NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES
- The Justice Ministry of the Government of National Unity, led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, has requested that the Foreign Ministry removes infamous human trafficker Abdel Rahman Milad, known as Bija, from international sanctions list, leaked document shows.
- The Libyan National Army announced that its operations to secure Libya’s southern borders are still continuing “to protect the country from extremist groups, human smuggling gangs, illegal immigration and drugs.” “The city of Murzuq under the LNA represented by the 73rd Infantry Brigade, saw great work and effort in order to achieve security in accordance with the work of the joint security room units,” Munther al-Khartoush, spokesman for the 73rd Brigade, said.
- The European operation to monitor the implementation of the arms embargo on Libya, IRINI, confirmed that it had conducted radio investigations with 270 commercial ships out of 7,798 during the month of November. A statement issued by IRINI, regarding its efforts to monitor the implementation of the arms embargo on Libya during the month of November, said: “We conducted 15 visits on ships with the approval of their captains, out of 408 ships, while monitoring 12 suspicious flights out of 1064, and monitoring 25 airports and runways, in addition to 16 ports and oil terminals in Libya.”
- Turkish naval forces have held training on board the country’s frigate known as TCG GÖKSU, which operates off the coast of the Libyan city of Misurata, according to the Turkish Defense Ministry. “Within the scope of the Turkish Naval Task Group; for the peace and security of Libya, SAT Team trainings were held on our frigate TCG GÖKSU, which operates in the Libyan offshore,” the Turkish ministry tweeted.
- 90 migrants were rescued on Tuesday morning by Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), after they left Libya the day before. “Today in the morning our team rescued 90 people, who left Libya yesterday night on an overcrowded and unstable rubber boat,” MSF reported via Twitter. According to MSF, the migrants include two pregnant women and more than 30 children. “The youngest one being only 2 years old,” MSF said.
- International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Monday 633 migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya in the period from 27 November to 3 December 2022. According to IOM, 21,457 migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya so far in 2022. From 1 January to 3 December, 517 migrants died and 830 went missing on the Central Mediterranean route, IOM pointed out. It added that 32,425 migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya in 2021.
NATIONAL POLITICS AND SOCIAL ISSUES
- Health Minister of the Government of National Unity (GNU) Ali Al-Zanati resigned. Al-Zanati announced his resignation via a recorded video, in which he cited the end of the government’s legal mandate, as per UN peace plan, as the reason for his decision. “It is difficult for me to continue as health minister in the Government of National Unity, whose mandate was expired according to the Geneva political agreement and the decision of the legislative authority,” Al-Zanati said in the video with the picture of Khalifa Haftar, the General Commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA), appearing behind him.
- The Presidential Council announced that it will participate in the constitutional track negotiations, and launch an initiative to overcome the political crisis between the House of Representatives and the State Council. “The Presidency Council’s initiative aims to overcome the political impasse and achieve national consensus, in line with the provisions of the road map issued by the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum governing the stage and based on the moral responsibility of the Presidency Council,” said a statement issued by the Presidency Council.
- Foreign Minister of the Tripoli-based outgoing government, Najla Mangoush, has said Greece is exploiting the Libyan crisis and imposing a fait accompli in defining the Libyan-Greek maritime borders. “Greece has conducted contracts to explore for oil and gas in a disputed area between us,” Foreign Minister of Dbeibeh’s government pointed out. “We condemn this behavior and warn of its consequences,” she added.
- Prime Minister of Libya’s Government of National Unity, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, has reinstated Health Minister Ali Al-Zanati, and the Undersecretary for Technical Affairs, Samir Koko, after a court cleared the two of “financial violations” charges. This was announced by Dbeibeh’s media office, which reported that the 63-year-old premier convened a meeting with the two officials.
- General Commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA) Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar said in a speech on Monday “the continuation of the status quo in the capital Tripoli may push the Libyans to take a definitive decision. “State institutions in the capital have turned into fragile entities submissive to armed groups,” Haftar streesed in his speech in the eastern city of Ajdabya. “The General Command made strenuous efforts to build a prosperous civil state in the interest of the homeland and to establish lasting peace and reconciliation among the brotherly Libyans,“ he added.
- The United States has denied on Sunday that it made any changes to the process of visa application for Libyan travelers, according to the American Embassy in the country. “At this time there are no changes to announce regarding visas for Libyan travelers to the United States,” the embassy reported in a brief notice published via Twitter. “Reports that changes have gone into effect are untrue,” it added before advising to refer to the U.S. Embassy website for current requirements.
- The U.N. Security Council will convene a session to discuss Libya on December 16, according to the council’s agenda published on the U.N. website. During the session, U.N. Special Envoy Abdoulaye Bathily will brief the council about the situation in the country. His briefing will be followed by consultations with Member States.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
- The co-chairs of the Security Working Group (SWG) for Libya, represented by the African Union, France, Italy, Turkey, and the United Kingdom and the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) held a meeting in Tunis to discuss the security situation in the country. The African Intelligence website had reported earlier on December 2nd that U.N. Special Envoy Abdoulaye Bathily had invited international special envoys to the Thursday meeting and raised this issue during his recent international tour, which included Ankara, Doha and Abu Dhabi.
- Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her wishes for parliamentary and presidential elections to be held in Libya as soon as possible. “We are determined to develop relations with Libya in all fields,” said Meloni, in a letter addressed to the head of the Tripoli government, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, in response to his congratulations to her for assuming the position. “Libya’s stability is the absolute priority of Italy’s strategy, as it is an essential element to ensure the security of the entire region. We are ready to do our part to achieve this stability in support of the United Nations, while respecting Libyan sovereignty,” added.
- U.N. Special Envoy to Libya Abdoulaye Bathily held talks on Tuesday with Tunisian Foreign Minister Othman Jerandi to discuss “ways to encourage Libyan political and security actors to come together in Libya and agree on a way out of the crisis by holding elections as soon as possible,” according to the U.N. envoy. In a statement via Twitter, Bathily said that he and Jerandi “called on relevant institutions to swiftly finalize the constitutional basis for elections as the country nears the one year anniversary of the postponement of the 2021 elections.”
