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The Islamic State militant group (ISIS) forced nurses to treat its fighters in the coastal Libyan city of Sirte and provided them with courses in nursing and emergency care, a Filipina nurse said Monday.

The group occupied the hometown of deposed dictator Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi for more than a year, before militias allied to the U.N.-backed government in Libyaousted the group in December after a month-long battle.

In Sirtes recapture, authorities freed the nurse and six other women, some of whom were medical colleagues, alongside a man and a 10-month-old child.

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The Filipino nurses were already working in the Libyan city when ISIS overran the coastal hub in June 2015.

The radical militants imprisoned the nurses, but upon discovering they were Muslim, released themon condition that they residein the citys main hospital to provide medical care and teaching to wounded fighters. Thisincluded basic measures on how to give first-aid to their fellow jihadists, according to the unidentified medical worker.

When they found out we were Muslim they released us but under a strict condition that we will have to work as nurses in their hospital and we had to train ISIS on emergency care and nursing course, the nurse told reporters in Tripoli, Libyas capital, Reuters reported.

It was a horrible time. Each day we lived in fear. We didn't know what was going to happen next. And they threatened to kill us if we left Sirte.

Read more: ISIS loses Libya's Sirte, the only city it controlled outside Iraq and Syria

ISIS held several foreign hostages in the city, where it had imposed its brutal brand of ultra conservative Islam, hanging residents from lampposts, lashing and crucifying dissenters and imposing extortionate taxes on the population it controlled to instil an environment of fear. It also killed Dutch photojournalist Jeroen Oerlemans as the battle for the city raged. Libyan forces say they freed at least five other foreign hostages: two Turkish nationals, two Indians and one Bangladeshi.

The extremist group capitalized on the five years of instability in Libya after the NATO-led ousting of Qaddafi in 2011 at the height of the Arab Spring. But several opposing forces have since beaten the group back in what had become its North African hub outside of its self-styled caliphate in Iraq and Syria.

While militias allied to the Tripoli-based, U.N.-backed government fight the group, so to are the forces of General Khalifa Haftar, who presides over what he calls the Libyan National Army, a fighting force allied to a rival government in eastern Libya.

The U.S. military has conducted airstrikes against the group near the western Libyan town of Sabratha, where it has established training camps in close proximity to the porous Tunisian border. French and British special forces have also been reported to operate in the country, aiding the different factions fighting ISIS.

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ISIS Forced Philippine Nurses to Treat Militants in Libya's Sirte - Newsweek

Tripoli - The head of Libya's embattled unity government Fayez al-Sarraj will visit Moscow this week, a government source said on Monday, after a key rival sought to build ties with Russia.

A source from the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) said Sarraj would begin a visit to Moscow on Thursday, without providing further details.

The visit comes as Libya continues to be submerged in chaos, six years after the ouster and killing of longtime dictator Moammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed armed uprising.

Sarraj's fragile GNA, formed under a UN-backed deal signed in late 2015, has struggled to impose its authority, particularly in eastern Libya where a rival administration holds sway.

Military strongman Khalifa Haftar is aligned with the rival administration and commands the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army which is battling jihadists and controls key oil export terminals.

In November Haftar travelled to Moscow to seek support for an end to a UN arms embargo and in January visited a Russian aircraft carrier off the coast of Libya.

Earlier this month, dozens of his fighters were flown to Russia for medical treatment.

Analysts believe that Russia, emboldened by its military success in Syria, is seeking a foothold in oil-rich Libya with support for Haftar.

On February 14 Russia tried to mediate a meeting between Sarraj and Haftar in Cairo, but the bid fell through.

Sarraj's visit also comes after Russian oil giant Rosneft and Libya's National Oil Corporation last week signed a deal to explore possible cooperation in various fields, including exploration and production.

Mattia Toaldo, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said the agreement was "a good example of Russia's options in Libya".

"Russians could provide military support to Haftar but they would risk an indefinite escalation that would jeopardise their interests," said Toaldo.

"It is much more convenient for them to emphasise their political role as mediators between Sarraj and Haftar while deepening their business and military presence," he added.

Toaldo said he expected Sarraj to seek Russia's support for a review of the deal which paved the way for the GNA's creation.

The aim, he said, would be for Russia to persuade Haftar to support the GNA in exchange for a bigger role on the political scene.

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Libya PM heading to Moscow to seek better ties - News24

Some of the returnees last week at MMIA

Within two weeks this month, more than 300 young Nigerians were repatriated from Libya in two batches by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in collaboration with the Nigerian embassy in Libya. These are just the latest groups in an exercise that has reportedly been on for the past 14 months. In some cases, the returnees have acted voluntarily; in others, they have been forced out of the country by Libyan authorities. In every case, however, the returnees have nothing but tales of woe and expressions of regret for their decision to leave their country in search of the so-called, and as it has turned out, elusive, greener pasture.

One lady spoke of being sold to a connection home where she, and others were forced to work or suffer inhuman punishment; another who returned with a four-month pregnancy complained of repeated rape by Libyan security officials. Those who were lucky to find work at all eventually lost their savings in the confusion of arrest, detention, and eventual deportation. In sum, frustrated but hopeful young Nigerians who mustered the courage to seek their fortune outside these shores only to return in hopelessness.

Certainly, the repeated mistreatment of Nigerians in foreign lands continually puts theembassies in bad light as derelict in the most basic of their responsibilities. Notwithstanding the understandablelimitations that they face, notably funding, it is important to state that the missionscan only justify their presence and value if they meet theconstitutionally stipulatedpurpose ofany government which is toprotect the security and welfare of Nigerians wherever they are.

Talk can indeed be cheap in the mouth of a person whose yam has been roasted for him by the gods. This is particularly so among people in government. But the point must be quickly established:these returnees were not foolish. They were unhappy and frustrated in their fatherland. With no help coming from incompetent, corruption-ridden governments at all levels, they decided to take their destiny in their hands, for good or for ill. These people have gone in search of greener pasture. However, it turned out to be a terrible experience for them.They shouldnt be ashamed of themselves. This statement from the government is very apt and re-assuring.

Indeed the returnees are not ashamed of themselves; they are ashamed of their country. And every one should be. Everyone, but especially those who havebeen part offormulating,and implementing policies atgovernment level should be doubly ashamedthatthis Nigeria, blessed withunbelievable variety ofnatural resources, with exceptionalpeople whoexcel phenomenallywhen exposed to otherclimes, is in so sorry a state.In truth, the grass in other countries is hardly greener than here. Butthe managers of the affairs of these other countrieshave done a farbetter jobthan the persons who have runNigeriain thelastfour decades.By every yardstick to compare, every country that started out on the path of self-governance in the same year as Nigeria has left Nigeria behind. Nigerias youths who flock Libya en route Europe or some other greener pasture cannot be blamed for this. On the other hand they may be blamed for a particular form of ignorance. In a manner of speaking, the grass in other places is greener by a deliberate act of the people who stay to nurture it. Nigeria will not improve by the act of running away from it. No.

The mostefficaciousway to open up the Nigerianspace for maximumproductivity in all areas, of course, is to practice a true form of federalism thatenablesthefederating units to harnesstheirown resources in order to develop their areas and liberate their peoples respective creative and productive energies. In a country where the federating states possess somuch human and natural resources, there will be no shortage of opportunities for the citizens as each unit leverages on its area of comparative advantage and all engage in a healthy rivalry for development. It happened before, in the days of the regions. That done, foreigners would be finding their way to Nigeria instead of Nigerians seeking their fortune away from home.

1 day ago Opinion

1 day ago Opinion

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From Libya with woes - Guardian

A Societe Generale SA executive will have his testimony in a Libyan bribery lawsuit heard in secret because of the risk he may incriminate himself in a U.S. criminal probe.

Judge Nigel Teare refused a request by head of sales for global markets Marc El Asmar to escape testifying,according to the bankers attorneys, who said on Monday that his inclusion in the trial carries the threat of foreign incrimination. Hell give evidence in private when the trial starts later this year.

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The bank is being sued by the Libyan Investment Authority, which alleges billion-dollar investment deals with the French lender were tainted by bribery and intimidation of Libyan officials. The London lawsuit is running in parallel with a separate U.S. Justice Department investigation. A DOJ subpoena issued to the bank named El Asmar, making it more likely he will be included in the probe, his lawyer Alex Bailin said at a pre-trial hearing Monday.

Even if his testimony was not used as evidence in criminal trial, it may be used to shape the DOJs investigation, Bailin said. Any questions may expose him to the real risk of incrimination in the U.S.

Societe Generale said in its 2015 annual report that it is co-operating with American authorities and denies allegations of wrongdoing in relation to the Libya deals. The bank has reviewed more than 600,000 documents and audio files for the investigation. Murray Parker, a London-based spokesman for Societe Generale, declined to comment.

Libyas $60 billion sovereign-wealth fund is suing the French lender to recoup losses from derivative deals dating to the rule of former leader Moammar Qaddafi. The LIA also sued Goldman Sachs Group Inc. but lost its case in October when a London judge ruled the fund hadnt been misled.

Having his evidence heard in private combined with my client being forced to testify under threat of contempt would offer some protection against U.S. prosecution, Bailin said. Even so, the DOJ has already sought information from the U.K. Serious Fraud Office that is covered by a court confidentiality order and may do so again, he added.

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SocGen Banker to Give Secret Testimony in Libya Bribery Case - Bloomberg

Tobruk-based House of Representatives on Monday to select a new dialogue team to represent it in the forthcoming Libyan political dialogue meetings.

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Former regime officer Omer Salem Ishkal was in the besieged neighbourhood of Ganfouda, Benghazi on Tuesday, Saraya Media has reported.

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Derna Shura fighters said today that theyhad repelled an attack by Dignity Operation forces in Dahr Al-Homir in south Derna. Two Shura fighters and four Dignity militants were wounded in the clashes whichtook place in the early hours of the day.

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Algerian Minister for Maghreb, African Union and Arab League Affairs Abdelkader Messahel said his country has adopted a roadmap from three points to resolve the Libyan political crisis to be discussed in next months Libya meeting of Algerian,EgyptianandTunisianforeign ministers.

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Qatari Foreign MinisterMohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thanirecived in Doha a delegation of military officers from the western region of Libya, in addition to elders from the city of Misrata. The meeting discussed the Libyan political stalemate and ways of resolvingit.

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2 Dignity Operation militants were killed in clashes against Benghazi Shura Council for the control of the remaining 12 residential buildings in Ganfouda district in western Benghazi.

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Head of UN-installed Presidency Council Fayaz Sirraj told the 34thUnited Nations Human Rights Council(UNHRC) meeting in Geneva that some illegitimate Libyan parties are trying to militarize the country and bring dictatorship back to the country by banning Libyan nationals from travelling without security permit.

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The head of the Public Services Company in Derna, Talal Al-Hinsher, announced today a full stoppage of the cleaning work in the city due to the lack of fuel for garbage trucks. The so-called Omar Al-Mukhtar Military Operations Room of Dignity Operation has been besieging Derna for months, disallowing cash, cooking gas, fuel, medicines and other basic needs from entering the city.

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The Libyan medical contract workers staged a sit-in in Tripoli's Algeria Square on Monday to demand their unpaid salaries for three years.

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The Commission of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides of Benghazi marked yesterday its 63th anniversary by holding a ceremony in Sulaiman Darrat sports compound where it honored some of the most important figures in the history of the commission.

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Tripoli Medical Reference Laboratory said it will stop the performance of viral screening until further notice because of the shortage of the equipment and materials needed for it.

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The Public Company for Land Transport said that it will reopen its oil terminals trips as of tomorrow when it launches the first trip to Ras Lanuf, adding that the resumption of the trips from Tripoli to Benghazi and vice versa will take place very soon.

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The municipality of Tarhuna (90 Km southeast Tripoli) said that the official opening of Sharshara Tourist Park will take place tomorrow, calling on people from all Libyan cities to come to Tarhuna to witness the event.

Link:
News Roundup - Tue, Feb 28, 2017 - The Libya Observer