NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES
- The General Staff of the Naval Forces of the Libyan Armed Forces announced on Thursday the rescue of 29 illegal migrants and their return to the Tobruk naval base, after they were found at sea while attempting to sail towards European shores. The General Staff explained in a statement that the rescue operation was carried out by the patrol boat “Al-Murqab,” belonging to the Tobruk naval base, while it was conducting routine patrols within its area of responsibility. The migrants were found on a dilapidated rubber dinghy unsuitable for long-distance sailing, which put their lives at risk of drowning. The Naval Forces confirmed that they returned the migrants to the Tobruk naval base, where they were handed over to the Directorate for Combating Illegal Migration – Tobruk branch, to take the necessary legal procedures and provide them with humanitarian aid.
- The Anti-Illegal Migration Agency announced on Thursday the deportation of 37 illegal migrants from the city of Derna, belonging to various nationalities including Bangladesh, Somalia, Yemen, and Chad, according to an official statement published on the agency’s Facebook page. The statement clarified that the migrants were transferred from the Derna shelter center to the Greater Benghazi shelter center, where the competent authorities are completing the necessary legal procedures in preparation for their repatriation to their home countries, in accordance with international and local laws regulating migration. The agency affirmed that these operations are part of its ongoing efforts to combat illegal migration and regulate the entry and exit of foreigners, which contributes to protecting national security, ensuring the safety of migrants, and tightening control over its affiliated crossings and centers.
- Armed clashes broke out in the city of Al-Zawiya on Thursday, along the coastal road, following an assassination attempt on the commander ofAl-Zawiya Reserve Force, Muhammad al-Fitori, near the al-Harsha bridge. According to local sources, al-Fitori was injured by direct gunfire on the coastal road and was subsequently taken to intensive care, while media outlets reported that the attackers were a group of Africans whose affiliation is not yet known. According to eyewitnesses, the clashes extended west of Al-Zawiya along the coastal road from the al-Harsha traffic light to the Awlad Saqr traffic light, prompting several schools to suspend classes to ensure student safety from the indiscriminate gunfire, whose projectiles reached the coastal road.
-
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Libya has organized a voluntary humanitarian return flight, transporting 165 migrants from the city of Sabha to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The operation, supported by the European Union, assisted 17 families among the returnees. The IOM provided safe and dignified return travel, along with comprehensive assistance to ensure a smooth reintegration process for the individuals upon their arrival.
-
A news report from the English-language Italian website “Itamilradar” has revealed that a US Army “Bombardier ARTEMIS” aircraft conducted a mission off the coast of Libya, which was of an intelligence nature and included extensive surveillance and reconnaissance over the central Mediterranean Sea, according to a follow-up and translation by Al-Marsad newspaper. The report stated that the aircraft took off from Romania, crossed Bulgaria and Greece before entering the Mediterranean, and then flew for hours off the Libyan coast between Tripoli and Benghazi. It also flew south of the island of Crete and Greece as part of its operational area over the central Mediterranean. The website indicated that the orbital path over Libyan waters suggests the mission focused on monitoring activities in the region that could be linked to operations by the United States and its allies, with the aim of supporting stabilization and counter-terrorism efforts, and broader regional monitoring related to maritime routes between North Africa and Southern Europe.
- In the Al-Shurafa neighborhood, time stopped on a fleeting evening that became a landmark in the memory of a city that has learned to sleep to sounds unlike lullabies. The child Moath Marwan Al-Marghani passed away, and his brother Abdulrahman was injured, adding a new page to a long record of deferred fear, where the road turns into a maze, the window into a wall, and the city into an endless wait.
Violence in Zawiya does not come from a vacuum. It comes in waves: swift clashes, indiscriminate projectiles, hastily closed roads, and the pulse of neighborhoods that falters between a security retreat and the expansion of armed groups funded by a relentless parallel economy. Since the beginning of the year, the story repeats with a single ending: civilians pay the price.
- The committee concerned with monitoring the voluntary return program for displaced Sudanese brothers held its third meeting in Benghazi yesterday, Monday, chaired by Foreign Minister Abdul Hadi Al-Hweij.
The meeting was attended by the Consul General of the Republic of Sudan in Benghazi, alongside representatives from national authorities and relevant international and humanitarian organizations. Updates related to the program were reviewed, with a focus on the role of international organizations in supporting a safe and dignified return for the Sudanese brothers. The committee also presented the Libyan Red Crescent’s electronic platform, dedicated to registering the data of displaced persons, which aims to enhance information accuracy and facilitate coordination between the concerned parties.
NATIONAL POLITICS AND SOCIAL ISSUES
- The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh, discussed in a phone call with the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Stephanie Koury, ways to move forward with the political roadmap facilitated by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya. According to the mission’s media office, Koury stressed the need to accomplish the first two steps in the roadmap: amending the legislative and constitutional frameworks for the elections, and reforming the board of the High National Elections Commission. Aguila Saleh conveyed the House of Representatives’ commitment to working with the High Council of State to complete the process “as soon as possible.”
- The Minister of Interior, Major General Issam Abu Zariba, accompanied by the Ministry’s Undersecretary, Major General Faraj Qaim, met with the first batch of members of the General Administration of Central Support before their departure to the Republic of Belarus, as part of a training program aimed at enhancing security skills and competencies. During the meeting, the Minister stressed the importance of the members presenting an honorable image of the Ministry of Interior and the Libyan state, while adhering to the highest standards of discipline and responsibility. He noted that the training program is an opportunity to develop security capabilities and enhance performance within the country’s security institutions.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
- Lieutenant General Saddam Haftar, Deputy General Commander of the Armed Forces, received a high-level American delegation in the city of Sirte on Tuesday. The delegation included Lieutenant General John Brennan, Deputy Commander of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), and Mr. Jeremy Berndt, the Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Libya. During the meeting, Lt. Gen. Saddam Haftar conveyed greetings from the General Commander of the Armed Forces, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, to the visiting delegation, emphasizing the depth of relations between the two sides. Discussions focused on strengthening bilateral relations, with both parties exchanging views on issues of mutual interest. The talks specifically addressed joint efforts to combat terrorism and extremism, maintain regional security, and confront the challenges of illegal immigration.
- The Minister of Interior, Major General Issam Abu Zariba, accompanied by the Ministry’s Undersecretary, Major General Faraj Qaim, met on Monday with the first batch of members of the General Administration of Central Support before their departure to the Republic of Belarus, as part of a training program aimed at enhancing security skills and competencies. During the meeting, the Minister stressed the importance of the members presenting an honorable image of the Ministry of Interior and the Libyan state, while adhering to the highest standards of discipline and responsibility. He noted that the training program is an opportunity to develop security capabilities and enhance performance within the country’s security institutions.
- Sebha University and Tunis El Manar University have signed a joint scientific cooperation agreement aimed at enhancing academic partnership and the exchange of research expertise between the two institutions.
- The signing took place today, Monday, in the presence of the President of Sebha University, Masoud Al-Raqeeq, and the President of Tunis El Manar University, Moez Chafra, affirming the importance of regional cooperation in developing higher education and scientific research.
