NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES
- The Turkish government has continued its practice of deploying Syrian fighters to Libya, replacing those whose contracts have expired with fresh fighters, according to a report submitted to the United Nations Security Council. The report, prepared by the Panel of Experts on Libya and presented to the Security Council on May 27, 2022, noted “the continuous presence of Turkish-backed Syrian fighters in military camps affiliated with the Government of National Unity” which is led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh,in Tripoli.” There had been back-and-forth transfer operations of Syrian fighters to and from Libya, with those with expired contracts taken out of Libya and replaced by a new group, the report added;
- A high-ranking ISIS operative surrendered to the 444 Brigade, an informed source confirmed without revealing any further details. The ISIS affiliate, identified to be Mustafa Abdel Hamid bin Dallah, has been included on the Public Prosecution’s wanted list since 2016 following the launch of the Al-Bunyan Al-Marsous Operation to liberate the coastal city of Sirte from the extremist group. Bin Dallah was targeted by AFRICOM twice. His residence in Bani Walid was also searched several times in collaboration with US forces under cover of air before his arrest was unsuccessful. The man reportedly was responsible for the safety of ISIS’s top officials in addition to securing supplies for the organisation. He is also accused of bringing in the “Emir” of ISIS in Libya, nicknamed Abu Muadh Al-Iraqi, and other leaders, including Malik Al-Khazmi, Mahmoud Al-Barasi, and his sisters-in-law, who were later targeted by AFRICOM;
- Director of Moral Guidance Department of the Libyan National Army (LNA), Major General Khaled al-Mahjoub, confirmed the support of LNA General Command for the meetings of the 5+5 Joint Military Committee (JMC) in Cairo. Commenting on JMC meetings with Lieutenant-General Abdel Razek al-Nadori and Lieutenant-General Muhammad al-Haddad, al-Mahjoub said: “There is no return to war.” He pointed out that the meetings included emphasizing that work should be done to evacuate all foreign forces and mercenaries from the country and to work to instill trust, where various parties depend on the lack ofsuch trust because they think the continuation of the instability state in the country serves their interests;
- The Libyan 5+5 Joint Military Commission (JMC) reconvened Wednesday in Cairo following meetings in Toledo, Spain and Tunis, Tunisia in May and June, respectively, according to UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). JMC reconvened to continue discussing options for fully implementing the ceasefire agreement and coordinating the withdrawal of foreign fighters and mercenaries, UNSMIL tweeted;
- Libya’s outgoing prime minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, and his Interior Minister Khaled Mazen met at the former’s office on Wednesday to discuss the security situation in Tripoli. According to a brief statement by Dbeibeh’s media office, the two specifically talked about “the security situation, the progress of work in the ministry, and the measures taken to address the conditions of its employees”. During the meeting, Dbeibeh “stressed the need to support the security directorates so that they can carry out the tasks entrusted to them.”;
- The office of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has presented a request for an 18-month extension to its military mission in Libya to the parliament in Ankara, ANSAmed news reported on Monday. In December 2020, the Turkish parliament passed another 18-month extension for its military mission in Libya, which had started in January of the same year following an agreement between Turkey and the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord under then-Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj;
- The 676th Infantry Brigade of the Libyan National Army (LNA) has succeeded in freeing the child, Mustafa al-Barkouli, who had been kidnapped more than year ago in Sebha, Fezzan (the Southern Region). The child appeared in a video clip Sunday night, accompanied by the Commander of Sebha Military Zone of LNA, Major General Fawzi al-Mansouri, who said the 676th Brigade succeeded in freeing the child, praising the efforts of the Attorney General and his Office in Following up on the kidnappers’ phones and providing the LNA forces with information. “Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar summoned me, and his instructions were strict and stringent, that the child must be returned to his family,” said the Commander of Sebha Military Zone. An unknown party kidnapped al-Barkouli in front of his house in al-Jadeed neighborhood of Sabha city on April 25, 2021;
- Libya’s Stability Support Apparatus operated a lawful, secret, blanket policy to seize twenty-five illegal immigrants arriving to city of Garyan, 80 km south of Tripoli. All those arrested are referred to the Public Prosecution.
NATIONAL POLITICS AND SOCIAL ISSUES
- Khaled Al-Mishri, chairman of Libya’s High Council of State, accepted on Monday the United Nations’ proposition to hold direct negotiations between him and Aguila Saleh, Speaker of the House of Representatives. Members of both chambers failed to reach an agreement after wrapping up a third round of U.N.-mediated talks in Egypt on Sunday;
- UN Special Advisor on Libya, Stephanie Williams, said she met Thursday in Cairo with Libyan House of Representatives (HoR) Speaker, Agila Saleh, to discuss the ongoing 3rd and final round of Libyan talks in Cairo of the Joint HoR/HCS Committee. The meeting objective was to find a sound and consensual constitutional framework to enable the holding of national elections within a firm timeline at the earliest possible time, according to Williams. Saleh expressed his full support for the UN efforts in Libya and reiterated the need to finalize work on the Libyan-led and Libyan-owned constitutional track, UN Advisor pointed out;
- The Libyan Prime Minister, Fathi Bashagha, called on all Libyan parties to participate in “building the state”, in a speech on the occasion of the parliament’s approval of the state’s general budget for 2022. Bashagha said: “The Libyan government invites everyone to participate in building the state, and our motto is that Libya is for everyone and by everyone. The Prime Minister warned that Libya is going through serious challenges in this period of time, and facing grave dangers that threaten the existence of the state, its integrity, its present and its future. He said, “We are together hand in hand. We have national duties that do not accept complacency, and there is no room for hesitation and retreat.” “Either we fulfill the trust that we inherited from our fathers and grandfathers, or we fall into the abyss of conflict, divide and strife,” Bashagha added;
- The International Criminal Court on Wednesday dropped its war crimes case against Mahmoud al-Werfalli, a Libyan military general who was killed over a year ago. The court said judges terminated proceedings against Al-Werfalli after studying evidence that included witness statements, photographs and social media posts. The judges “considered the death of Mr. Al-Werfalli to be established and, decided that the proceedings against him must accordingly be terminated, and that the warrants of arrest are no longer in effect,” a court statement said, according to the Associated Press;
- The Libyan House of Representatives (HoR) unanimously approved, during its session held in Sirte Wednesday, the state’s general budget law for the year 2022, according to HoR Spokesman, Abdulla Beihiq. In a brief statement on his official Facebook page, Bleihiq said: “The State’s General Budget Law for the year 2022 was unanimously approved.” The value of the budget is 89,689,376,000 Libyan dinars (about $18 billion).
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
- A joint statement by Saudi Arabia and Egypt stressed Tuesday the importance of immediately starting to implement the exit of all foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya without exception or procrastination, within a specific timeframe, in implementation of Security Council Resolutions 2570 and 2571, the outcomes of the Paris Summit, the Berlin Process, the League of Arab States, the African Union, and the Mechanism of Libya’s Neighboring Countries. They also stressed the need to preserve the unity and integrity of the Libyan territories, and the importance of the Libyans reaching a Libyan-Libyan solution without any dictates or foreign interference, leading to holding presidential and parliamentary elections simultaneously;
- Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron discussed by phone developments in Libya and the Sahel region. The two sides reviewed, through the phone call, several files, on top of which the issues of the Sahel and the situation in Libya, the Algerian Presidency said in a statement on Sunday;
- British Ambassador to Libya, Caroline Hurndall, said she met Tuesday with the President of the Libyan Presidential Council (PC), Mohamed al-Menfi, and “set out UK’s support for the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) facilitated talks in Cairo.” “UK is clear that the House of Representatives and High Council of State must agree a form basis for elections so that Libyans can elect their representatives as soon as possible,” Hurndall tweeted.
