Archive for the ‘Libya’ Category

Constitution Drafting Assembly member slams deliberate negligence to Libya’s constitution – Libyan Express

Member of the Constitution Drafting Assembly (CDA), Nadia Omran

The member of the Constitution Drafting Assembly (CDA) Nadia Omran, has revealed that there is a deliberate negligence for the swift completion of the Libyan constitution, which she said would be the best solution for Libyas current status quo, if completed.

Omran told Press Solidarity on Thursday that the CDA are having a close look at the current talks about the holding of presidential and parliamentary elections in the near future.

The Head of the Presidential Council of the UN-brokered Government of National Accord, Fayez Al-Serraj, and other leaders of rival Libyan governments, had reportedly agreed to hold both the presidential and parliamentary elections in Libya in 2018, a spokesman of the Egyptian Armed Forces said Wednesday.

The government must provide the CDA with the needed support to help it finish the constitution draft and then deliver to the people for polls. Omran added.

She also said that after the polling, Libya would be able to have a permanent constitution, after which presidential and parliamentary elections can legally take place.

We need to let go with the idea of creating transitional bodies as we have so many of them governing now in Libya, we need to have a constitutional permanent body. She concluded.

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Constitution Drafting Assembly member slams deliberate negligence to Libya's constitution - Libyan Express

Libya still in the mire as another anniversary passes – New Vision

Ordinary Libyans are showing little enthusiasm for the anniversary

Libyans wait to enter a bank in the capital Tripoli on Valentines Day. AFP Photo

Libya's transition has been bogged down by insecurity and chaos, leaving the country looking like a "failed state" six years after the NATO-backed uprising that ended Moamer Kadhafi's rule.

"We got rid of one dictator only to see 10,000 others take his place," said Fatma al-Zawi, a Tripoli housewife, bemoaning the multitude of warlords and militias which have run the North African country since the armed revolt which erupted in mid-February 2011.

Ordinary Libyans are showing little enthusiasm for the anniversary, which the authorities plan to mark on Thursday with cultural and sporting events in Martyrs' Square in the capital.

Living conditions have deteriorated badly through a combination of insecurity, power cuts, water shortages, a cash crunch and the plunging value of the Libyan dinar.

Libya's executive and legislative branches have been paralysed by fierce rivalries between political movements, ideologies and tribes.

"The protagonists have not understood that no single ideological branch or political or tribal clan can govern the country on its own" in the post-Kadhafi era, said Rachid Khechana, director of the Mediterranean Centre for Libyan Studies in Tunis.

"This is why the country is not ready for 'classic' democratic competition" through elections, he said.

In the absence of a strong regular army, the oil-rich country with long, porous borders has turned into rich terrain for smugglers of arms and people from sub-Saharan Africa desperate to reach Europe via perilous Mediterranean crossings.

Jihadists fill void

Also stepping into the void have been jihadists, especially the Islamic State group which has seized swathes of Libya, although it was expelled in December from its bastion of Sirte, a city on the Mediterranean.

Hopes for a recovery and return to an era of security raised by a Government of National Accord (GNA), set up under a December 2015 agreement brokered by the United Nations and signed in Morocco, proved short-lived.

It set up shop in Tripoli in March 2016 but has failed to extend its authority, even in the capital which is controlled by dozens of militias of shifting allegiances.

The authority of the GNA headed by Fayez al-Sarraj is challenged by a rival administration in east Libya, much of which is under the control of armed forces commanded by controversial Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.

The general in his 70s was overlooked in the Morocco accord but has returned to the forefront with his forces' capture of four oil terminals in the east from which most of Libya's lifeline oil is exported.

Haftar, a sworn foe of Islamist militants, is accused by detractors of aiming to establish a new military dictatorship and has so far failed to woo Western support.

But a rapprochement with Russia and the backing he enjoys from regional states such as Egypt and the United Arab Emirates are prompting the international community to review its position.

The UN envoy to Libya, Martin Kobler, said last week that talks had made progress on "possible amendments" to the December 2015 agreement, and notably on a future role for the military strongman.

Prospects of 'failed state'

But analysts remain sceptical over the prospects for Libya to avoid becoming a "failed state".

"It's now been six years that the international community is trying to impose a democratic, united government when there is nothing on which they can build it," said Federica Saini Fasanotti, an analyst with the Washington-based Brookings Institution.

"Libyans must decide whether their country will become a newSomalia, or whether they'll make difficult choices to steer it in a different direction," she said.

Fasanotti stressed that "not a single remotely unifying political leader has emerged for the country".

Claudia Gazzini of the International Crisis Group was also downbeat, ruling out any major political or military settlement in 2017.

"Whether or not this state of suspended animation marks the beginning of Libya as a 'failed state' depends primarily on its economic standing," she said.

"The risk of a further deterioration of the country's economy is real despite the uptick in oil production," which has climbed to 700,000 barrels per day, was her bleak assessment.

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Libya still in the mire as another anniversary passes - New Vision

Libya’s Oil Production Is Unlikely To Increase Further For 2017 – Seeking Alpha

According to the latest secondary sources, Libya's oil production has climbed from ~350k b/d last year to ~650k to ~700k b/d in January. The return in Libya's oil production is attributed to the production increase from the west, El Feel and Sharara. We covered this topic here.

With Libya's oil production sitting comfortably around 700k b/d, there are doubts as to whether Libya can continue to increase its oil production past 700k b/d. The first sign of tension is still geopolitics, as the tensions between the West and the East in Libya - along with conflicts with militias - make additional capital investments into Libya's oil infrastructure unlikely. Also, Libya's oil production is reaching current capacity as infrastructure constraints start to impact production and exports. And additional capital will be needed if Libya is to reinvigorate its aged oil fields.

This is what Energy Aspects recently said about Libya's oil production:

The biggest gain came from Libya, up by 40 thousand b/d to 0.62 mb/d (EA: +30 thousand b/d to 0.61 mb/d) due to the restart of the 0.30 mb/d Sharara field during the month. The field continued to ramp up gradually in January, taking Libyan output above 0.70 mb/d early in the month, although bad weather disrupting loadings, a lack of storage, and power outages briefly reduced it to 0.66 mb/d mid-month. Political tensions remain high, which is likely to prompt further disruptions in the coming months.

The estimates we've currently seen peg Libya's oil production to stagnate in the coming months, declining from an average of 600k b/d to 400k b/d from Q2 and onward. The quick ramp up in production will be met with operational difficulties. Unless geopolitical tension eases in Libya, we won't likely see capital return back to the country, and infrastructure constraints and natural production decline will eat into its 680k b/d production.

We do not expect Libya to increase oil production further from here.

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Libya's Oil Production Is Unlikely To Increase Further For 2017 - Seeking Alpha

163 stranded Nigerians arrive Lagos airport from Libya (photos) – NAIJ.COM

No fewer than 163 Nigerians who have been stranded in Libya voluntarily returned to the country on Tuesday, February 14.

Nigerian returnees from Libya on arrival at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos Photo credit: Daily Trust

Their return was facilitated by the International Oganisation for Migration (IOM), following the federal governments request for its assistance after confirming that some Nigerians were willing to return home.

Daily Trust reports that aircraft conveying the returnees landed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) around 3:30pm.

READ ALSO: 92 immigrants deported from US to Africa

Three of the deportees require medical care Photo credit: Daily Trust

They were received at the Hajj terminal by the National Emergency Management Agency, (NEMA).

The returnees comprised of 92 adult females; 62 adult males; seven children, and two infants.

Addressing newsmen, the director general of NEMA, Alhaji Mohammed Sidi, represented by the deputy director, Search and Rescue, Dr. Abdullahi Onimode, said the deportees would be given some token to go back to their respective destinations.

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They voluntarily returned from Libya Photo Credit: Daily Trust

Some of the deportees who appeared trumatised said they will never leave Nigeria again.

A month ago, 140 Nigerians were deported from Libya and were received at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos by the South-West coordinator of NEMA, Dr. Onimode Bamdele.

Three weeks ago, the Nigerian government warned citizens against going to Libya for now following the purported killing of black immigrants in the country.

See more photos below.

Their return was facilitated by the International Organization of Migration (IOM) Photo credit: Daily Trust

Elated Nigerian returnee in prayer mood on arrival Photo credit: Daily Trust

Another elated Nigerian giving praises on arrival Photo credit: Daily Trust

One of the deportees being assisted

The deported Nigerians assembled at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos

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163 stranded Nigerians arrive Lagos airport from Libya (photos) - NAIJ.COM

Libya repatriates nearly 200 migrants to Niger – News24

Tripoli - Libya on Tuesday repatriated nearly 200 illegal migrants from Niger who had been held in detention centres in the capital, an AFP photographer said.

They were flown home from Mitiga airport east of Tripoli, in coordination with the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Hosni Abu Ayana, a spokesperson for Libya's office that deals with illegal migrants, said the repatriated group included 50 women and four children.

He added that more than 900 other detained migrants will be repatriated in the coming weeks.

The IOM website said that in 2016, the organisation "supported 1 589 migrants to voluntarily return to their countries of origin" from Libya, giving priority to "the most vulnerable".

People smugglers have taken advantage of the chaos gripping Libya since the 2011 revolution to greatly boost their lucrative trade.

Most departures take place from the west of the North African country, usually heading for Italy 300km away across the Mediterranean.

Europeans are considering measures aimed at blocking the arrival of thousands of migrants, alarming NGOs which fear those stranded in Libya may suffer mistreatment.

In the absence of an army or a regular police force in Libya, several militias act as coastguards but are often accused themselves of complicity or even involvement in the people-smuggling business.

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Libya repatriates nearly 200 migrants to Niger - News24