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New York Times

US Bombs ISIS Camps in Libya New York Times WASHINGTON Two United States Air Force B-2 bombers attacked Islamic State training camps in Libya overnight, killing more than 80 militants, including some who were involved in plotting terrorist attacks in Europe, the Pentagon said on Thursday. US bombers strike IS camps in LibyaNorman Transcript The US flew stealth bombers across the globe to strike ISIS camps in LibyaWashington Post US Stealth Bombers Strike ISIS Training Camps In LibyaNPR The Denver Post -IHS Jane's 360 -Fox News all 144 news articles »

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US Bombs ISIS Camps in Libya - New York Times

Wall Street Journal

US Bombers Hit Islamic State in Libya Wall Street Journal WASHINGTONAmerican B-2 bombers and drones struck Islamic State training camps and other targets in Libya on Wednesday evening, killing dozens of militants, according to Pentagon officials, in a broadening of the U.S. war against the extremist group ...

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US Bombers Hit Islamic State in Libya - Wall Street Journal

Today, Donald Trump will be sworn in as Presidentof the US. Foreign policy will crystallise when the full Cabinet is approved by the US Congress.

Will Russia now overtly support the LNA (Libyan National Army) and 74-year-old Khalifa Haftar, many years ago an admitted CIA asset? Could that put it at odds with the incoming Trump administration or will this be a welcome and calculated play from Trumps perspective?

What will change in the complicated ground war in Libya between the various warring factions in south, east and west Libya?

Blackwater founder Erik Prince allegedly secretly used private mercenary pilots in armed agricultural aircraft to bomb Western Libyas Islamist extremists. Could it be true there has been such a sudden and dramatic escalation in hostilities?

What of Isiss relatively small presence in the Sirte and Sabratha regions?What of the tentative potential thawing of US-Russian relations put on edge by doubtful allegations of Trump being blackmailed by Russia.

The first three months following the inauguration will be the most telling. Until then, let us hazard a guess as to what will unfold.

One indication is certain. Washington interests now favour a military solution to the quagmire in Libya that involves the newly promoted field marshal, Khalifa Hafter who would become part of some sort of leadership coalition or council.

Serious Libyan commentators agree talks must include all ground players, even former Gaddafi officials if the country is to be united.

However, the eradication of Isis in Libya is still paramount.That joint desire could put the US and Russia on the same side in Libya.

Russia has shown her strong willingness to support Hafter on two recent occasions; at the Moscow foreign ministry in mid-December, and again, last week when Hafter was helicoptered to the neutral waters of the Mediterranean Sea, outside Libyan territorial boundaries, by Russian military, for a video conference call with Moscow senior officials on board a Russian warship.

This behaviour indicates a clear willingness to support Hafters Libyan National Army, as the legitimate military force of the elected Parliament, the House of Representatives (HoR) in Tobruk. For some its even indicative of Russian support to Hafter with or without the HoRs backing.

Signs now seem to indicate an imminent military attempt by the LNA and Hafter to move west and take Tripoli.

Talks must include all ground players, even former Gaddafi officials if the country is to be united

Russias rationale for involvement was summarised by Foreign Minister Lavrovs categoric statement on December 2 that it does not want Libya to end up like Syria, as a failed state.

But the motivation undoubtedly is one of self-interest. As with Syria, Russia sees an opportunity to gain new increased and important influence in an Arab state and I judge that this is better achieved before President Trump takes the full reigns of power; out trumping Trump so to speak. Thats why I think fighting internally will escalate very soon.

Obamas self-professed greatest foreign policy mistake in office was the failure to quell the post-revolution chaos in Libya. What better way for Trump to truly legitimise his position and silence the naysayers than strategically achieving peace in Libya and an end to Isiss influence there via a Russian alliance?

It is no secret Trump has announced his desire to cooperate with Putin, and he actually may view Russias very public support of Hafter as an asset rather than a liability, securing the region, making an unlikely ally and increasing the popularity of his administration in one stroke.

This position assumes that the West will abandon its failed attempt to shore up the UNs puppet government (GNA). It and its leader Serraj are viewed as wholly illegitimate and inept by the countrys populace. It is time for EU/UN diplomats and politicians to recognise this and adapt to change and quickly.

Russian-made helicopters and arms were delivered to LNA indirectly and covertly via Russias allys the UAE and Egypt and they proved crucial in repelling attacks by militias at the key central oil ports, seized by LNA in September 2016.

Earlier this month, Russia publicly supported lifting the UN arms embargo. The West up until recently only wanted the embargo lifted for GNA militias. Presumably, if Western powers attempted to lift sanctions for only the GNA, Russias UNSC vote would be niet.

Therefore the LNA would appear to be the only entity that will be supported by the international community including Russia.

On the other hand another critical factor is oil. Russia has an option of buying direct from Cyrenaica (old name for East Libya), challenging western powers to intercept its tankers. A potential superpower flashpoint.

Cyrenica also wants its own flag as well as a new national anthem. This would in my opinion certainly lead to Libya becoming two separate countries, east and west Libya.

Structural and mismanagement issues remain and heighten internal tensions. For example GECOL (General Electricity Company of Libya) has all but collapsed as has electricity to the entire country. Combined with water distribution shortages and an unusually intense cold spell, the peoples patience is at an end.

So the wild card remains; the US to drop support for the GNA in its current form and shift it to the LNA.

US good relations with Putin and Moscow could well see Russia gaining a chunk of influence in Libya at presumably the expense of the Italians and British with the French seemingly solely interested in southern Libya.

All will be clear soon as I predict internal fighting to escalate very soon. A peaceful negotiated settlement between the warring Libyan parties seems now remote.

Richard Galustian is a security analyst.

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Trump, Putin and Libya - Times of Malta

Middle East Eye

Libya still needs the UN-backed government, says deputy PM Middle East Eye The popularity of the GNA has suffered over the past few months as the body's promise of political unity in the divided country flopped, and conditions for Libya's population have worsened. But Ahmed Maiteeq told Middle East Eye that the GNA is on ...

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Libya still needs the UN-backed government, says deputy PM - Middle East Eye

Why, if they know they could die at sea, are they still coming? Thats the question being asked by many Europeans about the continuing flood of migrants trying to cross from Africa to Italy, Greece and other parts of Europe in crowded, often unseaworthy boats, many dying in the attempt. I wanted to show what is happening on the other side of the Mediterranean, in Libya.

Working in Libya is difficult and dangerous, even with a good knowledge of the country and good connections. We didnt know what to expect.

What we discovered were hundreds of people being held in camps, waiting, hoping for a better life. Some were so thin that bones were sticking out of their backs. One woman told us: What will happen next, we dont know. Migrants are keen to speak to the camera, desperately trying to call for help, to say: We are here and we are human beings, we exist. In some way they believe that if only the world outside could know, something would happen to change things. They cannot believe they are just left to their fate.

These desperate refugees who have fled from terror in their own country (Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia) are housed in huge hangars. They are forced to live there, often with little water or food, and at risk of being beaten. Living in a halfway zone between home and the freedom they seek, they have no knowledge of whether they will ever leave Libya.

As part of the research for the story I needed access to government-manned centres, and authorisation from the ministry of interior. This often requires clearances signed by the police or other bodies, and includes days spent in waiting rooms and multiple telephone calls to different offices.

Sometimes even that preparation was not enough, for instance on one occasion visiting the officially government-controlled Abu Slim centre, despite the visit being arranged by the ministry and an officer accompanying me, the militiamen, who werent consulted beforehand, blocked our visit. As we crossed the gate a number of young guys wearing flip flops and carrying pistols threatened the director and the officers.

Of course, as there is no press freedom in Libya, we just scrape the surface and try to get as deep as possible, bearing in mind that what we can see is never the whole reality.

During my work, all the militias I met were keen to show how good they were at controlling the migrants and, astonishingly, they were not worried at all about hiding every kind of abuse they were perpetrating. In some way they seemed to believe that in Europe nobody cares about that, as long as they can prevent migrants arriving on our shores. In some cases the only reason I was allowed to work in one camp was because the militia thought that visibility of the media could have been useful to put pressure on the government.

The most scary thing is that what we were seeing and documenting was just the good part: what is shown is considered acceptable or even something to be proud of. Despite this, the living conditions I saw were really harsh and abuses are part of normal life. What happens out of sight may be even more terrible.

European public opinion was shaken when on 18 April 2015 more than 800 men, women and children drowned in the Mediterranean. Following this, the European Union expressed a willingness to bomb boats and ports used to smuggle migrants across the sea. The Tripoli government, supported by Islamist coalition Libya Dawn, declared its intention to engage in the struggle against human trafficking, and started a campaign aiming to show it was serious about stemming the flow of migrants. The Libyan government is also receiving support from the EU to help control Mediterranean crossings.

Migrants have become a valuable commodity in the fight for power, as Libyan militias, who are widely believed to have a major role in the human trafficking business, stepped into migration policy to try and gain influence on the government.

Government officials told me they did not have enough resources to carry out any of the operations the government had announced so they had hired rough militias to secure the shores and stop illegal crossing to Europe.

The migrant stories are gruesome, they cannot speak freely and what we can hear from them is not the whole reality. The mi- grants I met with again when some of them managed to reach Europe told me about torture and killings as a day-to-day routine.

I thought it was important to cover this story to show what happens out of the sight of European people. While the public were demanding a bigger effort to save the lives of migrants in the Mediterranean sea, the actions undertaken by the Tripoli government to show itself as a reliable partner for the EU in the control of the migration flow were in effect worsening living conditions and in- creasing the danger for migrants in Libya.

Marco Salustro made the Vice News special Europe or Die, Libyas Migrant Trade and is the winner of the Rory Peck 2016 news feature award. To read more fromIndex on Censorship's latest issue, click here.

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Living in limbo: documenting life as a migrant in Libya - The Independent