Mediaboss Marketing

Tripoli - Libyan unity government chief Fayez al-Sarraj said on Thursday a "precious opportunity" had been missed when his rival, military strongman Khalifa Haftar, refused to meet him for Egypt-backed talks this week.

Sarraj said Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, whose forces control much of eastern Libya, had refused to meet him on Tuesday in Cairo "without justification or reason".

The parties had missed "another precious opportunity that we hoped would be the beginning of a solution to the state of division and suffering" in Libya, he said in a statement.

"Intransigent political stances and oversized egos" were preventing a resolution to the conflict, he said.

Libya has been submerged in chaos since the fall of longtime dictator Moammar Gaddafi in 2011.

A UN-backed deal signed in Morocco in late 2015 gave birth to Sarraj's fragile unity government based in Tripoli, but gave Haftar no role in Libya's future.

The Government of National Accord has since struggled to impose its authority across the country, particularly in the east where a rival administration holds sway, backed by Haftar's forces.

The controversial head of the self-styled Libyan National Army has established himself as a key player, especially after seizing the country's key oil terminals in September.

Last week, UN envoy Martin Kobler said that negotiations on "possible amendments" to the 2015 accord had been underway for two months.

The Egyptian army hosted Sarraj and Haftar in Cairo this week for talks. They were set to meet but Sarraj said they did not meet face to face.

The army announced on Wednesday that the two sides had agreed to form "a joint committee" to come up with amendments to the deal that set up the unity government.

But Sarraj said the talks had "failed".

Haftar's rivals accuse him of wanting to establish a military dictatorship in Libya.

The foreign ministry in Tunis said on Wednesday that the chief diplomats of Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt would meet on March 1 in the Tunisian capital to discuss the Libyan crisis.

24.com encourages commentary submitted via MyNews24. Contributions of 200 words or more will be considered for publication.

See the rest here:
Libya PM regret 'missed opportunity' to meet rival - News24

Western and southern military delegations visited Algeria and met with Abdelkader Messahel, the Algerian Maghreb Affairs Minister to discuss resolving the Libyan political crisis. The foreign ministry in Algeria said the meeting is part of Algerias efforts to bring together the Libyan conflicting parties together into a united government.

____________________

The Minister of the Local Governing at the UN-proposed government discussed with his Tunisian counterpart the obstacles faced by the travelers crossing Ras Ajdair border between Libya and Tunisia, reported an official accompanying the minister on the visit.

____________________

Libyan Businesspersons Council protested the standard customs tariffs decision that was issued by the Presidential Council regarding tapping 100% tariffs on the imported goods, saying the procedure would raise the cost of the goods and will affect the citizens. It demanded the PC to reconsider the decision.

____________________

After 15-hour flight from Egypt to Ethiopia then to Kenyas capital, Nairobi, Al-Hilal team arrived to play Kenyas Ulinzi Stars for the second leg match of the 64-round of the CAF Confederation Cup. Al-Hilal won the first leg match 1-0.

____________________

A source from the High Council of State said what took place in Cair meetings was just proposals and ideas aiming at ending the political stalemate in Libya, calling on the UN and the Security Council to stop the support of some regional countries for the Speaker of the HoR, Aqilah Saleh and Khalifa Haftar, who are impeding the political agreement.

____________________

Mustafa Al-Sherksi, the leader in the Defend Benghazi Brigades, said the body of the pilot Ibrahim Al-Dersi, who was killed by the downing of the helicopter last Friday, is still with them and they wont hand it over to Haftars forces unless they allow a safe corridor for the families that are still trapped in Ganouda.

____________________

The member of the NOC, Jadallah Al-Okli, said Libyas oil output is expected to increase from 700.000 bpd to 1.2 million bpd by August 2017, adding that Al-Feel oilfields resumption of production in southwestern Libya in a month to come can add 75.000 bpd to the current rates.

____________________

GECOLs media office said the load shedding policy has ended and the general power network has become stable after new power units joined the network and after the demand for power had shrunk with the warming of weather conditions. GECOL said Thursday new units were connected to the power network.

____________________

Libya Post Office said it had deducted the costs of the mailing services by 30% to Turkey, Jordan, Sudan and Tunisia for a week to come starting next Saturday to celebrate the sixth anniversary of the Libyan 17 February revolution.

____________________

A high-ranking official at the banking sector in Egypt confirmed that Egypt is negotiating with Libya the delay of payment for the Libyan deposit at the Egyptian Central Bank, which is worth 2 billion dollars without saying what party is negotiating the delay, the parallel or the Tripoli-based CBL.

See the original post:
News Roundup - Thu, Feb 16, 2017 - The Libya Observer

BRUSSELS NATO said on Thursday it had received a new and detailed request from Libya's U.N.-backed government to train and develop its military, depleted by years of conflict and facing an Islamist militant threat as well as division among Libyan militias.

As the West and neighboring Egypt seek to stabilize Libya, NATO has offered support to the Tripoli-based government but a request from Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Seraj in May last year was seen as too broad.

Seraj's Government of National Accord (GNA) has been trying to formulate plans for unified Libyan security forces since arriving in Tripoli in March, but has made little progress in asserting its authority over rival factions. It is unclear if an Egyptian-brokered roadmap can help heal divisions between Seraj and Khalifa Haftar, a powerful eastern-based military commander.

Now NATO has a detailed call for help from Seraj, official said.

"We have said for some time that we are ready to help Libya, but any assistance has to be based on a request from the Libyan government. This is the request we received yesterday," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference.

"Training local forces is one of the best weapons in the fight against terrorism and building stability," he later told defense ministers meeting in Brussels.

The call for help follows European Union efforts to work with Seraj to curb an expected surge in people taking to boats to Europe from Libya as the weather improves in the Mediterranean.

NATO officials said the U.S.-led alliance will need time to respond to the government in Tripoli to decide on specific steps. NATO, which has experience training troops in Afghanistan, is being asked to develop a Libyan defense ministry with a chief of defense and intelligence-gathering capabilities.

"It is extremely important to have a ministry of defense, a (military) command and chief of staffs because Libya needs that framework to develop forces and stabilize the country," Stoltenberg said.

He said NATO could work either in or outside Libya. The EU is already training the Libyan coastguard in Italy and in international waters off North Africa.

Just 480 km (300 miles) from Europe's coast, Libya's slide into anarchy has made it an outpost for Islamist militants and a staging post for sub-Saharan African migrants aided by smugglers.

But the failure of the West's 2011 intervention still weighs on Western officials, even as the United States urges Europe to take a bigger role in securing the region.

Germany did not support the U.N. resolution to allow the air campaign that led to the ouster and death of Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi, while Russia has accused NATO of overstepping its brief to use "all necessary measures" to protect Libyan civilians.

(Editing by Louise Ireland)

KUALA LUMPUR Malaysian police made a third arrest on Thursday in their hunt for the people involved in the murder of the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

JERUSALEM Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right political allies hailed on Thursday a shift in U.S. support for a Palestinian state and shrugged off a call by President Donald Trump to curb Israeli settlements on occupied land.

BONN, Germany Russia does not interfere in other countries' interior affairs, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday at the start of his first meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

View post:
Libya sends new request for military training to NATO | Reuters - Reuters

Ross Kemp has revealed his hopes for his latest documentary Libyas Migrant Hell, which concludes his current Sky One series Extreme Worlds.

The actor-turned-journalist and his crew were the first Western filmmakers to travel to across Libyas desert and track the journeys migrants make before arriving at the Mediterranean sea, and speaking on BUILD, he explained why he hopes to change the publics perception of migrants.

Sky

When asked if this was one of his specific aims when making the episode, he said: Yes, people have said to me - because I said we have an obligation to try and help these people - they say, Is that because of Britain taking part in the bombing of Libya?

But its not really about that. Its about the fact that if youre a human being, youre a human being.

If you see someone fall over on the road, I would try and pick them up. If I drove past a car accident and saw someone in distress, I would stop.

So I dont think its about the fact that were British or were not British, its about the fact that were human being.

John Phillips via Getty Images

You could see yourself being them, and I think thats what comes through the film. They talk in a very normal, understandable way, theyre not the fiends that theyve been portrayed as in some areas of the media, or the hordes that some politicians have called them.

A number of detractors have already tweeted Ross asking why hes made the documentary, and when asked about his hopes for what these early critics might take away from tuning in, he replied: [To] understand the problem, before you make rush judgements about migration.

Listen to these people and try to understand them, and then, as human beings hopefully we can come to a solution.

Ross Kemp: Libyas Migrant Hell airs on Sky One on Tuesday 21 February.

MYTELENE, GREECE - MARCH 12: Volunteers and Lifeguards help an inflatable boat with refugees, crossing the sea from Turkey to Lesbos, some 5 kilometres south of the capital of the Island, on March 12, 2016 in Mytelene, Greece. Migrants and refugees are still arriving on the shores of the Island of Lesbos, while the multinational force of the Standing NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) Maritime Group 2 are patrolling the coast of the Greek Island of Lesbos and the Turkish coast. Turkey announced on Monday to take back illegal migrants in exchange for genuine refugees. (Photo by Alexander Koerner/Getty Images)

Alexander Koerner via Getty Images

Read more here:
Ross Kemp Explains Why He Hopes His Libya Documentary Changes Perceptions Of Migrants - Huffington Post UK

Friday marks the beginning of the seventh year of the 17 February 2011 revolution, in which all Libyans across the country revolted on the dictatorship regime of Muamar Gaddafi calling for freedom and democracy.

All the Libyancities are preparing ceremonial activities across the country to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the revolution in public squares andsignificant roads and locations around the country.

The revolution torch was seen on Thursday relaying from one district to another and from one neighborhood to another, especially in Misrata, Tajura, and Tripoli.

The municipality of Tripoli has been preparing the Martyrs Square in downtown the city for an outstanding ceremony of the sixth anniversary for days and tomorrow, it expects that thousands of Libyans from everywhere will gather in the landmark square to chant support and joy for the 17 February revolution.

In line with bringing happiness to Libyans in good times as these of the revolution anniversary, the Libyan Salvation Government of the General National Congress, headed by Khalifa Al-Ghweil, inaugurated the reopening of the Tripoli International Airport on Thursday amid a ceremony celebrating the anniversary of the revolution in the presence of several officials and businesspersons as well as revolutionary fighters.

The rest is here:
Sixth Anniversary of Libyans' 17 February Revolution - The Libya Observer