NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES
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Forces of the Libyan National Army (LNA) arrested on Tuesday 51 migrants as they attempted to illegally cross into Libya’s southern border. According to LNA’s 128th Reinforced Brigade, the army soldiers were conducting security patrols in the desert when they apprehended the migrants. The 128th Reinforced Brigade said the migrants are from multiple countries, including Nigeria, Mali, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal and Gambia.
- Security authorities in eastern Libya freed at least 385 Pakistani migrants who were held in trafficking warehouses in an overnight raid, a migrant rights group said Monday, July 31. Al-Abreen, a group which helps migrants in Libya, said the Pakistani nationals were released early Monday from smugglers’ warehouses in the al-Khueir area, roughly 5 miles (8 kilometers) south of the eastern Libyan city of Tobruk. The migrants — among them children — were later transferred to a nearby police headquarters, it said in a post on its official Facebook page.
- The Libyan Border Control Department on Monday, July 31, found two bodies of illegal migrants near the Tunisian border, where hundreds more remain stranded after being expelled by Tunisian authorities. The patrols found the unidentified bodies of African nationalities in Al-Assa town (near the border), according to a statement by the Libyan interior ministry of the Government of National Unity.
NATIONAL POLITICS AND SOCIAL ISSUES
- Deputy Head of the Libyan Presidential Council (PC), Mousa Al-Koni, discussed with the UN envoy to Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, political developments in Libya and Niger. During the meeting, Al-Koni and Bathily reviewed the situation in Niger and Sudan, and their repercussions on Libya and neighboring countries.
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UN Envoy to Libya Abdoulaye Bathily said he met with High Council of State (HCS) President Khaled Mishri in Tripoli, where they “discussed ways to overcome the remaining issues with the legal framework for elections prepared by 6+6 Committee.” Bathily added that he “reiterated the UN’s commitment to assist in mediating a political compromise in relation to the electoral framework and other contentious issues to enable the country to move forward as soon as possible.”
- Libyan House of Representatives Speaker Aguila Saleh met with UN Special Envoy for Libya Abdoulaye Bathily on Wednesday, August 2nd to discuss efforts to hold long-delayed elections. According to House spokesman Abdullah Blehiq, Saleh renewed calls for forming a unified transitional government to oversee elections. The Speaker stated the need for “taking information about the House of Representatives from its official sources,” Blehiq said.
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On Wednesday August 2nd, the head of Coast Guard and Port Security of the Government of National Unity formally received three new rescue boats provided by Italy and the European Union. The boats were delivered as part of a cooperative agreement signed between Libyan and Italian officials back in January 2022. They will join the fleet at the Tripoli Naval Base, manned by Libyan officers who underwent training in Italy to operate the new vessels.
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UN envoy to Libya Abdoulaye Bathily discussed on Tuesday, August 1, with Libyan lawyers how they can play a role in creating an implementable legal framework for inclusive national elections, according to Bathily.“Today, I met with lawyers from various regions of Libya at the headquarters of the Libyan Bar Association in Tripoli,” Bathily tweeted.“They shared their insights and observations on the draft legal framework for elections that was prepared by the 6+6 Committee,” said Bathily.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
- Foreign Minister of the Libyan Parliament-appointed Government, Abdul Hadi al-Huwaij, made a phone call on Saturday, August 5, with the Syrian Foreign Minister, Faisal Mekdad, where they exchanged means of activating relations between the two brotherly countries, according to the Libyan Foreign Ministry.
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Deputy Prime Minister of the parliament-backed government, Salem Al-Zadma, spoke on the phone with with the Nigerian President Mohamed Bazoum, amidst ongoing crisis in Niger. According to a statement by Al-Zadma, Bazoum “expressed his thanks and gratitude for this call and reassured [Al-Zadma] of his situation and his hope that the state of Niger would overcome this ordeal soon”.
- The governor of the Central Bank of Libya, Saddiq al Kabir, held talks today with the Italian ambassador in the country, Gianluca Alberini, in Tripoli. During the meeting, views were exchanged on matters of common interest and on the positive cooperation between the two sides, according to a statement by the Libyan bank.
