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Head of Arabian Gulf Oil Company's media office said international oil firms that work in Libya have started to return in the fields operated by the company after sincere efforts exerted in that regard and after the firms assessed the security of the area on the ground, which they found positive. He added that the step will boost oil output.

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Head of the Presidential Council dismissed the Education Minister Mohammed Al-Azabi from his post and appointed Othman Abdeljalil in his place. The PC appointed Ayman Al-Gamati as a deputy minister days ago.

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A workshop for training in creation of local companies by partnership with municipalities has started in Gharyan today and will end on Thursday under the supervision of International Republic Institute of Boosting Democracy.

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The Head of the Presidential Council Fayez Al-Sirraj dismissed the defense minister of the UN-proposed government Mahdi Al-Barghathi from the post of the coordinator of communication with the UN sanctions committee, appointing the current Foreign Minister, Mohammed Sayala in his place.

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Archaeological researchers gathering was held in Misalata city under the slogan "we meet to be elite" with several people from the field in Libya attending the event. The gathering aims at connecting the researchers together to exchange expertise so that they all can contribute to saving Libya's archaeological legacies and heritage.

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Education Ministry of UN-proposed government urged education officials to form committees of specialists in psychology and religion to give lectures and support to students to avoid any tragedies amidst current popularity of Charlie Charlie game on social media.

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Gunmen kidnapped the dean of Pharmacology Faculty at Sabha University Mustafa Al-Saghir while he was going back home on Tuesday. Reasons for kidnap and identities of kidnappers are still unknown.

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Fuel and gas crisis committee said it had arrested several smugglers who smuggle cars from Libya to Sudan. It said on Facebook, Al-Waw brigade arrested the smugglers while on duty in support of the fuel and gas committee personnel. It also said that one of Nalut military council fighters suffered an injury they clashed with smugglers.

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The Tunisian MP, Al-Munji Al-Harbawi, said his country's embassy in Libya will reopen soon in the coming days after he met with the Tunisian Prime Minister, Yousef Al-Sahhed, whom he said confirmed this step. Al-Sahhed also vowed to return the Tunisian kids detained in Libya (IS militants' children who were saved in Sirte and Sabratha by Libyan authorities.)

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An official at the Libyan Interior Ministry said Libyan anglers found 28 bodies of immigrants, including 4 women, who apparently died of hunger and thirst after their boat broke down off Sabratha shores. They were buried in a migrants cemetery.

Continued here:
News Roundup - Wed, Apr 19, 2017 - The Libya Observer

UNHCRs mandate is to provide protection and direct assistance and ensure access to durable solutions for refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees and stateless persons.

In 2017, UNHCR operates, in partnership with International Medical Corps (IMC) and CESVI, to promote and enhance the protection environment as well as provide humanitarian life-saving assistance to refugees, asylum seekers, IDPs and returnees. UNHCR also works with Mercy Corps to assess and respond to the situation of returnees in Sirt, and with IMPACT Initiatives to study the Mixed Migration trends in the South of Libya and via the Central Mediterranean Route.

UNHCR identifies, registers and provides counselling to persons in need of international protection in Tripoli and Benghazi in three Community Development Centres (CDCs) and a Social Centre, through outreach visits conducted by partners, as well as through telephone hotlines.

UNHCR supports IDPs and returnees throughout Libya, with non-food items (NFIs) and cash-based interventions (CBIs). In March 2017, UNHCR through LibAid distributed NFIs to 500 returnee families in Sirt and distributed emergency shelter and NFIs to 16 families in the Tawargha IDP settlement in Tripoli.

UNHCR advocates with Libyan authorities to find alternatives to detention, to improve conditions inside detention centres and to adopt protection-sensitive approaches, including during rescue at sea, with due respect for the principle of non-refoulement.

UNHCR and its partner IMC have access to detention centres run by Libyan authorities and reach out to individuals detained for irregular entry or stay in Libya. Through six health posts located in Tripoli (three), Azzawya, Tajoura and Alkhums ports, IMC delivers emergency assistance upon disembarkation to survivors of rescue at sea/interception incidents.

UNHCR enables capacity building of government officials, national civil society and other stakeholders, offering training on core protection principles, including of IDPs, and refugee law within the context of mixed migration.

Continue reading here:
Libya: Dashboard of key activities (January - March 2017) - Reliefweb

Libya - 17 April 2017 - Rescue workers are battling to save as many as 1,800 migrants stranded on boats off the coast of Libya. Video: eNCA

Libya - 17 April 2017 - Rescue workers are battling to save as many as 1,800 migrants stranded on boats off the coast of Libya. Photo: eNCA

LIBYA - Rescue workers are battling to save as many as 1,800 migrants stranded on boats off the coast of Libya.

According to CNN, rescue crews from the The Migrant Offshore Aid Station have been working for the last 24 hours and have pulled 453 people to safety so far.

Crews were forced to suspend the operation overnight with their rescue vessel the Phoenix running at full capacity.

The charity's founder, Christopher Catrambone, said yesterday: "Nobody has ever seen anything like what we are witnessing this weekend."

"So far nearly 32,000 migrants and refugees entered Europe by sea in 2017. Over 550 have drowned making the crossing.

- Addditional Reporting - Wochit

eNCA

16 April 2017

For more than a week, militias allied to the UN-backed Government of National Accord have fought off rival forces trying to capture an airbase in the south of Libya.

07 April 2017

Navy spokesman General Ayoub Qassem told AFP that the traffickers were on a vessel escorting a migrant boat headed across the Mediterranean to Europe.

02 April 2017

Late Saturday, Benghazi's counter terrorism unit called the photographer, asking him to go to their headquarters 'to answer a few questions'.

See the article here:
Thousands of migrants stranded off coast of Libya - eNCA

Tripoli - Libya's unity government has called for "urgent intervention" by the international community to end military escalation in its south, warning of a possible "civil war".

For more than a week, militias allied to the UN-backed Government of National Accord have fought off rival forces trying to capture an airbase in the south of the North African country.

"We ask you to take a firm and decisive stance with regards to this escalation and we will support all decisions to re-establish security and stability in Libya," GNA head Fayez al-Sarraj wrote in a letter published on Saturday.

Sarraj called for an "urgent intervention" from the international community "to end the deterioration of the situation in south Libya", in an open letter addressed to bodies including the European Union, the United Nations and the Arab League.

He did not specify the nature of what form such intervention could take.

Clashes erupted last week after the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army, commanded by military strongman Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar and loyal to Libya's eastern authorities, battled to seize the Tamenhant air base from militias backing the GNA.

"This sudden and unjustified escalation... puts the country on the brink of civil war", Sarraj said.

The GNA, which both Haftar and the eastern-based parliament have refused to recognise, has announced a counter-offensive against the LNA.

The LNA has said the Tamenhant base was a launching pad for fighters who seized key oil terminals from its control last month, before the LNA retook them days later.

But the unity government has denied any link with the attacks on the oil facilities in Libya's northeast.

The GNA, which was born of a UN-brokered deal signed in late 2015, has struggled to assert its authority nationwide since taking office in Tripoli in March last year.

Libya has been wracked by chaos since the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gaddafi, with rival militias and authorities vying for control of the oil-rich country.

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Libya govt urges 'intervention' over southern clashes - News24

On Aug. 1, 2016, at the request of the Libyan Government of National Accord, the United States military conducted precision airstrikes against ISIS targets in Sirte, Libya. USA TODAY

Smoke rises after an airstrike on the District 3 of Sirte, the last stronghold of Islamic State fighters on Sept. 28, 2016. France will host an international meeting on strife-ridden Libya next week featuring several countries in the region including Egypt and Gulf states, the French government's spokesman said. / AFP PHOTO / Fabio BucciarelliFABIO BUCCIARELLI/AFP/Getty Images ORIG FILE ID: AFP_GL7FA(Photo: Fabio Bucciarelli, AFP/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON Ahandful of drones controlled from the United States and a small force of offshore Marine aircraft played a decisive role in defeating Islamic State fightersin Libya last December, the most prominent example of how the U.S. military can helpwina key battlefrom afar.

The four-month air campaign to drive militants from Sirte without committing large numbers of U.S. advisers or ground forcesis being studied as a model for future U.S. military efforts against the Islamic Stateas its fighters are ousted from Iraq and Syria and seek refuge elsewhere.

The fighting in Sirte was in a densely packed city where nearly 70% of the drone missions were considered so close to friendly forces they needed special authorization.

The missiles were sometimes delivered within 30 yards of local allies. Were literally talking almost across city streets, Col. Case Cunningham, commander of the 432nd Expeditionary Wing at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, said in a recent interview on the operation. He provided previously unreported details of the successful campaign.

There were no reports of civilian casualties.

The Sirte operation will serve as a model for future U.S. operations in the region, Marine Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, commander of U.S. Africa Command, recently told Congress.

Wherever they go were going to find them and rid cities of their presence, Cunningham said.

The U.S. Air Force relied exclusively on three MQ-9 Reapersflown from bases in Nevada, Tennessee and North Dakota.Marinesoperated from amphibious ships and asmall number of Special Forces were dispatched to workwith local ground forces fighting the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.

The Pentagon hadbecomeincreasingly alarmed overthe growing strength of ISISin Sirte, a city on the Mediterranean coast near Libya's valuable oil-producing operations.

Smoke billows from buildings after the air force from the pro-government forces loyal to Libya's Government of National Unity fired rockets targeting Islamic State positions in Sirte on July 18, 2016, during an operation to recapture the militants' coastal stronghold.(Photo: Mahmud Turkia, AFP/Getty Images)

ISIS, whichhad taken over the city in May 2015, expanded to about 6,000 fighters in Libya, the militants' largest stronghold outside of Iraq and Syria.It was an ideal place for the militants to grow: the centralgovernment was divided,militias held sway over much of the oil-rich country, andU.S. intelligence was sketchy.

Last summer, it became clear that a militia from Misrata, a coastal city about 150 miles west of Sirte, was willing to take on the militants and back Libya's newly established government of national accord. That prompted President Barack Obama to authorizemilitary support for the new government last July.The willingness of the Misrata militia to fight was impressive, said Col. Todd Simmons, commander of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Still, the challenge was enormous. The U.S. military was asked to provide airstrikes from afar with few contacts on the ground and in a heavilypopulated city.It was street-to-street fighting in a very dense environment, Cunningham said.

Teams of Special Forces in the area helpedoversee the fighting, and the Marines were forced to be creativein providingclose air support, Simmons said.

The Reaper drones producedround-the-clock imagesof what the city looked like, he said. My folks knew that town inside and out.

The Reapers also firedprecise Hellfire missiles and reacted quickly to threats, such astaking out an individual sniper in a building. Nearly 70% of the drone airstrikes were danger close, meaning they needed special authorization since friendly forces were inside the blast radius, Cunningham said.

Between August and December, the drones and Marines conducted 495 airstrikes in Sirte. By early December the Misrata militia had pushed out ISIS and controlled the city.

David Deptula, a retired Air Force three-star general,said the Sirte campaign highlights the effectiveness of such a remote-controlled operation. What people forget is that drones are the most precise and effective means of applying force at a distance that we have in our military inventory, he said.

Read more:

Exclusive: Inside the anti-Islamic State air campaign command center

Seen from above, how one of the largest airstrikes against ISIS unfolded

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How US drones helped win a battle against ISIS for first time in Libya - USA TODAY