Libya Security Highlights (January 13 – 19, 2020)

In Abu Grein, the pro-Khalifa Haftar warplanes have carried out airstrikes without causing any casualties.

In Tripoli, the spokesman for the Libyan Army under the command of the Presidential Council’s government Muhammed Qununu said on January 19 that Khalifa Haftar’s forces had violated the ceasefire in Tripoli again by opening fire on Khallatat frontline.

In Zueitina, a group of people loyal to Haftar shut down Zueitina oil port on January 17.

On the international level, leaders of the main countries involved in Libya agreed on January 19 in Berlin to take steps to turn the fragile truce around Tripoli into a permanent ceasefire.

ABU GREIN

• the spokesman for the Libyan Army Muhammed Qununu said the pro-Khalifa Haftar warplanes have carried out airstrikes on Abu Grein – between Misrata and Sirte – without causing any casualties. Qununu said this attack is a new violation of the ceasefire by Haftar’s forces just less than 24 hours away from the Berlin conference on Libya, adding that more violations by Haftar’s forces were registered on Al-Ramla frontline [Libya Observer, 18.01.2020].

EL FEEL – SHARARA OILFIELDS

• a source from the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on January 19 that it had to decrease production at Sharara and El Feel oilfields after pipelines connecting them with Al-Zawiya port in western Libya were closed. An armed group loyal to the so-called western operations room of Haftar’s forces closed on January 19 morning the valves of pipelines connecting the two oilfields to Al-Zawiya port, forcing the workers to decrease production before shutting it down completely until the valves get reopened [Libya Observer, 19.01.2020].

TRIPOLI

• the spokesman for the Libyan Army under the command of the Presidential Council’s government Muhammed Qununu said on January 19 that Khalifa Haftar’s forces had violated the ceasefire in Tripoli again by opening fire on Khallatat frontline and attempting to advance on Al-Hadba in southern Tripoli [Libya Observer, 19.01.2020];
• Libya’s UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) on January 16 said forces loyal to “renegade commander” Khalifa Haftar violated the cease-fire in the country, Andolu Agency reports. Muhammed Qununu, the military spokesman of the GNA, said Haftar militias targeted Al-Brega oil complex in southern Tripoli [Marsad, 16.01.2020];
• the news of alleged renewed skirmishes near Tripoli came hours after Libya’s UN-backed prime minister, Fayez al-Sarraj, and the East-based Libyan National Army (LNA) commander, Khalifa Haftar, ended talks in Moscow on the settlement of the Libyan crisis. According to the Al Arabiya broadcaster, gunfire was reported in the Salah al-Din and the Ain Zara areas of the Libyan capital. There have been no reports on casualties or damage [Marsad, 14.01.2020];
• both sides in the conflict have accused the other of violating Tripoli’s ceasefire within its very first twenty-four hours. However, sample reports from Tripoli seem to suggest that, overall, the firing has very much decreased indicating that the ceasefire is holding up. However, the fact that the Libyan Civil Aviation authority has announced the reopening of Mitiga airport is a good confirmatory signal that there is enough confidence in the ceasefire to send passenger flights into Tripoli’s skies [Libya Herald, 13.01.2020].

ZUEITINA

• a group of people loyal to Haftar shut down Zueitina oil port on January 17, identical sources from the Oil Crescent region have confirmed. At the same time, a pro-Haftar group who called themselves “the forum of tribes and Libyan cities” announced earlier their intention to shut down all oil ports starting from Zueitina [Libya Observer, 18.01.2020].

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

• Russian President Vladimir Putin on January 19 said he hoped that the Berlin summit on Libya could bring further progress and that Moscow’s peace efforts had yielded first results [Address Libya, 19.01.2020];
• German Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas has emphasized that the ceasefire is an important step forward that would enhance the UN efforts in resolving the Libyan issue [Libya Observer, 19.01.2020];
• Italy is ready to take a leading role in monitoring a ceasefire agreement in Libya, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on January 19 following the conclusion of a peace conference in Berlin. “We are absolutely available to be in the frontline as far as a commitment goes towards taking responsibility in this direction, for monitoring peace,” he told reporters in comments carried on live television [Address Libya, 19.01.2020];
• leaders of the main countries involved in Libya agreed on January 19 in Berlin to take steps to turn the fragile truce around Tripoli into a permanent ceasefire. They also agreed that no further military support, including weapons, should be provided to the combatants in Libya [Libya Herald, 19.01.2020];

• the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has expressed concern regarding the halting of oil production in Libya. In a statement, the mission warned that such move would have devastating consequences for the Libyan people, as well as terrible knock-on effects for the country’s already deteriorated economic and financial situation [Libya Observer, 19.01.2020];
• European Union Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Virginie Battu-Henriksson has confirmed the EU’s intention to play a strong role in achieving a permanent ceasefire and paving the way for a political solution in Libya [Libya Observer, 18.01.2020];
• the US State Department has confirmed its support for efforts aimed at achieving a durable ceasefire in Libya, making clear that it would push in this direction during the Berlin conference to be held next January 19 [Libya Observer, 18.01.2020];
• the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has described leaving Libya at the mercy of whom he called “warlord Khalifa Haftar” as a historic mistake. Erdogan told Politico on January 18 that Haftar’s forces were leading a coup supported by anti-democracy countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE and also France, which is backing up “the putschist Haftar against the legitimate government” [Libya Observer, 18.01.2020];
• Russian Acting Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said it was up to the warring parties in Libya to resolve their issues, no matter what the outcome of an upcoming Berlin conference on the long-lasting crisis might be [Address Libya, 17.01.2020];
• Turkey is beginning to send troops into Libya in support of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), President Tayyip Erdogan said on January 16, days before a summit in Berlin which will address the Libyan conflict [Address Libya, 16.01.2020];
• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed on January 13 a ceasefire in Libya initiated by Turkey and Russia, but cautioned that the United Nations must lead the process of rebuilding the country [Address Libya, 13.01.2020].