Archive for the ‘Libya’ Category

EU considering giving ships armed with machine guns to Libyan coastguard accused of killing migrants – The Independent

Libya is asking the EU for armed ships and helicopters to increase its refugee patrols in the Mediterranean Sea amid allegations of widespread abuse against migrants.

The German parliament said a list of wanted equipment, including diving suits, ambulances, communications equipment and night vision gear, was being considered by the European Commission.

EU states are already deploying submarines, ships and aircraft to assist in reconnaissance efforts, although they have been criticised for focusing on smuggling rather than rescue missions as a record number of refugees die at sea.

Libyas latest request was revealed by a parliamentary question from the opposition Die Linke party, with broadcaster ARD reporting vessels equipped with machine guns were among a total of 130 boats of varying sizes and capacities called for.

They would be used by the Libyan coastguard, which stands accused of beating and shooting refugees while pushing back boats launched by smugglers into the Mediterranean Sea.

Regardless of the agencys alleged abuses, including attacks on aid agencies rescue ships, Britain is among the countries supporting the coastguard with offshore training.

The first round has been completed and discussions are underway for a second batch, The Independent understands.

Desperate journeys: Rescued at sea, refugees detail abuse in Libya

European states backed an agreement struck by Italy to support the fragile Government of National Accords (GNA) ability to stem the crisis earlier this year, but the prospect of sending arms has raised alarm.

Isis and Islamist factions are among the countless groups waging a bloody battle for territory in the continuing civil war, where a Russia-backed warlord holds increasing sway.

As well as the threat of extremists gaining weapons and equipment donated by the EU, human rights groups have been outraged by the prospect of European support for Libya forcing migrants into detention centres where they report being raped and tortured in dire conditions.

Some are controlled by authorities affiliated with the GNA, while many are operated by smugglers who abduct migrants and force them into labour, prostitution or extort them for ransom in a lucrative industry.

The International Organisation for Migration revealed that hundreds of young African men are being traded in public in what they described as slave markets earlier this month.

Migrants who go to Libya while trying to get to Europe have no idea of the torture archipelago that awaits them just over the border, said IOM spokesman Leonard Doyle.

There they become commodities to be bought, sold and discarded when they have no more value.

The human trade has expanded rapidly amid the chaos following the Nato-backed removal of Muammar Gaddafi in the 2011 uprising and ensuing civil war.

Widespread lawlessness has allowed smugglers to thrive along Libyas Mediterranean coastline, which is now the main launching point for refugee boats heading for Europe.

Almost 1,100 migrants have died on the treacherous route to Italy this year, with 44,000 rescued and taken to land, while 4,900 have crossed the Aegean Sea between Turkey and Greece.

That route has slowed to a trickle since the controversial EU-Turkey deal came into force last March, seeing all asylum seekers arriving on Greek islands detained under threat of deportation.

But the prospect of implementing a similar agreement with Libya looks slim given the governments reduced capacity and human rights concerns raised by the UN.

A spokesperson for the GNA has not yet responded to The Independents request for details of the reported list of equipment requested from the EU.

Jalal Othman said authorities take all allegations of human rights abuses very seriously, after fresh evidence of abuse against migrants emerged earlier this year.

Migrants wait to receive aid distribution provided by the International Organization for Migration in Libya (AFP/Getty Images)

The Libyan judicial and law-enforcement systems are facing extreme pressures at this time due to the very challenging security situation in the country, he added.

We condemn all mistreatment of migrants without reservation. While we have to be realistic about the states current law-enforcement capacity, action will be taken wherever possible against those who break the law.

The Libyan Government of National Accord continues to work closely and productively with our European partners on illegal migration and people-smuggling.

The refugee crisis shows no sign of slowing after the arrival of more than a million asylum seekers in Europe, as conflicts continue in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq alongside insurgencies and instability across sub-Saharan Africa.

EU nations granted refugee status or some other protection to more than 700,000 people last year the latest statistics show.

Eurostat said Germany granted asylum to the highest number of applicants, approving 445,000 claims, followed by Sweden, Italy and France.

Of those accepted across Europe, 405,600 were Syrians, 65,800 were Iraqis and 61,800 Afghans.

Lengthy waits continue for migrants stranded in Italy, where 176,000 people are living in reception centres, and Greece, where 62,000 asylum seekers have been trapped by the EU-Turkey deal and border closures through the Balkans.

Update, 28 April:

A spokesperson for the European Commission said: "A Libyan request for equipment support has been sent to the EU and member states from the Libyan coastguard. This request is currently being assessed.

"Improving the capacity of the Libyan authorities to better manage borders and migration is a key objective of the EU's approach including that agreed by the EU and member states in Malta on 3 February.

"The EU is already working closely with the Libyan coastguard, notably through its Operation Sophia which has already trained 93 coastguards since October 2016, as well as through project Seahorse."

FedericaMogherini, the EU'shigh representative for foreign affairs,told adefence ministerial meeting held on Thursday thatit is early to say when equipment would be provided.

We have concluded the first round of training for the Libyan coastguards and navy and are continuing aiming at a larger number of trainees," she added.

"We are looking at ways in which we can follow this up in terms of providing non-military assets that would enable those that we have trained to do their job in the Libyan territorial waters.

"So we are currently already looking at the assets that might be required, assessing the needs, the sustainability and the correct and proper use they can be devoted to.

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EU considering giving ships armed with machine guns to Libyan coastguard accused of killing migrants - The Independent

Libya’s Oil Chief Rebukes U.N.-Backed Government – WSJ – Wall Street Journal (subscription)


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Libya's Oil Chief Rebukes U.N.-Backed Government - WSJ
Wall Street Journal (subscription)
A rift has opened between Libya's U.N.-backed government and its powerful National Oil Co., threatening the fractured country's political cohesion and its ...
Head of Libyan National Oil Corporation to Attend SPIEF-2017 in ...Sputnik International

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Libya's Oil Chief Rebukes U.N.-Backed Government - WSJ - Wall Street Journal (subscription)

Libya’s only female body-builder to represent country in Belarus competition – Libyan Express

A Libyan 48-year-old female body-builder, Fathiya Al-Amamy, is the only female in a man-predominated sport in the country.

Libyan female body-builder preparing for Belarus competition. Euronews

Al-Amamy is training nowadays in eastern Libya to be prepared to take part in the next international body-building competition in Belarus.

Im the first champion across Libya, thanks be to God. My first participation was in 2012, in the finals of the eastern region, she said. The second championship was in March 2017. It was a championship carried out across Libya and I reached the finals. Now I will be representing Libya in Belarus during Ramadan. She told Euronews.

Libya has got no gyms and fitness clubs dedicated only for females as the country has a conservative society, but Al-Amamy managed to train since 2012.

This is the first time a Libyan woman has competed internationally, so were hoping that the Libyan sports union will support this woman, Her trainer told Euronews.

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Libya's only female body-builder to represent country in Belarus competition - Libyan Express

Again, 253 repatriated from Libya – Daily Trust

Barely one week after report went viral that African immigrants were being sold as slaves in Libya, more stranded Nigerians were on Tuesday evacuated from the North African country.

No fewer than 253 Nigerians arrived at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) cargo terminal aboard a chartered flight which touched the ground at around 8 p.m.

They were received by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) officials and other relevant personnel at the airport.

The returnees comprised 140 female adults; four female children and four female infants while there were 102 male adults, two male children and one male infant.

There were two medical cases among the returnees who were evacuated with Ambulance.

NEMA Deputy Director in charge of Search and Rescue, Dr. Bandele Onimode said the evacuation was facilitated by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The latest returnees brought the number of those repatriated from Libya to over 1000 in 2017.

Some of the returnees expressed relief for returning home, saying there was no place like home as they regretted the hardship experienced in an attempt to seek greener pastures.

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Again, 253 repatriated from Libya - Daily Trust

Air strike kills five in southern Libya’s Sabha: medical source – Reuters

BENGHAZI, Libya An air strike on a prison has killed five people in a Libyan desert town where armed factions have been fighting along a strategic route from the southern border region to the capital Tripoli, a medical source said on Tuesday.

No one claimed responsibility for the strike in Sabha, but forces aligned with a U.N.-backed government in Tripoli control a desert air base there that previously came under air attack from rivals allied with eastern commander Khalifa Haftar.

Two guards and three prisoners were killed in the strike on the prison in Sabha and four other people were wounded early on Tuesday, the medical source said.

The North African OPEC state slipped into turmoil after the 2011 civil war that ended Muammar Gaddafi's rule. It has been plagued since by fighting between rival political leaders backed by their military factions, each claiming legitimacy.

The southern front line has focused on control around the Tamanhent air base 30 km (19 miles) northeast of Sabha. The fighting risks escalating into the first major confrontation between forces tied to the Government of National Accord (GNA) and Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA).

Haftar is aligned with a former eastern parliament and government that have rejected the GNA since it arrived in the capital Tripoli, in the far west of the country, more than a year ago as part of U.N. efforts to stabilize Libya.

His forces have been extending their control along Libya's central Mediterranean coast and southwards into the desert regions of Jufra and Sabha. He says they also intend to take over Tripoli though some analysts doubt his military strength.

Tamanhent is controlled by a force from Misrata, a militarily powerful western city that has backed the GNA.

Since 2014, loose military alliances based in the east and west of Libya have been engaged in intermittent conflict and the Western-backed GNA has struggled to extend its control even in Tripoli, where rival militia factions operate.

(Reporting by Ayman Al-Warfalli in Benghazi and Ahmed Elumami in Tripoli; writing by Patrick Markey; editing by Mark Heinrich)

CARACAS Venezuelan security forces fired scores of tear gas volleys and turned water cannons on rock-throwing protesters on a bridge in Caracas on Wednesday as the death toll from this month's anti-government unrest hit at least 29.

ANKARA Turkish authorities said they had arrested more than a thousand "secret Imams" who had infiltrated police forces on behalf of a U.S.-based cleric accused by President Tayyip Erdogan of trying to topple him last July.

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Air strike kills five in southern Libya's Sabha: medical source - Reuters