NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES
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Spanish charity Open Arms said it rescued 117 migrants crowded onto a precarious wooden boat from Libya in the latest such perilous crossing over the Mediterranean sea. Last week’s shipwreck off Greece, killing at least 78 among hundreds packed onto a fishing boat, has shone a light once again on the deaths of thousands of migrants each year fleeing poverty and conflict in Africa and the Middle East.
- Nine Egyptians have been arrested on suspicion of being people smugglers after the migrant boat disaster off Greece that claimed at least 78 lives, a port source told AFP. Among the detainees is the captain of the overloaded and dilapidated vessel, the source said. The source said the fishing boat left Egypt empty before taking on the migrants at the Libyan port city of Tobruk and heading towards Italy.
- The U.N. Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) is “concerned about the mass arbitrary arrest of migrants and asylum-seekers across the country”. In a statement released via Twitter, the U.N. said “many of these migrants, including pregnant women and children, are being detained in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions.” “Thousands of others, including migrants who have entered Libya legally, have been collectively expelled without screening or due process,” it said.
NATIONAL POLITICS AND SOCIAL ISSUES
- A number of officials in Benghazi reviewed a three-dimensional model of the general plan and expansions of the Benghazi metropolis. Details of the general plan, which aims to modernize and develop the Benghazi urban plan, were presented. It is expected to have many positive results, the most important of which are urban planning, connecting water channels, increasing green spaces, and working to create a sustainable environment, according to Benghazi Municipality.
- The head of Libya’s High Council of State, Khalid al-Mishri, discussed the outcomes of the 6+6 Joint Committee for Preparing Electoral Laws with several armed group leaders in western Libya. The meeting, held at al-Mishri’s residence in Tripoli, included the commanders of the 444th Brigade, Mohamed Hamza, the 52nd Brigade, Mohamed Ben Rajab, and the 111th Brigade, Abdul Salam Zoubi, in addition to the head of the General Security Agency, Abdullah al-Tarablusi, and the commander of the First Support Force in Zawiya, Mohamed Bahrun, along with Hamad Bujelda, Abdul Hakim al-Sheikh who represented Radaa Force, Fahim bin Ramadan, and Muaz al-Manfoukh.
- Libya’s High Council of State and House of Representatives are scheduled to convene separate sessions to discuss electoral laws. Members of both chambers jointly form the 6+6 committee, which have been holding talks in Morocco to draft legislations that would eventually serve as the legal framework for holding elections in the country. On Saturday, June 3, the 6+6 Committee unanimously voted in favor of the laws.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
- The first meeting of the Libya-Italy Military Cooperation Committee in 2023 was held in Tripoli between 7 and 8 June, revealed the Ministry of Defense of the Government of National Unity of Libya (GNU) in a statement on its Facebook page. The meeting is part of the joint technical-military cooperation between the Libyan and Italian defense ministries.
