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Nikki Haley, the newly appointed U.S. ambassador to the U.N., expressed disapproval about U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterress choice for envoy to Libya, reports Reuters.Haley indicated the U.N. has for too long been unfairly biased in favor of the Palestinian Authority to the detriment of our allies in Israel.

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Meanwhile, the U.N. secretary-general argued that that former Palestinian PMs diplomacy skills would prove helpful to bring much-needed peace to Libya. It is a loss for the Libyan peace process and for the Libyan people that I am not able to appoint him, declared U.N. Secretary-General Guterres in Dubai.

I do not think there is any valid reason to avoid someone who is very competent to do a job that is extremely important, he added. Not long ago, ISIS maintained a heavy presence in its stronghold of Sirte, which sits along the coast in Libya. However, some the jihadists have been forced to spread out of Sirte to other places across the country.

The Nation reports:

The extremist group lost its Libya headquarters in the central coastal city of Sirte in December after a six-month offensive by militias backed by US air power, but Libyan officials and foreign diplomats say its fighters have now fanned out across the southern desert into desert valleys and inland hills, as they seek to exploit Libyas political divisions Three separate ISIL groups have been identified based in different parts of the Sahara, and, say officials, they are striking at the countrys vulnerable oil and water infrastructure.

Reuters reported earlier this month:

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.

Although ISIS in Libya is weaker now than it was about year ago, the jihadist group still poses a threat, noted Martin Kobler, the top official from the U.N. Support Mission in Libya, adding that the fight against terrorism is far from over.

The countrys borders remain porous. Terrorists, human and weapons traffickers and criminal gangs continue to exploit the security vacuum, he warned.

UN chief Guterres suggests that the international community would have to engage with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to deal with the remnants for ISIS in Libya and prevent the country from becoming a place where the terrorists can easily launch attacks against Western targets.

U.N. Secretary-General Guterres said, We need to respect our values and we need to make sure a multilateral approach to global problems is implemented.

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Nikki Haley Objects to UN Naming Former Palestinian PM to Libya Envoy Post - Breitbart News

Quick Facts:

Grantee: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Program Duration: October 2016September 2017

Total Donor Funding Pledged: $31 million

USAID Contribution: $2 million

Description:

Stabilization Facility for Libya (SFL) supports the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) by providing tangible quick-wins at the local level in the East, South and West of Libya. SFL implements improvements, such as rehabilitating critical infrastructure and restoring basic public services, in close collaboration with local governing institutions.

SFL is funded by 12 international donors with decisions made by a Governing Board jointly chaired by the Libyan Prime Ministers representative and the United Nations Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General. The US Government is represented on the Board by the US Ambassador to Libya as well as the USAID/Libya Senior Development Advisor.

Program Activities and Objectives:

Rehabilitate light infrastructure and support recovery of critical businesses in communities damaged by conflict;

Immediately boost municipal capacity to take leadership in local stabilization efforts;

Strengthen local capacity in conflict analysis, facilitation, and mediation.

Program Status/Achievements:

SFL supports return to normal conditions and peace-building programming in several Libyan communities affected by conflict.

SFL has completed assessments in three communities -- Benghazi, Kikla, and Obari with Sirte and Sebha assessments underway in early 2017. After field-based assessments are completed, community consultations are organized with municipal authorities, local leaders and civil society representatives to prioritize social infrastructure rehabilitation (e.g., health, water, sanitation, education). The priorities are presented to the SFL Governing Board for approval, after which SFL mobilizes expert teams in each location to deliver equipment and infrastructure improvements.

By early 2017, SFL has begun refurbishment of public buildings and procurement of equipment to restore essential public services for the first three communities, including: medical equipment and ambulances for hospitals, garbage trucks, generators, solar panels, water and sewage pumps, and prefabricated classrooms for schools.

Read the rest here:
Stabilization facility for Libya (SFL) - ReliefWeb

Wednesday, February 15, 2017, 06:09 by

The directors of Equitrade Ltd, which distributes animal health, veterinary pharmaceuticals and horse requirement products, categorically deny the allegations made in the report Libya bans Maltese firms for smuggling (January 24).

Since then, we have, through our intermediary, asked the Libya Audit Bureau to provide us with any documents they have to substantiate the allegation published in the said article and Libyan Herald sources quoted.

When dealing with clients and the authorities, Equitrade Ltd has always been fully committed to the observance of best practices in the countries they dealt with.

The Times of Malta should have made an accurate investigation before making the allegations.

Editorial note: Equitrade Ltds name was included in a list issued by the Libyan Audit Bureau and reported by many mainstream news organisations in Libya, including the Libyan Herald. Before publishing the article, Times of Malta also sought the comments of a representative of Equitrade, which were included in the write-up.

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Libya ban - Times of Malta

Libya rivals in Cairo to discuss political settlement Miami Herald The head of Libya's U.N.-brokered government and the country's most powerful army commander, who is allied with rival authorities, are expected to meet to discuss a political settlement. A spokesman for the unity government said Tuesday that Fayez ... and more »

Link:
Libya rivals in Cairo to discuss political settlement - Miami Herald

President Trump has consistently suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin could be a strong ally in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). But while most eyes are on Syria in this regard, Libya is another place to watch closely in the coming weeks.

Putin increasingly supports Libya's Gen. Khalifa Haftar, who controls Libya's oil-rich east but wants more. Haftar pursues an anti-Islamist agenda and looks to Putin to help secure his leadership in Libya at the expense of the U.N.-backed civilian government in Libya.

This is where Trump and Putin could make a deal.

Putin has been expanding Russia's influence in Libya, a Kremlin ally during the Cold War, for quite some time. Putin has attempted to revive ties since he first became president in 2000, but relations noticeably improved in April 2008 when Putin visisted Tripoli.

According to Russian press reports at the time, Moammar Gadhafi, at that time leader of Libya, expressed special admiration for Putin's efforts to restore Russia as a great power. Soon afterward, Moscow wrote off most of Libya's $4.6 billion debt in exchange for approximately $5 billion to $10 billion worth of contracts for railway, oil and gas projects; arms sales; and more. Gadhafi also gave the Russian fleet access to the port in Benghazi.

In 2011, then, Moscow strongly opposed the NATO-led Libya campaign and under then-President Dmitry Medvedev abstained from U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973, which authorized an intervention to protect civilians. Putin, who was prime minister at the time, compared the resolution to a "medieval crusade."

Putin believes that the West, chiefly the U.S., is behind all protests against authoritarian regimes, and that Washington's talk of democracy is just pretext for regime change. In this view, if the U.S. ousted Gadhafi, Russian leadership could be next unless Moscow took a more proactive approach.

Though officially Moscow says it supports the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, and therefore implicitly the goal of Libyan unity, in practice, Putin clearly favors Haftar in Tobruk.Haftar, notably, served under Gadhafi.

Moscowprovides the Tobruk government with military advice and diplomatic support at the U.N. In May 2016 Moscow printed nearly 4 billion Libyan dinars (approximately $2.8 billion) for Libya's Central Bank and transferred it to branch loyal to Haftar. Some also believe that Moscow continues to supply Tobruk with weapons via Algeria, despite the U.N. arms embargo.

In the context of growing tensions with Tripoli, Haftar made two trips to Moscow in the second half of 2016, and in January of this year, he touredtheRussian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetov as it returned to Russia from Syrian waters. While aboard the Kuznetsov, Haftar held a video call with Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu, and reportedly talked about fighting terrorism in the Middle East.

Algeria and Egypt, meanwhile, support Putin's efforts in Libya. Algeria has long been in the pro-Kremlin camp. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, for his part, believes Haftar will prevent the Muslim Brotherhood from gaining a foothold in Libya and in general sees eye-to-eye with Putin when it comes to anti-terrorist measures.

In reality, Putin's support for Haftar is about restoring Russian influence in the country and gaining greater foothold into the region. One way he can do that is to cast himself as a peacemaker on his terms, not unlike what he's doing in Syria. He could then get credit for a Haftar-GNA deal, thus making the West look foolish for opposing Haftar, while presenting Russia as essential in major world decisions.

Taken as a whole, Putin's military moves from Ukraine to Syria are about creating and extending virtual buffer zones along Russia's periphery through anti-access denial bubbles. Officially, Moscow denies any talk with Haftar about creating military bases in Libya, but it's easy to see how such a base, or at least another form of Russian military presence, would be consitent with Moscow's actions in recent years.

Regardless, Putin's goal is to increase Russia's influence and reduce that of the West. In reality, Putin has neither the resources nor the desire to bring long-term stability to Libya, and Haftar is the wrong man for the job.

If anything, Vladimir Putin's support for Haftar would only bring more fighting in the long-run, but perhaps not before he creates a short-term fix that he could claim as another quick and easy victory with which he could distract the domestic audiencewhile securing a critical role in a strategically important country on the Mediterranean. His moves in Libya are important to watch in the coming weeks.

Anna Borshchevskaya is the Ira Weiner fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

The views of contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill.

Original post:
After Syria, Putin's next move could be Libya - The Hill (blog)