NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES
- The shipwreck took place on Thursday, June 22, and at least one newborn baby is among those missing, said UNHCR representative to Italy Chiara Cardoletti. The vessel left from Sfax in Tunisia and was carrying 46 migrants from Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast, Flavio Di Giacomo, a spokesman for the UN migration agency IOM, said Friday. The boat capsized in strong winds and high waves, he said. “Some survivors were taken to Lampedusa and others were brought back to Tunisia”.
- The Anti-Illegal Migration Agency – Benghazi confirmed the deportation of 114 irregular migrants of different nationalities to their countries. The migrants deported are from Sudan and Chad, the Agency said in a statement. Among the deportees were 5 people with various diseases, including a woman and her husband who had AIDS, according to the statement. The migrants were handed over to the Al-Kufra Detention Center in preparation for the deportation.
- The Libyan Red Crescent has announced the recovery of three unidentified bodies on the beaches of the Tokra area, east of the city of Benghazi, Libyan online media Fawasel Media reports, adding that the recovery took place “in collaboration with the local authorities”.
- Libya has prevented 250 irregular migrants from leaving the country, the Libyan Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said on Sunday, June 18. Four suspects connected with an international human smuggling network were nabbed as part of the operation, the office said in a statement. The 250 irregular migrants were about to be taken out of the country by sea for obtaining financial benefits.
- The Libyan Foreign Ministry on Sunday, June 18, condemned the “treacherous” attack on a secondary school in southwestern Uganda that killed at least 41 people. Libya “stresses its support and solidarity with Uganda and offers its deepest condolences to the families of the victims, the government and the friendly people of Uganda,” the ministry said in a statement. The ministry reiterated Libya’s firm position in condemnation of any terrorist or hate practices, highlighting Libya’s support for regional and international efforts against such acts.
NATIONAL POLITICS AND SOCIAL ISSUES
- Chairman of the Libyan High National Elections Commission (HNEC), Imad Al-Sayeh, received in Tripoli the Qatari Ambassador to Libya, Khaled Al-Dosari, and his accompanying delegation. The meeting reviewed a number of files related to the electoral issue and the importance of Arab and regional countries’ support for the upcoming elections, as it reflects on the peace and stability of the Arab region.
- The Attorney General’s Office announced that the Tripoli Criminal Court sentenced the Deputy Prime Minister and former Interior Minister in the Ali Zeidan Libyan government, Al-Siddiq Karim, to five years in prison. Five ministry officials were also sentenced 42 months in prison, fined 70 million dinars, and deprived of their civil rights.
- Deputy Head of U.N. Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Raisedon Zenenga, received on Saturday representatives of the National Council for Libyan Women who shared their views on issues related to elections and the outcome of the 6+6 committee, “including the issue of women’s quotas and ensuring that women have decision making roles,” according to a statement by UNSMIL.
- The EU delivered two patrol boats to Libya in a ceremony on Thursday (22 June) in the Sicilian city of Messina in the presence of European Commission officials, the Italian authorities, and the Tripoli-based coastguard, according to a press statement on Friday (23 June), Euractiv reported. The delivery was made despite a series of recent reports documenting the links between the official Tripoli-based coastguard and militia groups involved in armed conflicts in Libya.
- Libya’s election laws drafted by the 6+6 committee have been submitted to UN envoy Abdoulaye Bathily, the head of the Tripoli-based High Council of State (HCS) said Sunday, June 18. “These laws are final, binding and welcomed by the HCS and the House of Representative (parliament),” Khalid al-Mishri said in a statement. Al-Mishri, whose council acts as a senate, said “in the event that any amendment is needed, which is unlikely, it must be done through the 6+6 joint committee.”
