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Our editors weekly take on humanitarian news, trends, and developments from around the globe.

The extreme dangers for migrants and refugees trying to reach Europe via north Africa and the Central Mediterranean were underlined this week. Libyan authorities shot dead three Sudanese asylum seekers on 27 July as they attempted to flee after being intercepted at sea and returned to the country by the EU-backed Libyan Coast Guard. And in two separate incidents, boats carrying close to 100 asylum seekers and migrants were left to drift for more than a day as both Libyan and Maltese authorities failed to respond to distress calls a recurring pattern since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. After a private merchant vessel also refused to help one of the stranded boats, Maltese authorities eventually rescued one and the Italian Coast Guard the other. At least 232 people are known to have died or gone missing in the Central Mediterranean so far this year, although the true number is almost certainly higher. Meanwhile, at least 1,750 people died many of them in Libya between 2018 and 2019 while undertaking journeys from East and West Africa to the Mediterranean coast, making the migration route one of the deadliest in the world, according to a new report from the UNs refugee agency and the Danish Refugee Council. Keep an eye out for upcoming TNH articles on the surge in disappearances of people returned to Libya and on the fledgling legal bids to sue the EU for assisting human rights abuses in the country.

Much has changed in Sudan since the ousting of long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir last year, but not in war-scarred Darfur, where lives are still being lost and humanitarian needs are growing. More than 60 people were killed and nearly as many injured in an attack by a militia group on 25 July one in a string of violent incidents that has prompted authorities to declare a state of emergency. The UNs aid coordination agency said the attacks were leading to increased displacement at a critical moment during the agricultural season. Jonas Horner, a Sudan analyst at the International Crisis Group, said militias were defending land taken from displaced populations amid expectation that peace talks between the government and rebel groups around the country may spark return movements. A peacekeeping mission in Darfur with a mandate to protect civilians is, meanwhile, set to shut down at the end of the year a move that could expose the region to major insecurity, according to the Institute for Security Studies. Read our latest on Sudans shaky transition for more.

Zimbabwes city streets were empty today as soldiers and police set up roadblocks to enforce a ban on protests. Demonstrators had been set to march to protest alleged state corruption and the mismanagement of the economy with inflation at over 700 percent, shortages of foreign currency, and public hospitals crippled by strikes and a lack of medicine. But President Emmerson Mnangagwa has accused opposition leaders of attempting to overthrow the government, and said the security forces would appropriately respond to their shenanigans. What that has often meant is beatings, and the use of live ammunition. Earlier this week, the government called the US ambassador a thug, accused him of funding the protests, and threatened him with expulsion. But the governments political problems do not stop with the opposition. There is a factional fight underway in the ruling party and three years after the overthrow of former president Robert Mugabe a section of the army appears deeply unhappy. In any county where a military coup has happened, there is a tendency for it to recur, noted NGO activistBlessing Vava.

A record 212 environmental activists were killed in 2019, according to a new report from Global Witness. The toll was up from 164 in 2018, and more than half of the killings occurred in Colombia and the Philippines. In Colombia, where 64 activists were killed, violence has spiked since a 2016 peace agreement. Farmers have been pushed to swap illegal crops for other harvests and many have been moved off of land to make way for other industries. The country is one of the worlds largest coal exporters but also has substantial oil, gas, and palm oil holdings. In the Philippines, 43 people were killed many of those killed fighting against the countrys many agribusinesses. Brazil reported 24 killings, while killings of environmental activists in Honduras jumped from four in 2018 to 14 last year. Mining was the sector linked to the most killings, but logging had the largest increase in deaths since 2018. There were seven killings in Africa, but Global Witness warned that several cases likely went unreported. Read this weeks TNH story for more on how hundreds of Indigenous people in Colombia forced from their rainforest reserves by conflict are protesting the lack of government assistance as they try to make new lives in the capital, Bogot.

Women and girls have paid a heavy price in the COVID-19 pandemic, with increased gender-based violence, forced marriages, and loss of reproductive healthcare. But when it comes to deaths, people are dying at a rate six times higher in countries with male leadership than in countries with female leaders. New research by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security and the PRIO Centre for Gender, Peace and Security suggests that countries that prioritise the well-being of women have also fared better. The research looked at womens well-being as measured by the Women, Peace, and Security Index and risk factors associated with the outbreak that exceed a nations capacity to respond. Their findings? Countries that do poorly on womens inclusion, justice, and security are at higher risk during a pandemic. For more from women and girls themselves, check out our She Said reporting.

AFGHANISTAN: Coronavirus has decimated Afghan womens healthcare access, and humanitarian aid is excluding women and girls as well, according to a new CARE study on the pandemics gender impacts. The analysis, based on interviews or surveys of about 400 people, found three quarters of Afghan women have no access to family planning, and many arent able to reach clinics at all. Only eight percent of interviewed women said they received aid in the last month; some cited a lack of female aid staff. See our recent reporting on Afghanistans missing coronavirus patients: Women.

CHINA/LATIN AMERICA: As global competition over coronavirus vaccines builds, Chinas foreign minister has vowed to loan $1 billion to help Latin American countries access any workable vaccine it produces. Observers suggested this may not be a simple act of kindness, but its not just Brazil that might be interested: Mexico, Chile, and Peru are also among the top 10 countries in the world for confirmed cases.

FINANCE: Wealthy countries have found $11 trillion to cushion the blow of the coronavirus for themselves, but less than half a percent of that to give as aid. COVID-19 exposes global inequalities like never before, as well as the limitations of the international aid machinery. According to a new study commissioned by the Norwegian Refugee Council, the crisis demands a "fundamental rethink" and a "pivot to preparedness". It warns that this crisis won't be a one-off: "Systemic crises are likely to become an increasingly common feature of a highly integrated global economy with a growing population, an unstable and warming climate and deteriorating ecosystems."

ISRAEL/PALESTINE: Both Israel and the occupied West Bank are witnessing a second wave in COVID-19 infections, and there is increasing concern about the potential for spread in crowded Palestinian refugee camps. Previous lockdowns and a ban on Palestinians going back and forth to Israel for work (a major source of income) are believed to have helped contain the virus, but many restrictions have since been lifted, and cases are surging.

NORTH KOREA: Pyongyang announced its first suspected case of coronavirus, warning of a dangerous situation, according to state media. North Korea was among the first countries to seal its borders with China in the early days of COVID-19, though various media have reported signs of undisclosed cases. Malnutrition and food insecurity are widespread, and the countrys underfunded health system struggles to treat diseases like tuberculosis.

AFGHANISTAN: A car bomb killed at least 17 people on Thursday on the eve of an Eid al-Adha ceasefire. The Taliban said its not behind the unclaimed attack. UN statistics show civilian conflict casualties fell in the first half of 2020, but notably not casualties caused by the two main parties that have delayed peace talks for months: the Taliban and the government. The overall drop is linked to a smaller battlefield footprint from international forces and so-called Islamic State, the UN said.

ASIA FLOODS: Monsoon floods hitting vast stretches of Asia have been so severe in part because of previous damage to vital flood barriers. In Bangladesh, where up to a third of the land is now submerged, many communities hadnt fully repaired the damage after back-to-back seasons of severe flooding in 2016, 2017, and 2019: The normal recovery cycle is at least three years. An early assessment of this years (ongoing) disaster warns that infrastructure repair and reconstruction must be a big part of early recovery plans in the coming months.

IRAQ: A new report from Amnesty International documents the myriad challenges faced by around 2,000 young Yazidis who survived what the UN has called a genocide by the so-called Islamic State. Having returned to their families in Iraq after witnessing and being subjected to horrific events, the watchdog says these children are now facing a physical and mental health crisis, are often no longer able to speak their own Kurdish dialects, and have trouble enrolling in school. Check out these stories for our reporting on the challenges facing Yazidis who have come back after years in captivity.

MALI: The opposition coalition leading Malis surging protest movement called for further civil disobedience this week as the latest meditation effort by West African leaders came to little. Protesters have been calling for the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who has struggled to stem rising jihadist and inter-communal violence in the country after seven years in power. Read more in our latest from the ground.

RANSOMWARE: NGOs in North America and the UK were among over 100 organisations whose data was accessed by hackers in a cyber attack in May. US cloud services provider Blackbaud, used as a fundraising platform by charities, announced it had paid off ransomware hackers for an undisclosed sum and restored the systems. But what happened to the data and when were victims notified? (Save the Children says it was only notified in July). Blackbaud said: "We have no reason to believe that any data went beyond the cybercriminal." Analysts point out the hack could include the estimated wealth and giving habits of individuals who donate to charities.

YEMEN: Southern separatists and Yemens internationally recognised authorities have reportedly agreed (not for the first time) to form a government of technocrats equally split between representatives of the north and the south. The deal will see the powerful Southern Transitional Council give up its late April declaration of self-administration in the south, which escalated tensions between the STC and forces allied with President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi; both sides are members of the same Saudi Arabia-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen.

When hundreds of millions of international aid dollars were pumped into the Democratic Republic of Congos eastern Ebola response in 2018 and 2019, it kickstarted a scramble to profit. So-called Ebola business didnt just drive widespread corruption, it potentially cost lives. Just eight weeks into a new outbreak in northwestern quateur province, it appears the lessons have not been learned: Aid officials have reported that local officials are already attempting to profit from relief funds. Concerns over the latest outbreak which has claimed more than 30 lives are compounded by COVID-19 travel restrictions. Border closures make it more difficult to bring staff and equipment into the country to fight the virus, and there is a country-wide shortage of vaccines. The epidemic is running ahead of us, Robert Ghosn, of the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC), told TNH earlier this month. The response overall is not on par with the needs.

The week saw the start of a drastically different version of the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca: Usually more than two million Muslims from all over the world descend on the holy city in one of the worlds largest religious gatherings, but thanks to the pandemic it has been scaled back to a socially distanced 10,000, all of whom were already inside Saudi Arabia. Pilgrims have all been tested for COVID-19, and will wear masks and electronic monitoring bracelets while they perform a series of rites that all able-bodied Muslims who can afford it are supposed to perform at least once in their lives. This years pilgrims will not be able to kiss or touch the Kaaba, Islams holiest site site, which is usually closely surrounded by people. The Washington Post reports that the downsized Hajj has had a devastating impact on people in Somalia, which usually exports millions of livestock to Saudi Arabia in the months leading up to the Hajj. The country relies so heavily on this trade that the entire economy already in a bad way has been hit hard.

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Libyan returns, Darfur emergency, and a pared-back pilgrimage: The Cheat Sheet - The New Humanitarian

The French writer Bernard Levy said he had obtained his entry visa to Libya via the newspaper he works for not through the Interior Ministry of Libya.

Levy told Libya Alahrar TV on Saturday that he had obtained a regular visa and he had visited Libya by an invitation from Misrata and Tarhouna to write a report on the cities, mass graves and other issues in western Libya for US-based Wall Street Journal.

Levy denied meeting any Government of National Accord officials, saying he met with civilians and policemen, as well as municipal employees and civil societies, adding that he came to support Libyans who have suffered enough from "martyrdom, war, ISIS, Gaddafi and Haftar".

"I have seen something in Tarhouna that broke my heart as many civilians and children are buried in mass graves with their hands tied to their backs. I came to document this." Levy added.

Asked if he had been invited by a GNA entity, he said the question should go to the government as he had obtained invitations from Tarhouna and Misrata's people.

He also said later on Twitter that he had been saddened by the views he saw in Tarhouna, adding that his report "Fields of Death" will soon be published to show those atrocities.

The rest is here:
Bernard Levy: I entered Libya with a visa obtained by the newspaper - The Libya Observer

Samrawit* gazes into the distance as a light breeze ruffles the shawl around her face. She hugs herself tightly as a gust of wind blows in from Lake Mirayi in eastern Rwanda.

The 20-year-old Eritrean refugees current surroundings are peaceful and relaxed a far cry from the horrors she endured while in captivity in the hands of smugglers in Libya, where she was tortured, beaten and raped for almost two years.

I cant handle the memory of what I experienced in Libya, she says softly. I get very stressed sometimes because of what I went through.

Samrawit was evacuated to Rwanda last October, alongside 123 other refugees who had been in Libya. Around 258 asylum seekers mostly Eritreans, Somalis and Sudanese are currently accomodated in Gashora transit centre, some 55 kilometres from the capital, Kigali.

Samrawit left Eritrea following the departure of a close relative who fled military conscription, afraid for his life. With no family left in the country, she felt threatened and, facing the likelihood of forced recruitment herself, she decided to flee. On her search for safety, she was abducted and taken by human traffickers to a town in Sudan, near the border with Libya.

First they took us by force, and second they raped us, she says, crying softly. They threatened us with knives. How could I save myself?

Samrawit was held for two months in a traffickers camp in Kufra, in south-east Libya, where her captors initially demanded US$6,000 for her freedom. She was bought and sold by different groups of traffickers and smugglers, before finally ending up in Bani Walid, in the north-west, where she was held for a further eight months.

Her eyes fill with tears as she recalls the dreadful conditions captives faced there.

They did terrible things."

It was so crowded, you had to sleep on your side, she says. They fed us one plate of plain, undercooked macaroni a day. We were always hungry.

She adds that they barely had enough water and the toilets were dismal.

It was so dirty and so bad, especially for the women, because during our periods we could not wash up.

She adds that the traffickers would demand money and then beat and torture them.

They did terrible things. They would beat us with rubber pipes and rape the women in the open or under cars, she says.

Samrawit wrings her hands as she recalls how they would torture the male captives.

They would melt plastic and burn their hands and sometimes they would tie them and plunge their heads underwater.

Samrawit holds a crucifix her only remaining possession from home at the UNHCR Emergency Transit Centre in Gashora, Rwanda.UNHCR/Alissa Everett

Samrawit survived an attempt to cross the Mediterranean on a boat which sank before she was returned to Libya then finally evacuated by UNHCR to Rwanda's Emergency Transit Centre.UNHCR/Alissa Everett

In her search for safety, Samrawit was taken by traffickers, tortured and raped multiple times. Her family was forced to pay a ransom for her release. UNHCR/Alissa Everett

Samrawit and other refugees at UNHCR's Emergency Transit Centre in Gashora, Rwanda receive counselling and psychosocial support.UNHCR/Alissa Everett

A report published by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the Mixed Migration Centre at the Danish Refugee Council, titled On this journey, no one cares if you live or die,details how hundreds of refugees and migrants are dying each year on desperate journeys from West and East Africa towards and through Libya and Egypt.

Thousands more endure extreme human rights abuses and violations, including killings, torture, extortion, sexual violence and forced labour at the hands of smugglers, traffickers, militias and some State authorities.

In a list of recommendations, UNHCR and MMC are calling on states to do far more to identify and protect survivors of abuses on the routes and to hold the perpetrators of these acts accountable, including through criminal prosecutions and sanctions.

Samrawit was forced to reach out to her extended family, who in turn contacted her elder brother. Together, they raised a total of US$12,000 which covered her ransom and secured a space on a boat to Europe.

As she speaks, she tugs absentmindedly at a colourful bracelet on her wrist.

I got this from a friend in Libya. He made it for me, she says, adding that he remained in one of the detention centres. I really worry about him because I know how bad the situation is back there.

She recounts vividly how last July, the smugglers finally took 350 of them to the Mediterranean coast to attempt the crossing to Europe.

We left at midnight and after a few hours the boat started to sink, she says.

About 150 people died in the incident one of the deadliest shipwrecks in recent years. Out of all the survivors, only four were women, including Samrawit.

Luckily, I was able to swim but I cant really say its because of this I survived. Its God who saved me, she says, adding that she swam for over eight hours, ending up back on the Libyan shore.

They were found there by the Libyan authorities and eventually held in an official detention centre to which UNHCR had access.

Tired, scared, dirty and hungry, they were registered by UNHCR and given first aid. They were then taken through an assessment process to identify those most vulnerable. Due to the limited number of available evacuation and resettlement places, efforts are usually made to prioritise those most in need, often including unaccompanied children, survivors of torture and other abuses and people in need of urgent medical treatment.

We identify their needs and link them with social workers for counselling."

Samrawit was among those identified as highly vulnerable and evacuated to Rwanda where UNHCR and partner agencies provide life-saving assistance, including food, water, medical care, psychosocial support and accommodation.

Margaret Mahoro, an education and livelihoods coordinator with the American Refugee Committee, a UNHCR partner, outlines why this support is critical.

We identify their needs and link them with social workers for counselling, she explains. Where they need special treatment, we refer them to doctors, including psychiatrists.

The evacuees have been given asylum-seeker status in Rwanda as their cases are assessed and further solutions are pursued.

Since December 2018, UNHCR has evacuated nearly 2,000 refugees and asylum seekers from Libya. Some 2,500 refugees and migrants remain extremely vulnerable inside official detention centres.

Since her arrival, Samrawit has spoken to her brother twice and assured him of her safety.

I am relieved because I didnt get pregnant or get a sexually transmitted disease, she says of her long ordeal. Theres a big difference now. Its like the distance between heaven and earth.

While she hopes to be reunited with her brother, she is focusing on her healing and has taken up English classes and is considering a sewing course.

I need to occupy my mind instead of worrying and remembering the bad things that happened, she says.

Samrawit was resettled to Sweden, as part of UNHCRs resettlement programme for highly vulnerable refugees.

*Namechanged for protection reasons.

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Refugee survivors of sexual abuse find help in Rwanda - UNHCR

20 June 2020 -- The World Health Organization has urged all armed groups in Libya to allow humanitarian agencies to obtain access to health care facilities on the ground, especially in the south, to help combat the recent surge in cases of COVID-19, mainly in the south of the country.

"Humanitarian agencies must be able to safely enter all areas of the country to deliver critical medicines, supplies and personal protection equipment to frontline health care staff treating COVID-19 patients", said Ms Elizabeth Hoff, WHO Representative in Libya. "It is essential that medical aid reach the most vulnerable communities displaced by fighting and people who face the twin horrors of conflict and pandemic. Unfettered access to health care is a human right, now more than ever."

As of 17 June 2020, there were 467 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infections in Libya, with ten deaths and 70 recoveries. Thus far, a total of 18 485 tests to detect COsVID-19 has been administered. The majority of cases are in Sebha municipality in the south, a major hub on the migration route from Africa to Europe. Between 26 May and 9 June 2020, there was an eightfold increase in COVID-19 cases in Sebha.

In recent weeks, more than 24 000 people have been displaced due to the fighting. Most of them are living in overcrowded conditions that allow for the easy spread of the virus. In addition, the country's health system is near collapse, with three quarters of Primary Health Care Clinics not functioning due to shortages in medical staff, supplies, medicine, and equipment. These shortages have made it difficult to assess the true impact of COVID-19 on the population. The paucity of early detection "sentinel sites" means that infections can go undetected for weeks, allowing COVID-19 to spread easily within communities. WHO is working with health authorities and partners to enhance disease surveillance and monitoring and deliver critical supplies to support the response to COVID-19. WHO has delivered laboratory equipment, test kits and personal protection equipment (PPE) to the health authorities for distribution throughout the country. A new consignment of PPE and laboratory reagents is expected to arrive in Benghazi shortly.

The Organization is also working to maintain other essential health care services.To meet the health needs of thousands of displaced people from Tarhouna (south of Tripoli), in eearly June WHO delivered essential health supplies to Al Jufra, Ashshwayrif, Ejdabia, Benghazi and other locations hosting people from Tarhouna. It also delivered health supplies for displaced people fleeing conflict in south Tripoli. The supplies were sent from WHO's logistics hub in Dubai and include trauma kits as well as medicines to treat communicable and noncommunicable diseases.

Vaccination is a critical public health concern. WHO and UNICEF have recently raised the alarm over severe shortages of vaccines in Libya that are putting more than 250 000 children at risk of life-threatening diseases such as measles and polio. Vaccination is essential to maintain population immunity against the epidemic-prone diseases that cause high childhood morbidity and mortality, yet access to vaccination services has been disrupted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, supplies of many critical vaccines are expected to run out by mid-June.

"Health needs in Libya are immense, and Libyans are now also facing the additional threat of COVID-19," said Hoff. "Without a ceasefire and sustainable access to all areas across the country, people will continue to die unnecessarily, and children will be exposed to diseases that are entirely preventable with proper vaccination. We cannot allow this to happen."

WHO has requested US$ 3.3 million to support the response to COVID-19 in Libya. Thus far, it has received US$ 2.95 million in contributions and firm pledges, including from China, the UK, France, Canada, Norway and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

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Libya: Fighting COVID-19 in times of conflict - Libya - ReliefWeb

TUNIS The proposed project of creating a national guard in Libya is once again at the centre of controversy. The project was promoted by the Tripoli government to circumvent regional and international demands, especially American calls for the disbanding and dismantling of the militias in Libya.

Implementing the idea, however, is easier said than done since militia leaders have sharp differences in positions and do not hesitate to vilify and accuse each other of treason. There are indications that the militias are unhappy with and preparing to resist Interior Minister Fathi Bashaghas approach to choosing militias that will join this new security apparatus based on classifying the various militias as either halal or haram.

It is expected that Bashagha, who is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, will take advantage of this opportunity to get rid of militias that stand in the way of tightening his grip and the grip of his hometown Misrata on the gears and cogs of the state. At the top of the troublesome militias for Bashagha are the Tripoli militias and, to a lesser extent, the Zawiya and Zintan militias.

It also seems that Turkey has opted to stir up the controversy created by the project of a national guard.

In a recent report titled The Libyan National Guard a necessary choice, the official Turkish news agency, Anadolu, brought the subject back to the fore and tried to find justifications for it. This is in tune with Turkeys aggressive goals and the Muslim Brotherhoods agenda in the region.

Refocusing on the subject at this particular time does not seem isolated from the general state of hysteria that has gripped Turkey following the destruction of its air defences and military equipment at the al-Watiya base southwest of Tripoli. It is, in fact, rather closely connected to it, as Ankara is trying to first, divert attention from its losses in al-Watiya, second, please the Americans and third, accelerate the approval of its project in order to clinch the deal of creating, training and arming the new-born apparatus, which is worth billions of dollars.

In its report, Anadolu said that the demobilisation, dismantling and reintegration of the militias, is an American plan to rebuild the Libyan army, but it is a necessary step to move from the stage of the revolution to the stage of state-building.

But what the news agency seemed to intentionally and conveniently ignore in its report is the fact that Turkey would be the biggest beneficiary of the creation of the new security apparatus in Libya, not only as a cover for its continued military presence in Libya but also to overturn the balances of military forces throughout Libya.

Observers believe that pushing this project to the forefront again does not deviate from the context of the manoeuvres aimed at rearranging the security and military conditions in western Libya towards drawing new equations that enable the militias loyal to the Turkey-backed Tripoli government (the Government of National Accord) to dispose of tools and mechanisms with which they can meet the upcoming challenges in Libya. This new National Guard apparatus would be a reproduction of Turkeys own Gendarmerie corps that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan turned into the stick with which he continues to beat his political opponents.

In this context, the head of the Defence and National Security Committee at the former Libyan National Congress, Abdel Moneim al-Yassir, considered in media statements that the National Guard that the GNA wants to establish is nothing less than a demonic terrorist tool that Turkey and the Brotherhood will use to destroy the entire region.

He warned that the Turkish coloniser did not come to Libya alone, but rather with a conspiracy, and what is happening now is to open the way for the Muslim Brotherhood and Turkey to be in North Africa for greater goals than just controlling Libya, calling at the same time on the leaders of the armed groups and militias in Tripoli to wake up before it is too late.

This warning reflects the magnitude of the danger felt by the Libyans as a result of this project, which aims to provide legal cover for the militias, in order to keep them as a card and a tool for sabotage in the service of Turkish agendas in the region, by merging them into one body parallel to the Libyan army.

Early this month, Mohamed Ali al-Mahdi al-Sharif, chief of the general staff of the GNA-affiliated forces, submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj suggesting the creation of a national guard that would be based in Tripoli and headed by an officer with the rank of colonel or above.

This memorandum came in the wake of work by the committee formed by Sarraj tasked with preparing a comprehensive vision to integrate the militias supporting his government, as part of his implementation of the American guidelines he received during his meeting at Zuwara with General Stephen Townsend, commander of the US Africa Command (AFRICOM), and US Ambassador to Libya Richard Norland.

=Bashagha took charge of implementing the project. Before that and on May 20, Bashagha had addressed a memo to the Governor of the Central Bank in Tripoli, Sadiq al-Kabir, asking him to stop dealing with some militia leaders and to freeze their assets and accounts. Following the move, it was leaked that Bashagha handed the Turks a list of 34 names of militia members in the cities of Tripoli, Zawiya and Sabratha that he wanted to get rid of.

These leaks sparked sharp disagreements within the militias, which escalated to the point of fire exchanges, while the militia leaders gathered in front of the central bank in downtown Tripoli at a time when Libyan security sources voiced their fears that the coming days would witness a dangerous escalation by the militias that might lead to assassinations.

Sources noted that some people in Tripoli close to Bashagha are circulating a list of names of dozens of militia members who are said to have been targeted for assassination. They also reported the arrest of dozens of members of the Tripoli Revolutionaries Battalion, led by Haitham al-Tajuri, who does not hide his differences with the Misrata militia and the Turkish military operations room.

Sources also pointed out that among the targeted armed groups there are the Nawasi Brigade, led by Mustafa Kaddour, accused by Bashagha of infiltrating the intelligence services and state institutions, and the Bab Tajura Brigade led by Al-Azhari Finan, and also the armed forces of the Central Security led by Abdul-Ghani al-Kikli, who is one of the most prominent warlords in Libya.

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In joining 'Libyan National Guard', some militias are halal, others haram | Jemai Guesmi - The Arab Weekly