In Tripoli, the forces of the Libyan Army under the Presidential Council’s command launched on Saturday fierce offensive on positions of Khalifa Haftar’s forces on different frontlines in southern Tripoli.
In Abu Grein, Libyan Misrata operations room has arrested a man suspected of terrorist acts and of being part of ISIS groups. A force from the operations room raided a house in Abu Grein in southern Misrata and detained the militant after an arrest warrant for him was issued by the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
On the international level, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sissi said that Libya still suffers from political blockage, the spread of terrorism, the activity of militias, mercenaries and foreign intervention.
Four US Senators from the Committee on Foreign Affairs have sent a letter to the US President Donald Trump about the ongoing Tripoli fighting, voicing concerns over the military escalation in Libya.
ABU GREIN
- Libyan Misrata operations room has arrested a man suspected of terrorist acts and of being part of ISIS groups. A force from the operations room raided a house in Abu Grein in southern Misrata and detained the militant after an arrest warrant for him was issued by the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The room explained on Thursday that Fares Belhaj (A.K.A. Khattab) was apprehended on Monday in Abu Grein in coordination with central region’s criminal investigation apparatus. Libya’s Interior Ministry said last week that it had busted the Emir of Hisbah of ISIS and another terrorist linked to Al-Qaeda [Libya Observer, 30.05.2019].
DERNA
- Health Ministry of the Libyan Interim Government condemned the explosions that targeted the positions of the Libyan National Army (LNA) in the city of Derna east of Benghazi Sunday morning. The Spokesman of the Ministry Moataz Trabelsi said in a press statement that the explosions wounded 11 members of LNA forces, noting that the Ministry was providing emergency services and treatment [Address Libya, 02.06.2019].
TRIPOLI
- the forces of the Libyan Army under the Presidential Council’s command launched on Saturday fierce offensive on positions of Khalifa Haftar’s forces on different frontlines in southern Tripoli. Using all kinds of weapons, the Libyan army forces attacked Haftar’s forces on Ain Zara, Khallit Al-Furjan, Yarmouk Camp, Al-Sabaa, Tuwaisha, Ramla, Tripoli Airport and Wadi Rabea frontlines, with confirmations by the senior leaders that they had made great advances rushing Haftar’s forces farther away. Meanwhile, Libyan Air Force targeted positions for Haftar’s forces in southern Tripoli and in Gharyan – southwestern Tripoli. Senior leader at western military zone of the Presidential Council, Ali Jibril, said the all-frontline attack on southern Tripoli locations where Haftar’s forces are positioned aimed at confusing them and disconnecting them [Libya Observer, 01.06.2019];
- Abdel Salam Abou Rzaiza, one of the wanted militants by security and military departments in Benghazi, was killed Thursday in battles against the LNA on Tripoli Airport Road, south of the Libyan capital. The same frontline witnessed the killing of another extremist element, Mohamed Ben Dardaf, aka Al-Babur. Some Facebook and Twitter accounts, affiliated with the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries, posted obituaries eulogizing Abou Rzaiza, aka Bou Khashm who was killed on Thursday in fighting against the LNA [Address Libya, 31.05.2019];
- a member of Ansar al-Sharia terrorist group has appeared in Tripoli fighting among the ranks of militias of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA). Adel Al-Rubaie is accused of carrying out assassinations in Benghazi. He disappeared two years ago after rumors surfaced that he got killed in Souk El Hout area in Benghazi. However, Al-Rubaie managed to get out of Benghazi and travel to Misrata after his left hand was injured in 2017 [Address Libya, 28.05.2019].
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
- Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sissi said that Libya still suffers from political blockage, the spread of terrorism, the activity of militias, mercenaries and foreign intervention [Address Libya, 02.06.2019];
- the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has called on Libyan parties to return to the political process under the political agreement concluded under the auspices of the UN in order to find a comprehensive settlement through national reconciliation on a consensual basis. In a communiqué on Saturday at the end of the 14th Islamic Summit Conference held in Mecca, OIC also affirmed its commitment to supporting the stability, unity and territorial integrity of Libya [Address Libya, 01.06.2019];
- Italy’s Defense Minister Elisabetta Trenta affirmed on Friday that her country “has not left Libya” and has not “changed its posture” with respect to its support for the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA). Speaking to her country’s joint Foreign and Defense committees of the Senate and Chamber, Trenta also reiterated the need for political dialogue in Libya [Address Libya, 01.06.2019];
- Italian Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi on Friday told the House and Senate foreign and defense commissions that “the situation in Libya is of extreme difficulty”. “Action probably needs significant patience”, he said, “especially wider international collaboration” [Address Libya, 31.05.2019];
- four US Senators from the Committee on Foreign Affairs have sent a letter to the US President Donald Trump about the ongoing Tripoli fighting, voicing concerns over the military escalation in Libya. The Senators, including Republican Lindsey Graham, told Trump that some neighboring countries of Libya are fueling the fighting by supporting their allies inside the country and this “goes against the US policy” [Libyan Express, 30.05.2019];
- Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri met with his Tunisian counterpart Khamis al-Jhinaoui on Wednesday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on the sidelines of their participation in the preparatory foreign ministers’ meeting for the 14th session of the Islamic Summit Conference. Spokesman for the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Hafez said that the meeting included exchanging views on a number of regional issues of common concern, especially the latest developments on the Libyan arena. The two sides stressed the importance of restoring security and stability in Libya by supporting all efforts to reach a political settlement to the crisis, eliminating all forms of terrorism and ending the chaos of the militias as well as the need to address the smuggling of arms and foreign fighters into Libya [Address Libya, 30.05.2019];
- the United States and Egypt, a key backer of Khalifa Haftar, on Tuesday called for calm Haftar pressed ahead in his offensive on Tripoli. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addressed the crisis in Libya during a phone call with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukry, the State Department said. The two discussed “the urgent need to achieve a political solution in Libya and prevent further escalation,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said [Libyan Express, 30.05.2019];
- Chairman of Presidential Council Fayez al-Sirraj and Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat held joint talks in Malta on Monday over the ongoing war on Tripoli and ways of enhancing the two countries’ cooperation. According to the Media Office of Presidential Council, Muscat reiterated his country’s support to the Government of National Accord (GNA) and rejected the offensive on Tripoli, saying there is no military solution to the Libyan crisis. He also stressed the need to resume UN-brokered political talks to settle the crisis [Libya Observer, 28.05.2019];
- Deputy head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) for political affairs, Stephanie Williams has condemned the attack on Tripoli Oil Clinic. Williams expressed relief during a meeting with Chairman of the National Oil Corporation (NOC), Mustafa Sanallah, on Monday, that there were no injuries, noting that shelling of civilian targets may constitute a war crime, according to the UNSMIL Facebook [Libya Observer, 28.05.2019];
- the UN envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame told France 24 in a Tuesday interview that he has never been and will never be biased in the Libyan conflict, responding to Khalifa Haftar’s accusation made in an interview with Le Journal du Dimanche on Sunday. Salame said his mission (UNSMIL) and the UN Security Council will keep on working until those violating arms embargo and humanitarian law are named, shamed and sanctioned in Libya and their regional and international supporters [Libyan Express, 28.05.2019];
- UNSMIL said in a statement on Sunday that it was deeply concerned at a series of serious incidents which have taken place in the last few days in and around Tripoli. UNSMIL indicated that it was very concerned at the report of the kidnapping of the High Council of State’s member Mohammed Abu Gmaja from Qasr Benghashir in southern Tripoli [Libya Observer, 27.05.2019].
