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Cairo - Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry discussed the conflicts in Libya and Syria as they met in Cairo on Monday, the foreign ministry there said.

Lavrov and Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu were also due to meet President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Egypt's defence minister, the foreign ministry in Moscow said.

Lavrov and Shoukry discussed Libya, where rival administrations and militias have fought for control of the oil-rich country since the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed Moammar Gaddafi, the Egyptian statement said.

The meeting comes just days after Egypt carried out air strikes on jihadist training camps in eastern Libya in reprisal for shooting dead 29 Christians in central Egypt. The Islamic State group later claimed the attack.

Forces loyal to east Libya military strongman Khalifa Haftar, who took part in the strikes, said late Friday's raids hit a pro-Al-Qaeda group in the Libyan city of Derna after the attack on Copts in Egypt earlier in the day.

On Monday, Shoukry also praised "Russia's role in the success of the Astana process", the talks in Kazakhstan trying to bring about peace in Syria, and said he hoped it would lead to "a total ceasefire and reinforce political negotiations", the ministry said.

Earlier this month, Damascus allies Russia and Iran as well as rebel supporter Turkey signed a landmark deal to create four "de-escalation" zones across some of Syria's bloodiest battlegrounds.

Lavrov also met Arab League head Ahmed Aboul Gheit, with both men stressing the importance of "working seriously to find political solutions to the crises and armed conflicts in the Arab world", the 22-member bloc said in a statement.

The Russian ministers' visit to Cairo had been planned for weeks as part of regular meetings between the allied countries.

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Tripoli, Libya (CNN)At least 47 people were killed in fierce clashes between rival militias in Libya, the Ministry of Health said.

"Can hear explosions and artillery fire in south Tripoli. Condemn action by these militias who threaten security of Libyans, especially before Ramadan," British Ambassador to Libya, Peter Millett wrote on Twitter.

People were trapped in combat zones, leading the International Committee of the Red Cross to urge all sides of the conflict to help ambulances reach the injured.

In a statement, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, called on "rival groups to stop fighting immediately and put Libyan national interest first."

The clashes, which were mostly reported on the southern neighborhoods in the city, come after a period of relative calm.

Last year, the United Nations hastened the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord in an effort to promote stability.

But it continues to compete with the Islamist-dominated General National Congress in Tripoli, also known as the Government of National Salvation, and with the previous internationally recognized government, the Council of Deputies, which has set up camp in the east of Libya and backs Gen. Khalifa Haftar, the head of the so-called Libyan army.

CNN's Nic Robertson and Sarah Sirgany contributed to this report.

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Rival militias clash in Libyan capital, leaving 47 dead - CNN

The Portland State University Studies program hosted a talk given by one of its mentors, Mohanad Elshieky, on May 17 in Smith Memorial Student Union. The local comedian presented a serious lecture sprinkled with humor called The Road From Libya about living in Benghazi during the Libyan Revolution.

At five years old, the Libyan government killed Elshiekys neighbor and burned his house to the ground. He grew up knowing he couldnt talk about that event or be critical of the government. Anyone could be a government informant and critics would disappear.

Its different because here [in the U.S.] people have suspicions about like, Is the government taping our calls? Elshieky said. But back home it was more like, We are actually listening to every word youre saying, so watch out.

Until Elshieky got internet at home at about 17 or 18, he thought everyones countries were run like his. It was quite eye opening when he realized this wasnt the case.

The Libyan Revolution seemed impossible because Elshieky viewed Gaddafi as untouchable. Elshieky remembers seeing the revolution begin through social media. A Facebook post stated that Feb. 17, 2011 would be the first day of the revolution.

Elshieky recalled how 50100 people took to the streets in Benghazi that day. Many people were arrested or shot. It seemed as though the revolution would be short lived.

Then the next day, on the 18th, I remember my dad woke me up and he was like, Hey, do you wanna go to the courthouse where the people will meet? Elshieky remembers. I was like, Uh, no, its very early in the morning. Tooearly for the fight for freedom. Lets do it during noon or something. But he convinced me, he was like, The internet connection is down. And I was like, Well, I guess we should go then!

That day he saw the new red, black, and green flag that his father told him was the real Libyan flag. That day the revolution actually seemed possible.

I was an activist, in a sense, but to me it was more about doing the right thing, Elshieky said.

During the Libyan Revolution, Elshieky kept busy as a translator for CNN and working for BBC as a war photographer. Elshieky also had a website with other contributors called Alive From Libya, where they broadcast daily to show the world what was happening.

Death became routine, and sometimes the dead were people Elshieky knew. This was the price of the revolution, he believed.

I thought that being emotionless made me brave, Elshieky said.

One morning Elshieky and his father watched a jet being shot out of the sky. Unknown to them at the time, the pilot was his fathers friend.

On Sept. 11, 2012, a peaceful protest was being held at the U.S. Embassy due to a controversial anti-Islamic film released on the internet called The Innocence of Muslims.

The protest turned violent. Elshieky remembers seeing Ansar al-Sharia, an Islamic State Affiliate, drive past the protest. The Embassy was burned down soon after. Nearby civilians took Ambassador Chris Stevens to the hospital where he later died.

Four Americans were killed, seven Libyans were injured that night, Elshieky said. The next day, people in Benghazi took to the streets with signs condemning terrorism. Chris Stevens was a guest at our home and it felt like we betrayed him and failed to protect him.

Elshieky had two loving parents and described his childhood in Libya as being perfectly normal. He watched the Disney Channel, played soccer and went to the beach. Elshieky loved comedy and had Dave Chappelles comedy saved to his computer for easy viewing.

Today, Elshieky wants people to know that the Libyan Revolution was only a small part of his life. When he encounters people here in the U.S., Elshieky wants people to spend less time welcoming him and actually get to know him. He observed how most people only want to talk to him about war and his struggle instead of his interests, which he feels is dehumanizing.

Elshieky feels that most people fall into two categories when finding out he is from Libya. Either they think he is a threat or nothing but a refugee. He feels that feeling like you dont belong is a problem people of color also face in Portland. Elshieky hopes people will spend less time explaining minorities experiences and needs for them and more time asking them.

After this, an older white man stood in front of Elshieky to explain the experiences of immigrants. After this man left, Elshieky commented that this was a perfect example of what not to do.

Shortly after arriving in the U.S., Elshieky began receiving death threats from back in Libya and realized that he probably couldnt go home. His mother told him that she would rather not see him than see him dead.

Due to travel restrictions for those with Libyan passports, Elshieky cannot travel outside the U.S.

Elshieky speaks to his parents every day. Portland Mercury named Elshieky as one of Portlands Geniuses of Comedy. He is planning on relocating to Los Angeles soon to expand the possibilities of his comedy career.

I didnt know the depth of challenges, said Sam Beebe, a fan of Elshiekys comedy. To go through all that and then stand up in front of a crowd and tell jokes?

For more stories about Elshiekys life during the Libyan Revolution, you can check out his blog, The Road From Libya, at MohanadElshieky.wordpress.com

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Alive from Libya, it's Wednesday at noon! - Psuvanguard.com

New York Times

Timeline Shows Manchester Bomber's Family's Deep Ties to Libya New York Times Salman Abedi, who killed 22 people and wounded 116 more when he blew himself up outside an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester on Monday, was born in Britain to a family with deep ties to Libya. His father, Ramadan, had fled Libya in 1991 after ... How Manchester bomber Salman Abedi was radicalised by his links to LibyaThe Guardian Manchester bomber's brother was 'plotting attack on UN envoy in Libya'Telegraph.co.uk Younger brother of Manchester bomber 'plotted terror attack on UN envoy in Libya'The Independent Breitbart News -Center for Research on Globalization -The Guardian -BBC News all 2,022 news articles »

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Timeline Shows Manchester Bomber's Family's Deep Ties to Libya - New York Times

Benghazi - The Libya connection in the May 22 Manchester concert suicide bombing and Friday's attack on Christians in Egypt has shone a light on the threat posed by militant Islamic groups that have taken advantage of lawlessness in the troubled North African nation to put down roots, recruit fighters and export jihadists to cause death and carnage elsewhere.

Libya has been embroiled in violence since a 2011 uprising toppled and killed Moammar Gaddafi.

Vast and oil-rich, Libya currently has rival administrations, an army led by a Gaddafi-era general as well as powerful Islamist militias that compete for territory, resources and political leverage.

At the peak of its power in Libya, the Islamic State group controlled a 160km stretch of Libyan coastline and boasted between 2 000 and 5 000 fighters, many of them from Egypt and Tunisia.

It is that Libya that the alleged Manchester bomber, 22-year-old British citizen Salman Abedi, found when he and his family moved back from Britain after Gaddafi's ouster in 2011.

Monday's bombing left 22 dead, including an 8-year-old girl, and was claimed by ISIS. Abedi's brother Hashim has been taken into custody in Tripoli and, according to Libyan authorities, has confessed that he and Salman were ISIS members.

In Egypt, President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi sent his fighter-jets to bomb militant positions in eastern Libya just hours after ISIS fighters shot dead 29 Christians on their way to a remote desert monastery.

The military said the attackers were trained in Libya.

Egypt also has long complained that weapons smuggled across the porous desert border with Libya have reached militants operating on its soil.

It also has claimed that militants who bombed three Christian churches since December received military training in ISIS bases in Libya.

The Genesis of Libya's Militancy:

Hundreds of Libyan youths answered the call to Jihad in the 1980s, traveling to Afghanistan to fight against the Russians. When they returned home after the war, Many of them wanted Islamic Sharia laws implemented in their country.

They formed underground cells to escape the regime's watchful eyes and unsuccessfully tried to assassinate Gaddafi.

After Gaddafi's fall, veteran jihadists, al-Qaeda sympathisers and Islamists of all shades formed militias that filled the post-Gaddafi power vacuum.

Libya's present woes are rooted in the failure of the very first transitional government to dismantle those militias and integrate them into a national army. Instead, they carved up Libya into fiefdoms.

Where are the militants now?

Darna:

The eastern Libyan city, where militant positions were targeted by Egyptian warplanes on Friday, has historically been a bastion of radical Islamic groups as well as highly respected Islamic scholars.

Extremists made the city their stronghold in the 1980s and 1990s, protected by the rugged terrain of the surrounding Green Mountain range.

It was the main source of Libyan jihadists for the insurgency in Iraq. Entire brigades of Darna natives are known to be fighting in Syria's civil war.

During the 2011 uprising, residents formed the "Abusaleem Martyrs" brigade to fight Gaddafi loyalists. It proved to be one of the most effective rebel outfits.

Its ranks soon later swelled and its fighters seized the city, setting up the Darna Mujahideen Shura Council to replace the local government.

The Islamic State group's Libyan affiliate had a robust presence in Darna, but the ISIS faction eventually fell out with the council and was driven out.

The ISIS fighters relocated to the coastal city of Sirte and Darna remains to this day under the control of the Mujahideen Shura Council.

Benghazi:

Benghazi, Libya's second largest city, was the first to fall under the influence of extremist Islamic militias. Many of those militias were formed to fight the Gaddafi regime in 2011 and were led by radicals, widely viewed as experienced and motivated.

Perhaps the most notorious of the Benghazi militias is Ansar Al-Sharia, blamed for the killings of hundreds of former Libyan soldiers and for the death of the US ambassador in 2012.

For more than two years, the so-called Libyan National Army led by General Khalifa Hifter has battled an alliance of Benghazi's militias. His forces have managed to secure most of the city, except for pockets of a seaside neighborhood, heavily fortified and surrounded by fields of land mines.

Sirte :

Sirte was where Gaddafi and his loyalists made a last stand in the 2011 civil war. The city, Gaddafi's hometown, was almost completely destroyed in the fighting.

Furious over the city's loyalty to Gaddafi, anti-government rebels punished the city's residents with extrajudicial killings and revenge attacks.

In 2013, Sirte fell under the control of Ansar Al- Sharia, which made alliances with local tribes and an uneasy truce with other militias and the small number of remaining army troops.

The group took over a sprawling former Gaddafi compound and boasted its own TV and radio station.

ISIS also slowly infiltrated the city as fighters from countries like Mali, Tunisia, Egypt and Syria moved in and later declared Sirte an ISIS emirate.

Last year, militiamen from Misrata and other localities in western Libya, acting with the support of a UN-backed government in Tripoli, waged a protracted and bloody campaign to drive ISIS militants from Sirte.

When fighting stalled, the government sought support from the United States, which responded with airstrikes that sped up the collapse of ISIS in the city.

ISIS was finally defeated in Sirte and the fighters who survived the carnage fled to the vast deserts to the south.

SEBRATHA:

Sebratha has earned a reputation as a small but tenacious stronghold of Islamic radicals, something that made it easier for ISIS militants to find a foothold there and spawned a lucrative business in human trafficking to Europe.

The city is the main ISIS gateway due to its location near the Tunisian border.

The jumble of various militias have helped ISIS keep a low profile in the city, but a 2016 US airstrike that killed about 40 of the group's operatives highlighted their presence in Sebratha.

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After UK, Egypt attacks, Libya seen as militants' haven - News24