In Al-Watiya, the Libyan National Army announced that its Air Force has destroyed Turkish Hawk air defense systems that Turkey had deployed in the past days.
In Misrata, the joint operations room arrested a man linked to ISIS as he was hiding in the city.
In Tarhouna, Libyan authorities on July 2 extracted six more bodies from a mass grave in the city.
On the international level, the Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on July 4 Turkey’s presence in Libya is to do whatever the international law and justice require, adding that Turkey is together with the Libyan brothers.
AL-WATIYA
- the Libyan National Army announced that its Air Force has destroyed Turkish Hawk air defense systems that Turkey had deployed in the past days at Al-Watiya Air Base, northwest of Libya. In a statement to the Libyan Address Journal on July 5, an informed military source stated that the Libyan National Army air force has targeted the Hawk systems deployed by Turkish forces in separate areas inside the Al-Watiya, which covers an area of fifty square kilometers;
- social media activists circulated news sources from western Libya saying that unidentified aircraft carried out airstrikes on Al-Watiya airbase early on July 5 without causing any casualties. The sources said Western Mountain region residents had heard aircraft flying over Al-Watiya before the strikes hit the airbase, saying southern region residents also heard warplanes, which could mean that they had taken off from a foreign airbase in Mali;
- sources in the city of Alrujban, southwest of Tripoli, reported on July 2 that successive explosions were heard near Al-Watiya Airbase. The sources also pointed out that the residents of Alrujban and its environs have heard the sound of explosions and aircraft flying over the vicinity of the Al-Watiya, adding that unknown aircraft had bombed sites near the Al-Watiya in the west of the country, while sorties over the areas of the western mountain continued.
MISRATA
- the joint operations room of Misrata arrested a man linked to ISIS as he was hiding in the city. The room said in a statement that the ISIS militant is Omar Dabbous; a Syrian national who operates for the radical terrorist group, adding he came as a refugee with his family to Libya in 2016. The statement added that the arrest operation came after information showed Dabbous was in contact with terrorists outside Libya, adding that after thorough investigation and the issuing of an arrest warrant by the Public Prosecutor, the room’s personnel executed the mission very professionally.
SIRTE
- a rocket attack carried out by Russian mercenaries fighting alongside Haftar’s forces has claimed the life of a civilian and seriously injured another, spokesman for the Sirte and Jufra Operations Room, Brigadier General Abdul Hadi Drah confirmed on June 29. Drah explained that the attack took place in in the area of Wadi Tamit, west of Sirte. “Haftar’s militias are continuing their criminal actions against civilians and innocent people in Sirte, which poses a threat to the population in this region,” says Drah.
TARHOUNA
- Libyan authorities on July 2 extracted six more bodies from a mass grave in the city of Tarhouna, south-east of Tripoli, raising the total number of corpses found in mass graves south of Tripoli to 219. Tarhouna was formerly a stronghold of forces loyal to rogue General Khalifa Haftar and the area south of Tripoli was under Haftar’s control until recently;
- authorities have unearthed five more bodies in three separate graves in Tarhouna. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Justice on June 29, the search teams found three bodies in one grave, while the other two bodies were found individually and appeared to be blindfolded, all of the bodies were complete and were buried in their full attire. The Ministry confirmed that the teams would relentlessly continue to search and exhume all human remains in Tarhouna.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
- the Algerian President, Abdelmadjid Tabboune, said in reference to previous statements by the Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, that the ‘taking up of arms’ by Libyan tribes, could possibly turn Libya into another Somalia and negatively reflect on the security of the entire region;
- on July 4, the Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan discussed with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian “the strategic relations between the two countries and ways to enhance aspects of joint cooperation in all fields, including international efforts to establish peace in Libya,” stressing their support for the Egyptian initiative to resolve the Libyan crisis and their rejection of Turkish intervention;
- the Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on July 4 Turkey’s presence in Libya is to do whatever the international law and justice require, adding that Turkey is together with the Libyan brothers. “No one should doubt it, we will not give up on it,” Hulusi Akar said as he met Turkish military personnel in Tripoli;
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the Cairo initiative for a settlement in Libya could become the basis for initiating a dialogue between Libyans;
- Turkish Energy and Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez said that his country will continue oil exploration activities in Libya and plans to cooperate with the Tripoli-based Oil Corporation;
- the French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has expressed concerns about the tensions in Libya, calling for ceasefire so that Libyans can resume the political process under the auspices of the UN;
- the German Foreign Ministry called on the European Union to pressure the countries violating the arms embargo on Libya to stop the flowing of arms to the country;
- US officials pushed Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) to demobilize in a virtual meeting on July 1. “The US side reaffirmed that armed groups that attempt to spoilt the political process or engage in destabilizing acts must not be tolerated — and risk international sanctions,” the State Department said while announcing the meeting;
- on July 1, the Delegation of the European Union, in agreement with European ambassadors to Libya, expressed their support to the National Oil Corporation (NOC) in its efforts to resume oil production while also seeking to ensure transparency in the utilization of oil revenues;
- Greece’s Foreign Minister, Nikos Dendias, arrived in eastern Libya on July 1 where he met with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh, to discuss the Libyan conflict and bilateral relations between the two countries;
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on July 1 that his country will continue its support to the legitimate authority in Libya, the Government of National Accord. Addressing members of the ruling Justice and Development Party via video conference, Erdogan added that there are countries that claim democracy while supporting “putschists” in Libya. “We will not leave the Libyan people at the mercy of the putschists,” he stated;
- Turkey’s ambassador to France accused Paris on July 1 of having a biased policy over Libya, turning a blind eye to suspected violations of a UN arms embargo by the United Arab Emirates and Egypt to the benefit of Khalifa Haftar;
- Spain’s Foreign Affairs Ministry released a statement on June 30 calling for the end to the blockade on oil production in Libya. “The Spanish government expresses its grave concern over the deterioration of the economic situation in Libya,” read the report;
- France’s President on June 29 accused Turkey of massively importing jihadists into Libya, labeling Ankara’s intervention “criminal”. Ties between NATO allies France and Turkey have soured in recent weeks over Libya, Northern Syria and drilling in the eastern Mediterranean;
- the European Union should threaten to intervene militarily in the Libya if necessary, Wolfgang Ischinger, the head of the Munich Security Conference, said in an interview on June 29.
