Libya Security Highlights (January 20 – 26, 2020)

In Al-Wishka, Khalifa Haftar’s forces, positioned in Al-Wishka between Sirte and Misrata, have carried out an attack on Abu Grein.

In Tripoli, indiscriminate shells fired by Haftar’s forces hit several neighbourhoods in Tripoli on January 25, killing at least one person of Moroccan nationality and injuring 5 others, including children.

On the international level, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on January 24 that the success of the peace plan in Libya is linked to the implementation of Berlin conference conclusions.

AL-WISHKA

• Khalifa Haftar’s forces, positioned in Al-Wishka between Sirte and Misrata, have carried out an attack on Abu Grein town in a violation of the ink-on-paper ceasefire wishing to become positioned nearby Misrata city. Libyan Army forces pulled out temporarily from Abu Grein under the heavy shelling by Haftar’s forces, then once the military reinforcement came from Misrata, they repelled the attackers and retook Abu Grein pushing Haftar’s forces away [Libya Observer, 26.01.2020].

TRIPOLI

• indiscriminate shells fired by militias of Haftar hit several neighbourhoods in Tripoli on January 25, killing at least one person of Moroccan nationality and injuring 5 others, including children. Meanwhile, the media office of the Volcano of Rage Operation said that Haftar’s militias slammed a populated district adjacent to the airport of Mitiga with a barrage of rockets [Libya Observer, 26.01.2020];

• the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by General Khalifa Haftar has managed to down a Turkish drone that was allegedly trying to hit LNA units in Tripoli, a spokesman for the LNA Air Defence Forces said on January 22. “The Air Defence Forces of the General Command of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces shot down a Turkish drone that took off from the Mitiga International Airport and was trying to raid the site of our military units in Tripoli,” the statement published on Facebook reads [Marsad, 22.01.2020];
• forces loyal to Libya’s commander Khalifa Haftar on January 22 declared Libya’s capital of Tripoli and its surrounding areas as a “no-fly zone” and threatened to hit civilian planes, Anadolu reports. Ahmed al-Mismari, spokesman for Haftar forces, said on social media forces declared the off-limit area from Garyan, 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of the capital city, to Tarhuna city, 90 kilometers southeast (56 miles) and to the Tripoli beach, including Mitiga Airport in the capital. He said all planes in the declared area would be a “legitimate” target [Marsad, 22.01.2020];
• the media office of Volcano of Rage Operation said on January 22 that Khalifa Haftar’s forces breached the ceasefire agreement again by targeting Mitiga Airport in Tripoli with six Grad rockets leading to the suspension of flights for hours. The media office reported the spokesman for the Libyan Army Mohammed Gununu as confirming Haftar’s forces attack on Mitiga Airport in Tripoli without reported damages or casualties, saying the attack by Haftar’s forces was a threat to air traffic and new violation of the ceasefire [Libya Observer, 22.01.2020].

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

• UNSMIL condemned on January 26 ‘‘in the strongest possible terms the attack against Mitiga Airport (today), by two grad missiles, which resulted in the injury of at least two civilians, and damage to the tarmac and a number of buildings including private and public property’’ [Libya Herald, 26.01.2020];
• the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said in a statement released on January 25 that it deeply regrets the continued ‘‘blatant violations of the arms embargo’’ in Libya, ‘‘even after the commitments made in this regard by concerned countries during the International Conference on Libya in Berlin’’ held on 19 January 2020 [Libya Herald, 26.01.2020];
• the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on January 24 that the success of the peace plan in Libya is linked to the implementation of Berlin conference conclusions. Erdogan added, at the inauguration of the German University in Istanbul, that Ankara supports the UN efforts for peace and for ending the bloodshed in Libya [Libya Observer, 25.01.2020];
• Greece and Saudi Arabia share the view that the Memoranda of Understanding signed between Turkey and Head of the Tripoli-based Government National Accord (GNA) Fayez al-Sarraj are void and non-existent, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said in Athens on January 24 afternoon [Address Libya, 25.01.2020];
• the German Parliament’s legal committee has questioned the validity of the maritime boundaries agreement signed between Turkey and the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) in November [Address Libya, 24.01.2020];
• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “Turkey supports Fayez al-Sarraj, head of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) and his forces, and we do not support an unrecognized person in Libya. We will not leave the Head of GNA alone, and we intend to support him.” Erdogan added in a press conference with German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, in Ankara [Address Libya, 24.01.2020];
• Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry took part on January 23 in a meeting of Libya’s neighboring countries in Algeria, alongside the foreign ministries of Tunisia, Sudan, Chad, Niger, Mali and Algeria. Shoukry asserted during the meeting that Egypt is keen on supporting the security and stability of Libya and its neighbors, adding that the Berlin Conference on Libya was successful in offering a roadmap for a political solution to ongoing violence in the war-torn country [Address Libya, 23.01.2020];
• the European Union will not agree to a political solution to Libya’s factional conflict unless Turkey and Libya abandon a maritime accord they signed in November, Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on January 23 [Address Libya, 23.01.2020];

• Turkey does not plan to send more military advisers to Libya while a ceasefire is being observed, Russia’s RIA news agency cited Turkey’s foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu as saying on January 23. A Libya peace conference will take place in Berlin at the start of February, but Germany has not yet named a date for the event, the minister was quoted as saying [Address Libya, 23.01.2020];
• the British Embassy in Libya has expressed its concern about the blockade imposed on oil installations in Libya, saying it would severely impact oil operations and the work of the National Oil Corporation (NOC) of Libya. “This will harm the Libyan people, intensify the humanitarian emergency and damage the Libyan economy. NOC operations should be allowed to resume immediately,” the British embassy tweeted on January 22 [Libya Observer, 23.01.2020];
• speaker of the Arab Parliament Meshaal al-Salami stressed on January 22 the importance of disarming militias in the Libyan capital Tripoli and halting Turkey’s support for them. He stated that the Turkish military intervention worsens the situation in Libya and spurs division among different factions [Address Libya, 23.01.2020];

• NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has confirmed that NATO could do much to support the EU Sophia Operation in imposing an arms embargo on Libya. He emphasized that they would provide support if so requested, reiterating NATO’s support for the Berlin Conference outcomes and for a political solution in Libya [Libya Observer, 22.01.2020];
• the US Embassy in Libya called on January 21 for the resumption of oil production and marketing operations from the National Oil Cooperation (NOC) in Tripoli immediately. “The suspension of the NOC’s operations risks exacerbating the humanitarian emergency in Libya and inflicting further needless suffering on the Libyan people,” the embassy tweeted out on its account on January 21 [Libya Observer, 22.01.2020];
• the High Representative for Security and Foreign Policy of the European Union, Josep Borrell, said on January 20 that what happened in Libya is not a ceasefire, but rather a truce that must be developed into a stable and firm ceasefire [Libya Observer, 21.01.2020];
• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on January 20 that there were not any Turkish troops in Libya yet, only Turkish military advisers. “We are not sending troops [to Libya] as of now. We have sent there a team of military advisers and instructors,” Erdogan said, as quoted by the Turkish A Haber broadcaster [Marsad, 20.01.2020].