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After the Manchester bombing, can President Trump keep saying America has no role to play in Libya?

Libya keeps popping up in the investigation into the attack by British suicide bomber Salman Abedi, who killed at least 22 people and injured 59 at an Ariana Grande concert Monday night. Abedi spent the last three weeks of his life in Libya, his fathers birthplace, before returning to his native Manchester.

As Britains security forces dig deeper into Abedis ISIS connections, making additional arrests in England and Libya, one thing is clear: The country we helped rid of dictator Moammar Khadafy is a mess which is just how the Islamist terrorists like it.

Even before Manchester, there was concern, first of all, that ISIS were present and growing in Libya, and secondly that Libya didnt have the strong, stable government that we needed in order to engage on counter-terrorism, a senior UN Security Council diplomat told me.

And yes, the diplomat added, Were all waiting to hear in more details what the Trump administration plans to do about it.

As of now, it seems, not much beyond a continuation of the Obama administrations policy, which blatantly violated Colin Powells first rule of regime change: You break a country, you own it.

We helped break Libya after France and Britain convinced President Barack Obama in 2011 to help overthrow its tyrant. It was in Libya that Obama officials first boasted about leading from behind. After the overthrow, they let the Europeans and the United Nations take the lead in rebuilding the country.

And its teetered on the edge of failed-state territory ever since.

Fearing an influx of refugees from the post-Khadafy chaos, the Europeans, with the help of UN officials, hastily cobbled together a legitimate government in Libya. They bet on that governments weak and pliant leader, Fayez Sarraj, to stabilize the country and stem the flood of refugees.

That effort at national unity failed miserably.

Three parallel governments competed for leadership. Armed militias vied for territory, influence and oil revenue. Among the chaos, poverty and misery, ISIS moved in to carve out its own territory. If its bases in Syria and Iraq fall, Libya will serve as a backup hub for the ever-roaming ISIS caliphate.

Meanwhile, a former Libyan army bigwig, Khalifa Haftar (whod spent 20 years of his life in Virginia, next door to CIA headquarters, as a refugee fleeing Khadafy), emerged as leader of Libyas strongest militia.

Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt are backing Haftar, believing hes best positioned to unite the army and the country. Haftar is a fiercely secular nationalist who disdains the countrys status as a plaything for foreign powers. He wants the country in one piece again, so he often talks about defeating the various Islamist militias, including those backed by the West. To his Russian backing, he wants to add American support, and has been lobbying DC for it.

Obama, the Europeans and the United Nations condemned Haftar as a spoiler, consistently betting all their chips on Sarrajs government of national accord. They wanted a symbol of unity, but it turned into a symbol of the US failed policy of leading from behind, an Arab diplomat told me, adding that Haftar is emerging now as the least-bad of Libyas options, and that he must figure highly in Libyas future leadership.

Frances new president may soon move in that direction, too. Libya needs to build a national army under civilian control with the participation of all the forces that fight terrorism across the country, including those of General Haftar, French Foreign Ministry spokesman Romain Nadal said last week. He didnt even mention Sarraj.

What about the United States? Trump said last month he doesnt see a role in Libya, adding America has right now enough roles. That sounds like a less-eloquent version of Obamas attempt to let others do the leading thing for us.

The horror in Manchester may concentrate the mind.

Trumps vow to obliterate ISIS will prove hollow if we chase the terrorists out of Syria and Iraq just so they can plot their evil deeds from Libya.

Obama lived in an imaginary world, where America pretends it can ignore the messes left behind. Its time to break out of that mindset while theres still a chance to turn Libya around. First Trump must realize that the rear is no place for a leader.

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Manchester bombing's Libya roots: another mess Obama left for Trump - New York Post

The Italian Coast Guard says one of a group of boats listed suddenly, sending about 200 people tumbling into the Mediterranean.

Migrants from Africa arrive on shore after being rescued by Libyan coast guards rescued at sea, off the coastal town of Tajoura, 15 kilometres east of the capital Tripoli, on 23 May 2017. Picture: AFP.

ROME - At least 34 migrants, most of them toddlers, drowned on Wednesday, as coastguard boats and other vessels tried to save hundreds of others packed into boats off the coast of Libya, rescuers said.

One of a group of boats listed suddenly, sending about 200 people tumbling into the Mediterranean, Italian Coast Guard commander Cosimo Nicastro told Reuters.

"At least 20 dead bodies were spotted in the water," he said. Rescue group MOAS said it had already recovered 34 bodies. "Most are toddlers," the group's co-founder Chris Catrambone said on Twitter.

The coast guard called in more ships to help with the rescue, saying about 1,700 people were packed into about 15 vessels.

More than 1,300 people have died this year on the world's most dangerous crossing for migrants fleeing poverty and war across Africa and the Middle East.

In the past week, more than 7,000 migrants have been plucked from unsafe boats in international waters off the western coast of Libya, where people smugglers operate with impunity.

Despite efforts by Italy and the European Union to bolster the Tripoli-based coast guard and funnel training and equipment to fight trafficking to the U.N.-backed government, record numbers of migrants are coming this year.

More than 50,000 migrants have been rescued at sea and brought to Italy so far, a 46 percent increase on the same period of last year, the Interior Ministry said this week.

Most rescues take place just outside the 12-mile mark that separates Libyan territory from international waters. It is a busy stretch of sea where humanitarian vessels, the Libyan Coast Guard and even scavengers hoping to recover abandoned migrant boats and their engines all operate.

The Libyan Coast Guard on Tuesday fired shots as non-governmental vessels conducted rescues nearby, humanitarian group Jugend Rettet, which operates the Iuventa rescue ship, said on its Facebook page.

The shooting prompted about 100 migrants to jump into the water and swim toward humanitarian vessels. It was unclear if anyone had been killed or wounded. The Libyans then towed two migrant boats back to shore while humanitarian groups brought more than 1,000 on board.

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At least 34 migrants, mostly toddlers, drown off Libya - Eyewitness News

The man British police say blew himself up as a packed concert was letting out in Manchester, England, Monday night is believed to have traveled to Syria and had "proven" links with the Islamic State terror network.

British and French intelligence have information that Salman Abedi, 22, had been to Syria, although it was unclear if he was part of a larger network of attackers, French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said Wednesday.

Collomb spoke with British Prime Minister Theresa May and saidthe two countries should continue cooperating closely on counterterrorism efforts despite Britain's pending exit from the European Union.

It also wasreported the attacker had recently returned to the U.K. from Libya days before the attack, according to his friends.

Abedi who was born in Britain to Libyan parents had traveled to the war-torn North African nation "three weeks ago and came back, like, days ago," a friend toldThe Times of London.

Now, investigators are attempting to learn whether the university dropout attended a terrorist training camp in Libya, where ISIS and Al Qaeda fighters are engaged in a bloody war against government forces.

NEW ARRESTS IN MANCHESTER INVESTIGATION

Meanwhile,The Sunreported that investigators also werelooking at the possibility that Abedi had traveled to Syria from Libya without drawing the notice of British authorities. "His potential ties to Syria now very much forms one line of inquiry," one source told The Sun late Tuesday.

However, security sources told The Times their top priority was determining who built the bomb that caused such carnage at the Manchester Arena Monday night. Detectives who have viewed closed-circuit TV footage tell the paper that Abedi placed an explosive-laden suitcase on the ground in the foyer of Manchester Arena at around 10:30 p.m., as a concert by pop star Ariana Grande was ending.

Moments later, the bomb exploded, killing at least 22 people and injuring nearly 120 others. It was the deadliest terror attack on U.K. soil since a quartet of suicide bombers killed 52 people in central London in July 2005.

MANCHESTER VICTIMS IDENTIFIED

As Great Britain's terror threat was raised to its highest level for the first time in a decade, counterterrorism officers feared that the person who constructed the "sophisticated" explosive device could be on the loose.

Earlier Tuesday,at least 20 heavily armed, helmeted police surrounded a house listed as Abedi's address in the Fallowfield area of south Manchester and blasted down the door.

The British electoral roll lists Salman Abedi and Ismail Abedi as current residents of the house. Others with the same name are recorded as living there in previous years. Ismail Abedi, 23, was arrested on a nearby street and remained in custody Tuesday evening.

Neighbors remembered the suspected suicide bomber as atall, thin young man who often wore traditional Islamic dress.

Alan Kinsey, 52, who lives across the street, told the Associated Press he had seen "a lot of different people living there" in the past but in the last six months or more had only seen one young man in his 20s. Kinsey said he would often get picked up by another young man in a Toyota and often returned late.

"I thought he worked in a takeaway or something" because of his late hours, Kinsey said.

Other neighbors said Abedi had grown a beard in the past year, would chant Islamic prayers loudly in the street and flew the green flag of Libyan Islamists from the roof of his house.

A male relative of Abedi's told the Sun that he had seen him approximately ten days before the attack looking "happy, relaxed and smiling."

The family member added that Abedi's parents had recently returned to Libya, having initially fled to Britain to escape the rule of late dictator Muammar Qaddafi. He added that the suspected terrorist had been a keen soccer fan, supporting European club giants Manchester United and Real Madrid.

"We can't believe it. We can't take it in. It is terrible," the family member said of the attack. "It shows that it takes a short amount of time [to] change someone, sometimes."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Manchester attack: Suspect returned to UK from Libya days before bombing - Fox News

Russia has condemned the recent spike of violence in Libya where over 140 troops and civilians were reportedly slaughtered in an attack on the Brak Al-Shati airbase. Moscow called it a deliberate provocation intended to disrupt the peace process.

Moscow is very concerned about the recent outbreak of violence in Libya, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

On May 18, 141 people were killed after clashes broke out at the Brak al-Shati airbase between the Libyan National Army (LNA) and a rival Third Force militia loyal to the UN-backed government.

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Based on witness testimonies, Human Rights Watch said soldiers from the 13th Battalion aligned with the GNA Defense Ministry attacked the base... and executed troops from the 12th Battalion of the Libyan National Army (LNA).

The soldiers were executed by gun shots to the head, HRW said. It added that some corpses, which also included civilians, had their arms bound while others were disfigured in a manner which suggested their heads had been run over by a vehicle.

The killings of dozens of people, including civilians, must be condemned, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, after assessing the disturbing reports.

The country descended into chaos following the assassination of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddaf and has long been divided between the Tobruk-based parliament and the UN-backed government in Tripoli.

Moscow says the new spiral of violence threatens to undermine the fragile peace deal which was reached earlier this month between the head of Libya's UN-backed government Fayez al-Sarraj and general Khalifa Haftar, head of the LNA.

The attack on the airbase looks like a deliberate provocation, intended to disrupt the May 2 Abu Dhabi agreements between the leaders of Libyas east and west and to reduce to zero the emerging prospects for the intra-Libyan settlement in general.

Moscow urged the sides to continue inclusive dialogue on the basic agreements reached. In December 2015, the warring parties signed the Libyan Political Agreement the Skhirat agreement accepting to establish a Government of National Accord (GNA).

The Russian ministry also called on all sides to refrain from violence.

We repeat our insistent calls to all Libyan sides to refrain from the use of force, from unilateral actions that may further escalate the feud, which is harmful to Libyan statehood, the statement reads.

The ministry also urged all parties to prevent the illegal armed formations engaged in subversive activities to the detriment of the countrys territorial integrity and unity from overwhelming the political process in Libya.

The power vacuum in the country, which emerged after the disastrous NATO-led military intervention in 2011, has been exploited by terrorist groups. These include Al-Qaeda and Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS, ISIL) offshoots who have been lending support to some of the extremist factions within the country.

Observers have expressed concern that the May 18 massacre and ongoing clashes at the airbase may lead to more bloodshed which could escalate into a full scale civil war.

Thats not a kind of incident that will bring an end to the conflict. It will really inflame further conflict, perhaps reprisal attacks, Eric Goldstein, Middle East and North Africa deputy director at Human Rights Watch told RT.

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Im afraid that the violence is getting out of hand and the worrying thing is that this may slide towards real civil war, Oliver Miles, former UK ambassador to Libya told RT.

Miles stressed that because of the power vacuum in Libya, the UN still cant really influence the situation in a country that is in chaos.

The UN is not in control... unfortunately, nobody is in control... that is really the problem. There are a lot of armed groups which are not under control, the retired diplomat said.

They form alliances... they formed two broad alliances which are fighting each other in a fairly limited ways, and the risk is that they will fight each other more equally. And if they have more arms, they will do so with more casualties, Miles said.

Goldstein said that while an investigation into the attack has formally been announced he doubted if the probe will lead to justice.

Investigations are announced and go nowhere, Goldstein said, adding, that if the perpetrators are punished, people might start feeling accountable for their actions and it may change the course of things.

But until now what weve seen is just continuing impunity for these kinds of attacks, he added.

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Moscow suspects 'deliberate provocation' in Libya massacre, calls warring parties to order - RT

Refugees being transferred to the Moas Phoenix vessel earlier this month. Photograph: Chris McGrath/Getty Images

More than 30 people have drowned after about 200 people fell from an overcrowded migrant boat off the coast of Libya, the latest tragedy in the Mediterranean Sea.

The vessel was carrying between 500 and 700 people when the accident happened 20 nautical miles off the Libyan coast. It was not clear whether those in the water were knocked off balance by a wave or because there was a rush to one side of the boat as a rescue vessel approached.

The crew of the Phoenix aid boat, chartered by the Maltese NGO Moas, began a rescue operation and were distributing lifejackets. The number of deaths remains unclear.

The Italian coastguard, which was coordinating rescues, dispatched other vessels to the area to look for survivors.

Its not a scene from a horror movie, its a real-life tragedy that is taking place today at the gates of Europe, Chris Catrambone, who works with Moas, told AFP. Catrambone, who gave updates on the rescue operation on his Twitter feed, said 31 bodies had been recovered.

The incident was one of 15 rescue operations over the past 24 hours, which have saved up to 1,700 people. There is usually a spike in the spring and summer months in people attempting the perilous crossing to Europe, because of warm weather and calm seas. In the year up to 17 May, 45,754 people departing from the Libyan coast had been rescued at sea and taken to Italy, and more than 8,500 of them had arrived in the last two weeks. The figures represent a big increase on the same period last year.

The EU is training the Libyan coastguard to step up its efforts to turn back boats if they are inside Libyan waters, but aid groups have accused Libyan authorities of subjecting migrants to violence and other abuses if they are returned.

On Tuesday, the German NGO Jugend Rettet, which has been working in rescue operations in the central Mediterranean, claimed that the crew of a speedboat labelled Libyan coastguard fired shots at migrant boats during a rescue operation on Tuesday.

In a statement on Facebook, Jugend Rettet said its staff witnessed multiple gunshots being fired from the speedboat. [They] were seemingly aimed at the people on the boats ... Furthermore several boats were pushed back into Libyan waters ... This is a violation of the non-refoulement principle thereby of human rights, the statement said.

The captain of the NGOs vessel added: About 100 people panicked and jumped from the boats ... We cannot say whether and how many dead there were in the shooting. We had to be careful not to get a bullet ourselves. We are speechless against this crude violence.

One journalist reporting on migrant boast rescues said that rescue vessels and migrant boats faced severe harassment from the Libyan coastguard, which fired warning shots near them.

In October, the humanitarian group Sea-Watch, based in Germany, said the crew of a speedboat labelled Libyan coastguard attacked a migrant boat carrying about 150 people, beating them with sticks and causing many to fall into the water and at least four to drown. Last week Sea-Watch called on the international criminal court to extend the ongoing investigation of human rights violations in Libya to the activities of the Libyan coastguard.

The EU and Italy agreed in February to fund migrant centres managed by UN agencies, but progress has been slow due to the security crisis. On Monday, the UN refugee agency also called on the Libyan government in Tripoli to close its refugee detention centres, describing conditions as inhumane and shocking.

The UN high commissioner for refugees, Filippo Grandi, said after a visit to Tripoli that he was shocked at the harsh conditions in which refugees and migrants are held in Libya, which he said was generally due to lack of resources.Amnesty International has said it is deeply concerned that Italian authorities may be attempting to circumvent their obligation to protect people fleeing widespread and systematic human rights violations and abuses in Libya by facilitating the interception of refugees and migrant boats by Libyan authorities in the central Mediterranean.

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More than 30 drown as hundreds fall from migrant boat off Libya - The Guardian