NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES
- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that 89 migrants have been intercepted and returned to Libya during the past week. “In the period of 7 – 13 May 2023, 89 migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya,” IOM said via Twitter.
- Libyan security forces said they had deployed in Zawiya after battles between armed groups in the western city left three people dead including two civilians, according to medics. “We have deployed on the instructions of the supreme military authorities in the zones of combat, and succeeded thanks to mediation efforts by tribal leaders and city elders to halt the fighting,” General Akram Douwa told AFP.
NATIONAL POLITICS AND SOCIAL ISSUES
- A liaison team of the Government of National Unity presented to presented the U.N. Envoy Abdoulaye Bathily a cooperation proposal in support of the electoral process. The team, headed by Minister of State for Communication and Political Affairs Walid Al-Lafi, briefed Bathily on “the efforts of the GNU Ministerial Committee to Support Elections and the various activities implemented in coordination with the High National Elections Commission,” according to the U.N. Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).
- The Association of Italian Returnees from Libya (AIRL) applauded the efforts of the Italian Embassy in Tripoli to resuming direct flights between Italy and Libya, which the association says would have a “strategic and symbolic value”, Italian news agency Nova reports.
- Khaled Al-Mishri, chairman of Libya’s High Council of State, criticized the parliament’s decision to replace Fathi Bashagha as prime minister, slamming the move as a “political absurdity” in a statement via Twitter. The House of Representatives voted to oust Bashagha after he failed to take office in Tripoli where the incumbent Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh has refused to cede power.
- The 6+6 committee, formed jointly by Libya’s House of Representative and High Council for the preparation of electoral laws, will meet in Morocco within a week to continue talks on drafting legislations governing the national elections planned at the end of this year, according to a report by Italian news agency Nova.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
- Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush said Kuwait has been supporting stability and security in Libya, out of the deep-rooted ties between the two countries and their peoples. She met Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem Al-Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, saying that exchanging visits between officials of the two countries deepen the distinguished ties.
-
A delegation from the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs arrived in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, to discuss arrangements for the reopening of Riyadh’s embassy, which has been closed since 2014. The Saudi delegation arrived at Mitiga Airport and was headed by the Minister Plenipotentiary and Deputy Director General of the General Administration for Arab and African Countries Affairs, Abdullah Bin Fahd Al-Shammari.
- Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush arrived in Oman on Sunday, May 14, for a two-day visit, according to a statement by the Omani foreign ministry. On Monday, Mangoush held talks with Sultan Mohammed Al Nu’amani, Minister of the Royal Office, according to a report by the Times of Oman.
