to the tournament. The three other team members, along with their adult mentor, were forced to stay behind in Tripoli, the nations capital. Theyve been cheering from a distance by watching a livestream of the games, which involve robots competing to complete tasks like collecting small plastic balls on a rectangular playing field.

The teams mentor and founder, Kusai Fteita, said over Skype, After four months of hard work, its really tough for [the other teammates and me] to just watch this on a screen.

Libya is in the throes of a sovereignty struggle between several militant factions. Since the Arab Spring in 2011, which toppled the reign of Muammar Qaddafi, no governing body has been able to step in and ensure stability. ISIS militants took advantage of the disarray and established a stronghold in Sirte, a coastal city, in 2015. Libyan forces just recently retook the city in December. Tripoli, where the team is based, is roughly 280 miles away.

According to the members of Tech Impact, the ban didnt just make travel nearly impossibleit was also a perpetual obstacle in acquiring funding for the team. Although FIRST will provide robot kits, flight tickets, and accommodations in Washington to those in need, it is up to the teams to pay for their own visa applications. The cost of a visa application is $160 per person, so it would cost almost $1,000 for the five-student team and their mentor. Furthermore, Fteita notes, rapid inflation due to conflict in Libya made it particularly difficult for them to find the money.

We wanted every nation to have some skin in the game, said Joe Sestak, president of FIRST. Teams are usually able to make sponsorship agreements with schools or local businesses that will donate the necessary supplies and money. However, Fteita struggled to convince any businesses in Libya to sponsor the team, largely because of Trumps travel ban.

[The businesses] told me, Because of the Trump ban, you will not get the visas, so why should I give you the money? Fteita recalled. Besides visa fees, sponsors often provide a space to meet and practice, uniforms and banners for the competition, and miscellaneous resources like a stable internet connection for research.

Without donors, the team had to improvise. Through a friend, Fteita was able to find them a meeting place in the cramped side room of a computer shop. The team has been toiling since April to build their robot amid instability in the country. Twice they were forced to stop practice to avoid gunfire from nearby skirmishes. The armed conflict has also crippled Libyas electrical grid, so the shop would often abruptly lose power for up to five hours at a time, leaving them unable to program the robots software. And lack of air conditioning during power outages made working in the shop unbearable, as temperatures in Libya can reach 122 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. But the team developed a system. [During power outages] we work on the [robots] structure and when the electricity returns, we work on the software, Mohammed Zeid, one of the team members, messaged me over Facebook from Tripoli.

They worked long shifts: 10 hours a week in the months leading up to the competition, and five hours a day in the two weeks right before. Some team members had to walk for 45 minutes in the blistering Libyan heat to travel to the computer shop while others took hourlong bus rides.

Shortly before the competition, the team was finally able to find a sponsor willing to take a chance on paying for the visa fees. Yet the sponsor would only pay for the people who had a good shot at getting an application approved under the travel ban. The team decided that Jorny and Jehad were the best candidates, since they had applied successfully for visas the year before the ban was in effect in order to attend exchange programs in the U.S. They boarded a flight to Tunisia to apply at the U.S. embassy (the U.S. does not have an embassy in Libya) and came straight to the competition in D.C. after getting visa approval. The coach and their remaining three teammates17-year-old Zeid, 14-year-old Abdularahman Abu Spiha, and 17-year-old Yaseen Mohamedwere dejected. (Yaseen Mohamed had exams during the competition, so it is unclear whether he would have been able to attend anyway.)

When asked about his reaction to learning that he wouldnt be able to go to the competition, Zeid messaged, Shock! Disappointment! Bad! Frustration! But I always try to remember that I worked for Libya and to improve my country.

On Monday, as the first day of games came to an end in Washington, Jehad and Jorny sat slumped in the corner of the robot repair pit bleary-eyed and overwhelmed. After winning one match and losing another, they had plans to modify their robot, a small metal vehicle that resembles a steampunk wheat combine. A small Libyan flag is posted on the front-right corner of the machine. Not having our mentor here is hard. He usually helps us brainstorm, Jehad said. Also Mohammed [Zeid] has more experience with mechanics so its hard to make the changes without him. Jehad and Jorny had to consult with their mentor and teammates back home through a Facebook chat in order to make the necessary tune-ups for their four upcoming matches the next day.

When asked about the Libyan teams particular challenges, FIRST president Sestak said, We thought there was a fair opportunity for them to [raise funds]. But they were unable to raise funds from sponsors. I was not privy to the reasons, but sponsors were not supporting them already. He noted that the four teams representing other countries affected by the travel ban Sudan, Iran, Yemen, and a team of Syrian refugeeswere nevertheless able to find money for the visa fees. (Somalia was unable to form a team.)

Though teams from other countries affected by the travel ban were indeed able to get their visas, many had similar difficulties finding sponsors and had to pay the fees themselves. The team from Iran also ran into skepticism from potential donors concerning their ability to enter the country under the ban, so they paid for the visa application fees out of pocket. Families of the team members from Sudan paid the fees after initial problems finding sponsors. The mentor for the team of Syrian refugees dipped into his own teaching salary to afford the visas for him and his students, and the students from Yemen received the funds from their local gifted students program. In addition, the team from Gambia, though not technically impacted by the travel ban, initially had its visas denied. The State Department reversed its decision shorty before the competition.

Team Impact ended up winning just one out of its six matches. The result wasnt what the team members had hoped, but now they have their eyes set on the 2018 competition in Mexico City. As the two packed up their robot after the closing ceremonies, Jehad told me, Next year Libya is going to do great. I hope the whole team will be able to make it. Fortunately for them, Mexico doesnt have a travel ban.

This article is part of Future Tense, a collaboration among Arizona State University, New America, and Slate. Future Tense explores the ways emerging technologies affect society, policy, and culture. To read more, follow us on Twitter and sign up for our weekly newsletter.

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How Trump's Travel Ban Hobbled a Libyan High School Robotics Team - Slate Magazine

BEIJING (AP) The foreign ministers of China and Tunisia called Wednesday for new efforts to reach a negotiated peace in Libya and prevent the unstable North African nation from dissolving into a humanitarian disaster on a level with Syria.

Chinas Wang Yi said Libya is attracting militants from across the globe now being driven from Iraq and Syria, requiring the international community to step in and prevent the country becoming a new source of international terrorism.

We should prevent Libya from becoming the next Syria, Wang told reporters.

Tunisias Khemaies Jhinaoui, whose country borders Libya, said a political rather than military solution is needed based on a 2015 United Nations-brokered peace deal.

Libya should realize its security, independence and territorial integrity and avoid the misfortune of national disruption, Jhinaoui said.

China joined Russia in abstaining on a 2011 U.N. vote that imposed a no-fly zone over Libya to protect civilians amid civil war, but later complained that NATO overstepped its mandate in enforcing the measure.

Following that, the two countries have joined to block U.S.-mandated intervention in the Syrian conflict, although Russia has since dispatched forces to back President Bashar Assad.

The 2011 overthrow and killing of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi spawned chaos and created a power and security vacuum that turned Libya into a breeding ground for militias and militants, including Islamic State group and al-Qaida affiliates. It has also made Libya a gateway for thousands of migrants from Africa and elsewhere seeking to cross the Mediterranean to Italy.

Since 2014, Libya has been split between rival governments and parliaments based in the western and eastern regions, each backed by different militias, tribes and political factions.

The 2015 peace deal sought to create a unity government but failed because the U.N.-backed government now in Tripoli has been unable to win the endorsement of Libyas internationally recognized Parliament in eastern Tobruk.

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China, Tunisia call for new efforts to stabilize Libya - The Seattle Times

Since Saturday, Libyans both ordinary citizens and political stakeholders have been chewing on one and only one subject; the proposed road map of the Head of the UN-proposed government's Presidential Council, Fayez Al-Sirraj.

Al-Sirraj proposed a road map that above all things gave Libyans "elections" fever like that they see in the US and Europe to the extent that they started planning their votes from the very moment Al-Sirraj said he fancies presidential and parliamentary elections in next March.

On the street and pretty much on Facebook and Twitter, ordinary people started talking about the elections, some doubting it could ever happen given the many economic and political troubles in Libya that beg for resolutions, and some others having wishful thinking about who could be the one who could be Libya's next president.

Now on the political level, many rejected the call such as the House of Representatives' Speaker Aqilah Saleh, who said the elections need a Libyan constitution first, and the the Chairman of the High National Committee of Elections, Emad Al-Sayeh, who said Al-Sirraj's date for elections next March is unrealistic and means that for the presidential elections only, the work and preparation should start from next month, adding that before all, there must be an elections law first.

The same notion was expressed by the religious cleric, Ali Al-Salabi, who said that the Libyan judiciary should devise an elections law that will be of consensus to all parties across Libya.

Also on the official level in the political arena, HoR members and members from High Council of Sate of the UN-brokered government had their agreements and disagreements to express regarding the next elections.

While internationally, the elections call did not draw much attention, not farther than Qatar, whose Foreign Minister, Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman, commented on Twitter on Monday saying the road map of Al-Sirraj could eventually lead to uniting Libya and ending division.

However, the most interesting reaction was from Basit Igtet, a Libyan political stakeholder and businessman living in Switzerland, who after being rumored to be eying the position of President of Libya after Al-Sirraj's call, posted footage on his Facebook page saying that Al-Sirraj's overnight call for elections is delusional as Libyans are suffering from bad living conditions and lack of security and Al-Sirraj's government is doing nothing to help Libyans. He added that if the Libyan people think he should be the leader of the next phase, then he is ready to work.

With all the different reactions and comments on the elections including Al-Sirraj's statement to Sputnik favoring Khalifa Haftar for the post the question remains: are Libyans ready to cast ballots for a new president under the same vision and leadership of both the UN-brokered government and the Tobruk-based HoR or not?

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect those of the Libya Observer

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Al-Sirraj's outlandish elections and Libyans' reactions - The Libya Observer

When the Islamic State lost control of Sirte, Libya late last year, it was a blow for the so-called caliphates plans in North Africa. The groups first spokesman, Abu Muhammad al Adnani, ranked Sirte just behind Mosul, Iraq and Raqqa, Syria in terms of importance. Adnani was killed in Aug. 2016 and Abu Bakr al Baghdadis loyalists were ejected from their urban stronghold on the Mediterranean several months later.

But the Islamic State still has a presence in Libya and it is not clear how many fighters remain in the country.

According to the State Departments newly released Country Reports on Terrorism 2016, the group lost a significant number of its members during the battle for Sirte. Yet, several thousand of its men were either stationed elsewhere or survived.

Although more than 1,700 ISIS terrorists were killed during the Sirte counterterrorism operations, the State Department report reads, many members of the terrorist organization fled to Libyas western and southern deserts, abroad, or into neighboring urban centers.

State also cites reports saying that the group had as many as 6,000 fighters in its ranks as of early 2016 that is, several months before the US began its air campaign in Sirte in Aug. 2016. The number of jihadists fighting under the so-caliphates banner swelled between 2015 and 2016, as the Islamic State doubled its presence in the country during that time.

Taken at face value, therefore, the State Departments report suggests that approximately 4,300 members of the Islamic States Libyan arm were not killed during the operation to free Sirte from the jihadists grip. How many of them remain in Libya today? We dont know.

As FDDs Long War Journal has warned, it is difficult to determine how many fighters the Islamic State has in Iraq, Syria, or elsewhere. The US governments estimates have varied dramatically over time. State says that up to 1,700 ISIS militants bodies were recovered in Sirte, but it isnt clear how firm that figure is.

In addition, the self-declared caliphate could have had either more or less than the 6,000 fighters it was estimated to have in Libya as of early 2016. Those who survived the battle in Sirte, or didnt take part in it, could have fled for neighboring countries, such as Tunisia or Egypt. They also could have retreated to other African nations, or further abroad to the Islamic States heartland in Iraq and Syria.

All of this means that determining the number of Islamic State fighters left in Libya today is a task fraught with uncertainty. And the same goes for assessing the size of the organizations membership around the globe.

Since the loss of Sirte in late 2016, the Islamic States operational tempo has been relatively low, indicating that either it is not capable of carrying out regular attacks, or is seeking to regroup for the future.

Still, taken at face value, the figures cited by the State Department suggest that the Islamic State could still have a significant footprint inside Libya. And we wouldnt be surprised if this is the case. On a per capital basis, Libya and Tunisia exported as many foreign fighters (or more) than any other countries for the war in Iraq and the follow-on conflicts. And the Islamic State made Libya one of its top priorities from 2014 to 2016, reversing these flows by sending some fighters back to their home countries in North Africa.

In 2014, as the State Department reminds readers, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi dispatched a group of ISIS operatives from Syria to Libya to establish a branch of the terrorist group. They first set up a base in Derna, but lost their hub there after being defeated by rival, al Qaeda-linked jihadists. (The Islamic State exaggerated its strength, before eventually conceding defeat in 2016.) Baghdadi formally recognized the groups Libyan arm in Nov. 2014 after announcing he had accepted oaths of allegiance from fighters in the country.

The US hunted down some of the personnel dispatched by Baghdadi in 2015, including Abu Nabil al Anbari (aka Wissam Najm Abd Zayd al Zubaydi) in November of that year. The Defense Department described al Anbari as an Iraqi national who was a longtime al Qaeda operative and the senior [Islamic State] leader in Libya. Other senior Islamic State personnel were deployed to the country as well. The jihadists effort became so important that US officials began to openly worry that Baghdadis men could use Libya as a fallback zone as they lost ground in Iraq and Syria.

Between Aug. 1 and Dec. 19, 2016, US Africa Command conducted 495 precision airstrikes against Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices, heavy guns, tanks, command and control centers and fighting positions as part of Operation Odyssey Lightning. The operation was conducted in conjunction with the Libyan Government of Nation Accord (GNA), which backed the militiamen that made up most of the ground forces. GNA reports suggested significant losses on the anti-Islamic State side, according to State, with more than 700 fighters from GNA-aligned forces killed and 3,200 others wounded during the sevenmonth-long campaign against ISIS.

In Jan. 2017, the US bombed two Islamic State training camps south of Sirte, citing the presence of the groups external plotters. The Defense Department estimated that dozens of jihadists were killed. Subsequent reporting revealed that the external plotters were connected to planned attacks in Europe.

But that wasnt the end of the Islamic States presence in Libya, as the jihadists had cadres sprinkled throughout the country.

At the end of 2016, Foggy Bottom says, the self-declared caliphates arm was no longer in control of any towns in Libya, but its members continued to operate throughout the eastern, southern, and western regions of the country. The jihadists also carried out attacks in Tripoli and Benghazi.

In December, the Islamic States Rumiyah magazine, which is published in multiple languages, carried an interview with Sheikh Abu Hudhayfah al Muhajir, who was identified as the groups leader in Libya. The detachments of the mujahidin are spread today throughout the deserts of Libya, Muhajir claimed, and they will make their enemies taste severe hardship. He vowed that they will reclaim the cities and areas once more, by Allahs power and strength.

Muhajir was asked about the Islamic States strength in regions outside of Sirte. He claimed that the number of mujahid brothers in the Libyan wilayat [province] continue to beabundant. Their covert units are scattered throughout all the cities and regions, and their detachments cruise the deserts both east and west. [See FDDs Long War Journal report, Pentagon: Islamic State has lost its safe haven in Sirte, Libya.]

Abu Hudhayfah al Muhajir gave an inflated sense of his groups capabilities. Time will tell how strong the Islamic States reconstituted presence in Libya will be. A number of scenarios are possible, including defections to other jihadist groups. But the State Departments report warns that many members of the terrorist organization fanned out across the country and elsewhere after the battle for Sirte.

Thomas Joscelyn is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal.

Tags: Islamic State, Islamic State's Libyan "province", Islamic State's Libyan Wilayah, Libya, State Department

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How many fighters does the Islamic State still have in Libya? - Long War Journal

Miami Herald

China, Tunisia call for new efforts to stabilize Libya Miami Herald The foreign ministers of China and Tunisia called Wednesday for new efforts to reach a negotiated peace in Libya and prevent the unstable North African nation from dissolving into a humanitarian disaster on a level with Syria. China's Wang Yi said ... China calls for international effort to stop Libya becoming the next SyriaNRT all 5 news articles »

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China, Tunisia call for new efforts to stabilize Libya - Miami Herald