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By Aidan Lewis | MISRATA, Libya

MISRATA, Libya Islamic State militants have shifted to desert valleys and inland hills southeast of Tripoli as they seek to exploit Libya's political divisions after defeat in their former stronghold of Sirte, security officials say.

The militants, believed to number several hundred and described as "remnants" of Islamic State's Libya operation, are trying to foment chaos by cutting power and water supplies and to identify receptive local communities, the officials said.

They are being monitored through aerial surveillance and on-the-ground intelligence, but Libyan officials said they cannot easily be targeted without advanced air power of the kind used by the United States on Jan. 19, when B-2 bombers killed more than 80 militants in a strike southwest of Sirte.

For more than a year, Islamic State exercised total control over Sirte, building its primary North African base in the coastal city. But it struggled to keep a footing elsewhere in Libya and by December was forced out of Sirte after a six-month campaign led by brigades from the western city of Misrata and backed by U.S. air strikes.

The jihadist group lost many of its fighters in the battle and now has no territory in Libya, but fugitive militants and sleeper cells are seen to pose a threat in a country that has been deeply fractured and largely lawless since the 2011 uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi.

The threat is focused south of the coastal strip between Misrata and Tripoli, arcing to the southeast around the town of Bani Walid and into the desert south of Sirte, said Ismail Shukri, head of military intelligence in Misrata.

One group of 60-80 militants is operating around Girza, 170 km (105 miles) west of Sirte, another group of about 100 is based around Zalla and Mabrouk oil field, about 300 km southeast of Sirte, and there are reports of a third group present in Al-Uwaynat, close the Algerian border, he said.

Some fighters were based outside Sirte before last year's campaign, some fled during the battle and some have arrived from eastern Libya where they have been largely defeated by rival armed factions.

"They work and move around in small groups. They only use two or three vehicles at a time and they move at night to avoid detection," said Mohamed Gnaidy, an intelligence official with forces that conducted the campaign in Sirte.

Those forces published pictures in the wake of last month's U.S. strike showing hideouts dug into the sand, temporary shelters camouflaged with plastic sheeting and branches, stocks of weapons and satellite phones.

"This area is very difficult so it's hard for our forces to deal with them," said Shukri, pointing to satellite images of steep rocky banks and tracks in the sand southwest of Sirte. "The only solution to eliminate them in this area is through air strikes."

ATTACKS ON INFRASTRUCTURE

Mohamed Gnounou, a Misrata-based air force spokesman, said the militants had been monitored for 45 days ahead of the U.S. strike. "It confirmed a large number of individuals who were preparing something new in this place, as well as developing a strategy to head to new areas." The areas included rural districts near the coastal cities of Al Khoms and Zliten, between Misrata and Tripoli, and the region around the southern city of Sabha, he said.

Islamic State fighters had received logistical help from civilians and had paid some of them to help cut off power and water supplies, including by sabotaging a water link to Tripoli in the Great Man-made River system built by Gaddafi, and attacking electricity infrastructure near the southern city of Sabha, where there have been long blackouts in recent weeks, said Gnounou.

"Daesh (Islamic State) destroyed more than 150km of electricity pylons in the south between Jufra and Sabha. These acts fuel crisis and frustration in Libya, as well as giving an opportunity for gold diggers who smuggle through the open borders and make easy money from Daesh," he said.

Sirte suffered extensive damage during the battle against Islamic State. Military officials from Misrata say they have the city secured and some residents have begun to return to central neighborhoods.

But they also complain about a lack of support from the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli and are nervous about military advances by forces loyal to military commander Khalifa Haftar to the east and south of Sirte.

Haftar, who has rejected the GNA, was on the opposite side to Misrata's brigades in a conflict that flared up across Libya in 2014, just as Islamic State was gaining strength.

Both sides accuse the other of using Islamic State to their advantage, while waging separate campaigns against jihadists.

"The support we are getting is not equivalent to the risk we face or the sacrifice we have made," said Shukri. "We need the political authorities, the (GNA) to continue the next step."

(Additional reporting by Ahmed Elumami; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

BEIJING/WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump changed tack and agreed to honor the "one China" policy during a phone call with China's leader Xi Jinping, a major diplomatic boost for Beijing which brooks no criticism of its claim to self-ruled Taiwan.

MOSCOW Slovenia would be a good place for a first meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, Russia's Vladimir Putin said on Friday, but he said the choice of venue would not be Moscow's alone.

MEXICO CITY, Mexico's home-grown populist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has tapped into wide discontent with the ruling party and resentment toward Donald Trump to make a bid for the center ground, raising his chances of winning the presidency next year.

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Islamic State shifts to Libya's desert valleys after Sirte defeat - Reuters

A military helicopter that was part of the eastern Libya army force commanded by strongman Khalifa Hifter was shot down Friday and contact has been lost with the crew members, an army spokesman said.

Faisal Ahbale told The Associated Press that the helicopter was struck in central Libya, where the air forces waged at least nine airstrikes throughout the day targeting militias known as Benghazi Defense Brigades.

The militias are a mixture of Islamic militants and former rebels who were recently defeated by Hifter's forces in Benghazi, Libya' second largest city. Two months ago, suspected militias struck a military helicopter in Benghazi, but its crew members survived.

Ahbale said that it's not clear yet what kind of weapon was used to down the helicopter.

In a statement carried by al-Nabaa TV network, the militias said that it shot down a helicopter and described the attack as "significant" but declined to give more details on the site of the helicopter. It also said that one of the crew members were killed while the other is still missing.

Ahbale said the militias were advancing toward a key oil field in the hands of the army and called al-Mabrouk, located 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of the so-called Oil Crescent a geographical region along the central part of Libya's Mediterranean Sea coast where most oil terminals are located.

He said five militiamen were killed and 20 wounded.

Libya has descended into chaos since the 2011 civil war, which ended with the killing of the longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. The country has been split into two competing parliaments and governments, and each is back by a set of militias, tribes and political factions.

In 2015, the United Nations in an attempt to seal the rift brokered a peace deal aimed at creating a national unity government. Members arrived in the capital last year but since then have failed to win a crucial vote of confidence from the internationally recognized parliament seated in eastern Libya.

Hifter's army is allied with the parliament and has been engaged in a years-long campaign against Islamic militants, mainly in Benghazi but recently across the eastern region, where the forces have taken control over the oil crescent.

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Army Helicopter Downed in Fighting Near Libyan Oil Field - ABC News

By Ahmed Elumami | TRIPOLI

TRIPOLI Mayors from Libya's desert south to its northern shores fear a deal between Tripoli and Rome to fund migrant holding centers in this north African country will simply shift Europe's migration crisis onto Libyan soil.

The Mediterranean Sea between Libya and Italy has become the main crossing point for asylum seekers and economic migrants seeking a better life in Europe. Last year, Italy recorded its record number of arrivals and many migrants drowned at sea.

The deal foresees European Union money for holding centers in towns and cities along the main human trafficking routes criss-crossing Libya, as well as training and equipment to fight the smugglers.

Reuters contacted Libyan mayors to hear their reactions to the deal, and they were not positive.

"Our priority is to support our own sons instead of allowing for illegal migrants in centers," said Hamed Al-Khyali, mayor of the southern city of Sabha, a migrant smuggling hub.

"If the Europeans want to allow them to stay, they can have them in their own lands, which are larger, but not in Libya, because we have our own problems to take care of."

Libya descended into chaos after the 2011 toppling of long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi, enabling smuggling gangs to develop entrenched networks.

Smugglers typically demand thousands of dollars from migrants for a risky journey across the desert before cramming them onto ill-equipped boats for a perilous crossing of the Mediterranean. An estimated 4,500 migrants drowned in 2016.

The agreement will depend heavily on the cooperation of local authorities along the smuggling routes because the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli exerts little effective control over much of the country.

Several mayors said they were not notified of the accord before it was struck.

The agreement, which has the backing of EU leaders, pledges support for "reception camps" where migrants can be held "until their deportation or their voluntary return to their countries of origin".

Some migrant detention centers already exist in Libya. A U.N. report in December said migrants in Libya were exposed to widespread abuse in the centers, which are generally controlled by armed groups, although some have official status.

The report also said some local officials were collaborating with the smugglers.

'DANGEROUS STEP'

Hussein Thwadi, mayor of the western coastal city of Sabratha, the departure point most frequently used for Mediterranean crossings by smugglers in Libya right now, said keeping migrants in Libya would be a "dangerous step".

"The idea of allowing illegal migrants to stay in Libya and providing good conditions for their livelihood is rejected by Libyans and by the authorities too," Thwadi said.

The migrant crisis was too great for Libyan authorities to handle, the mayor said. "The problem of illegal migration must be solved internationally."

Most migrant-smuggling boats launch from western Libya.

Mayors in the southern towns of Kufra, Murzuq and Ghat also told Reuters by telephone that they were against the agreement for similar reasons.

Authorities in eastern Libya, who oppose the U.N.-backed government and hold sway over swathes of the south used by the human traffickers, this week rejected the Italian-Libyan deal.

Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano on Thursday said this came as no surprise.

"We got ourselves a good deal, but it's not a magic wand, it doesn't mean that tomorrow morning all the problems will be resolved," Alfano told reporters in Rome.

This week the EU said it would try to protect migrants in Libya and increase voluntary repatriations through closer cooperation with the U.N. refugee agency and the International Organization for Migration.

Both agencies have said that Libya should not be considered a safe country to hold migrants and process asylum requests.

The two agencies' heads, together with the U.N. human rights chief and the U.N. Libya envoy, called on Friday for a "comprehensive approach" to tackling migrant and refugee flows in Libya, stressing the need to look at driving factors behind the crisis while "improving regular pathways" for migrants.

(Additional reporting by Antonella Cinelli and Ayman al-Warfalli; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Tom Heneghan)

BEIJING/WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump changed tack and agreed to honor the "one China" policy during a phone call with China's leader Xi Jinping, a major diplomatic boost for Beijing which brooks no criticism of its claim to self-ruled Taiwan.

MOSCOW Slovenia would be a good place for a first meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, Russia's Vladimir Putin said on Friday, but he said the choice of venue would not be Moscow's alone.

MEXICO CITY, Mexico's home-grown populist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has tapped into wide discontent with the ruling party and resentment toward Donald Trump to make a bid for the center ground, raising his chances of winning the presidency next year.

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Libya mayors say Europe's migration crisis should not be dumped on them - Reuters

ByStephen Beard

February 09, 2017 | 8:33 AM

Alongside its debt crisis, the European Union has been grappling with another major problem: unwanted migration. Last year, more than a million men, women and children refugees and irregular, economic migrants poured into the bloc, putting a big strain on public services and leading to the re-imposition of border controls between some of the member states. A deal between the EU and Turkey eventually reduced to a trickle the flow of incomers from the east, but the influx from North Africa is increasing, and with tragic consequences. Of the tens of thousands of migrants who reached Europe from the south after paying smugglers to get them across the Mediterranean, 4,500 perished in the attempt.

In a bid to stop this human traffic and save lives, the EU has now offered a second deal, this time with Libya.

The deal emerged from a recent summit of EU leaders in Malta and represents a new and controversial way of curbing migration. British Prime Minister Theresa May, who took part in the summit, described the initiative as a comprehensive and coordinated approach to tackling one of the biggest challenges facing Europe.

The leaders agreed to pour millions of euros into beefing up the Libyan coast guard to stop people smugglers and to step up search and rescue operations. But far more controversially, the EU also offered to set up and fund refugee camps in southern Libya where people who are trying to reach Europe could be held and have their asylum claims processed. Human rights groups are aghast.

If Europe is admitting that it will struggle to meet the needs of refugees, how on earth can it expect a country, which barely has a functioning government, to do it?" asked Nick Dearden of the Global Justice campaign group.

This is not about saving migrant lives. This is simply about giving some money probably a lot of it will be taken from the aid budget to keep people where they are and push that burden onto other countries, he said.

The United Nations Human Rights Rapporteur has also entered the fray over the EUs new deal. Professor Francois Crepeau accused the European Council of pandering to anti-immigrant feeling for political reasons in order to stave off any populist backlash in the upcoming general elections in the Netherlands, France and Germany this year.

No one at the European Council headquarters in Brussels was prepared to comment.

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EU pins hopes on migrant deal with Libya - Marketplace - Marketplace.org

General Khalifa Haftar has refused to recognise the EU deal to stem the migrant influx through Libya. Photograph: Esam Omran Al-Fetori/Reuters

European diplomats are attempting a last-ditch effort to dissuade Russia from helping the renegade military strongman Khalifa Haftar seize overall military power in Libya.

Haftar, the military commander of Libyas eastern government, has sought Moscows help to battle Isis, but European diplomats fear that that he could join what has been described as Vladimir Putins axis of secular authoritarians in the Middle East alongside Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and Egyptian president Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.

The EU is instead hoping Russia possibly in alliance with the US will seek to persuade Haftar to settle for an enhanced military role, but under civilian command, and inside the UN-backed government of national accord (GNA) set up in December 2015.

In the wake of its success in Syria, Russia is seeking to expand its influence in the Middle East. Diplomats are watching to see if Russia engages constructively in Libya, or seeks instead solely to back Haftar to undermine the laborious UN efforts to get the multitude of Libyan factions to compromise.

Moscow, which is eager to recover lost oil and infrastructure investments in Libya has feted Haftar, and also tended to his wounded soldiers.

The crisis is urgent since the EU needs a viable government to work with to control the flow of refugee boats across the Mediterranean.

In a bid to test Russian intentions, the Italian government, the lead European nation on Libya, is to hold a second round of talks with Russia to persuade Moscow that a military dictator in sole power, especially Haftar, is not a viable solution to Libyas lawless trauma.

Foreign minister Angeleno Alfano said there were already positive signals coming from the dialogue with the Kremlin and he will meet his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, for a second time on 16 February in Bonn, Germany.

Russias role in Libya will also come up in talks between the Italian prime minister Paolo Gentiloni and Theresa May in London on Thursday where they will discuss what compromise could be crafted, if any, to give Haftar a role in the Tripoli-based GNA. Many Libyans have lost faith in the accords ability to deliver the basics such as functioning banks and electricity.

In repeated reconciliation talks overseen by the UN, the ineffectual GNA has so far failed to reach a political compromise with its Tobruk-based rivals in the east, noticeably Haftar, head of the Libyan National Army.

Haftar said over the weekend he believes his anti-terrorist agenda will now get a positive response from Donald Trump. The possibility of the combined backing of US and Russia is hardly conducive to Haftar compromising.

But EU sources still believe both US and Russia can be persuaded to look for a political compromise that brings the West and East of the country together.

Briefing the UN Security Council, special envoy for Syria Martin Kobler stated on Wednesday he was confident that within weeks a format could be agreed to make changes to the Libyan constitution including the role of Haftar. The challenge is to allow Haftar a senior role in the national defence force, but with the red line that he is subject to civilian control.

Crispin Blunt, the chair of the foreign affairs select committee, is one of the British voices urging the US not to be lured by the myth of a strong man.

Haftar needs to be part of the solution, but the suggestion that he is the solution falls apart in contact with the realities of Libya, he said. He is a divisive figure and it is more than an inconvenient truth that can be fudged.

There is some sign that a version of this message conveyed by European officials is getting through to Washington. In a weekend phone conversation Trump encouraged Gentiloni to continue with his Libyan policy. The outgoing US special envoy for Libya, Jonathan Winer, has also urged Trump not to back Haftar.

Boris Johnson, the UK foreign secretary, last week welcomed discussions with Russia about a future role for Haftar in Libya. We are still hopeful that Gen Haftar can be persuaded that he can be a big part of the future of Libya but without necessarily having to be a new jefe, he said.

The EU, largely dependent on Italian diplomacy, has agreed an ambitious plan to stem the flow of refugees by sea, including the use of the Libyan coast guard to turn the ships back. Italy also wants to stop the smuggling routes along Libyas southern borders with Niger and Chad.

The EU plan is already under attack from charities fearing the EU is planning to send migrants to inhumane detention camps in Libya in breach of international law. The Tobruk-based parliament has refused to recognise the EU deal and even Kobler has urged caution about the condition of the Libyan camps.

The next few weeks will determine whether the EU plan will work, or instead the baton is handed to a different team in Washington and Moscow.

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EU reaches out to Russia to broker deal with Libyan general Haftar - The Guardian