NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES
- The death toll from clashes in Tripoli has risen to 55 killed with another 146 injured, according to the city’s Emergency and Support Center, after forces detained an ally of the prime minister, triggering violence across the capital. Brigadier General Mahmoud Hamza, a militia commander closely aligned with Prime Minister Abdel Hamid al-Dbeibeh, was arrested by the Deterrence Apparatus while traveling to Misrata earlier this week. The detention of the prime minister’s loyalist ignited retaliatory attacks from Hamza’s brigade and other allied militias across Tripoli.
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International Organization for Migration (IOM) said 361 migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya from 6 to 12 August 2023. So far in 2023, the number of 9,756 migrants have been intercepted and returned to Libya, according to IOM. It added that 825 died, while 1023 went missing on the Central Mediterranean Route from 1 Jan to 12 Aug, 2023.
- Witnesses reported continued bursts of gunfire from light and medium weapons in the Fernaj neighborhood of Tripoli starting early Tuesday. The clashes come after forces from Libya’s Deterrence Apparatus for Combating Organized Crime and Terrorism detained Colonel Mahmoud Hamza, commander of the 444th Combat Brigade, at Mitiga Airport Monday while he was en route to a graduation ceremony in Misrata.
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Nine young Bangladeshis from Narsingdi have been reported missing by their families while on their way to Italy from Libya in a migrant boat that capsized in the Mediterranean, reports Bangladeshi newspaper The Daily Observer. The incident occurred on Wednesday night, some 40 minutes after the boat left a migrant camp on the Libyan coast, according to The Daily Observer. There were 20 people on the boat and some of them were rescued, but nine went missing, reports The Daily Observer.
NATIONAL POLITICS AND SOCIAL ISSUES
- Key militia leaders gathered at the home of Abdul Hakim Al-Sheikh, including Agneoya Al-Kkli, Abdulrauf Kara, Abdulsalam Al-Zoubi, Bashir Al-Baqra, Mohammed Al-Farr, Interior Minister Imad Al-Trablsi, and Ibrahim Al-Dabaiba. The meeting concluded with support for restoring stability in the capital and ending fighting, as well as releasing the commander of the 444th Brigade, Colonel Mahmoud Hamza. The leaders are now on their way to retrieve Hamza as agreed.
- The outgoing Libyan Prime Minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, instructed the Ministry of Local Government to form a committee to compensate those affected by the clashes in Tripoli. Dbeibeh’s decision stipulated the need to take the necessary measures by forming a committee to assess the damages within a week.
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Libya’s Special Deterrence Force on Tuesday freed Mahmoud Hamza, the commander of the 444 Brigade whose detention on Monday triggered fierce fighting in Tripoli, according to multiple press reports. The 444th Brigade is one of Tripoli’s most formidable militias, controlling territory in the southern part of the capital. Following Hamza’s apprehension, heavy gunfire erupted near the Al Malikia Mall on Al Saddra Street, where the 444th Brigade has bases adjacent to facilities of the Judicial Police. Streets in the bustling commercial area laid largely deserted as most shops shuttered, according to resident accounts.
- Libya’s House of Representatives passed a new legalization which criminalizes the settlement of foreign nationals in Libyan territory. According to the new law, foreign nationals, and Libyans who facilitate their entry, would face imprisonment and a thousand Libyan dinars fine at minimum if they attempted to settle in the country regardless of whether their entry was legal or not.
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The newly-elected chairman of the High Council of State, Mohamed Takala, held talks with Turkey’s Ambassador to Libya, Kanaan Yilmaz. According to a brief statement by the Libyan council, the two discussed work of the 6+6 joint committee to draft legislations that will form as legal basis for holding elections in Libya.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
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A trilateral meeting was held at Benina Airport in Benghazi between Commander of the Libyan National Army Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, House of Representatives Speaker Aguila Saleh, and Chairman of the Presidential Council Mohamed Menfi. The meeting discussed ways to coordinate efforts during the next stage amid recent developments in Libya, as well as the path towards planned elections.
- Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said that his country is “closely following the situation in Tripoli” after violence erupted between armed groups. The clashes broke out after forces from Libya’s Deterrence Apparatus for Combating Organized Crime and Terrorism detained Colonel Mahmoud Hamza, commander of the 444th Combat Brigade, at Mitiga Airport on Monday while he was en route to a graduation ceremony in Misrata.
