NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES
- The Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, has announced its support for thousands of Libya who took to the streets across the country since Friday demanding better living conditions. In a statement on Saturday, LNA’s General Command said it declares its “full support for the popular will and for the demands of the citizens”.
- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) deplored the deaths of at least 20 migrants in the Libyan desert and renewed its call for stronger action to protect migrants along the Chad-Libya border. On 28 June, the bodies of 18 persons believed to be Chadian and two Libyans were reportedly recovered near the border with Chad. According to the Libyan Ambulance and Emergency Services, the group is believed to have died of dehydration.
- The UN secretary general, António Guterres, has appealed for calm as street demonstrations spread across Libya in protest over power cuts and the failure to hold national elections. Talks between the Libyan factions in Geneva convened by the UN special adviser Stephanie Williams made progress last week but without agreement on a constitution for the elections. On Friday night, protesters stormed the parliament in the eastern city of Tobruk as anger exploded over deteriorating living conditions and the political deadlock.
- Fury at Libya’s feuding leaders boiled over on Friday as protesters stormed the parliament building in the eastern city of Tobruk and staged the biggest demonstration for years in the capital Tripoli, in the west. The Tobruk protesters, accusing the parliament of treason and stealing public money, some eight years after its election, broke into the building and set fire to parts of it as armed forces there withdrew.
- 480 migrants have been intercepted at sea and disembarked back on Libyan shores between 19 and 25 of June, said the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Monday. Since the beginning of this year, 9,340 migrants were returned to Libya while 565 went missing and 156 died, according to IOM data.
- Migrant-rescue vessel Ocean Viking, operated by SOS Méditerranée, rescued at sea on Sunday night a total of 75 migrants, the passengers of an “overcrowded rubber dinghy in difficulty” off Libya’s coast, bringing to 90 the number of survivors on board, the NGO said in a statement. Among those rescued were 34 unaccompanied minors, four pregnant women, eight children and a nine-month-old boy, said the Marseille-based NGO, adding that “nobody was wearing a life vest”.
NATIONAL POLITICS AND SOCIAL ISSUES
- Libya’s House of Representatives said on Thursday that it failed to reach agreement with the High Council of State on eligibility requirements for elections candidates during the two-day talks between the leaders of both chambers in Geneva. Speaker of the House, Aguila Saleh, and Chairman of the Council, Khaled Al-Mishri could not reach an agreement on whether or not Libyans with dual citizenships should be allowed to run for public office, according to a statement by the House.
- The leaders of Libya’s House of Representatives and High Council of State have reached today “unprecedented consensus” after holding two-day talks in Geneva under facilitation from the United Nations, announced Stephanie Williams, a special advisor to the U.N. Secretary-General. Aguila Saleh and Khaled Al-Mishri, who lead the aforementioned chambers respectively, have agreed on a number of long-standing issues, including, the designation of the headquarters and distribution of seats for the two chambers of the legislative authority, according to Williams.
- Libyan Prime Minister Fathi Bashagha said he contacted with Parliament Speaker Aqila Saleh, after the latter’s arrival in Geneva to meet with High State Council Chairman Khaled al-Mishri, where the Prime Minister confirmed his government’s full support for the meeting. “I hope it will result in a Libyan national agreement on the constitutional and executive tracks, leading to the successful holding of presidential and parliamentary elections,” Bashagha stated. Saleh and al-Mishri met at U.N. headquarters on Tuesday to start two-day talks on constitutional arrangements for elections in Libya.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
- U.S. Ambassador and Special Envoy to Libya Richard Norland said he received a call from the Libyan Presidential Council’s President Mohamed al-Menfi Saturday evening and “used the opportunity to convey deep U.S. concern about the political, economic and financial stalemate that resulted in scenes of turmoil such as those we saw Friday across the country.”
- 95 asylum seekers and refugees were evacuated from Libya to in Italy, announced the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Thursday. According to UNHCR, the group included children, women and “survivors of violence”. The U.N. agency affirmed that it “relies on the international community to provide safe pathways out of Libya for some of the most vulnerable.” The humanitarian corridor was promoted by the Italian government and civil society organizations, said the Italian Embassy in Libya.
- U.S. Special Envoy and Ambassador to Libya Richard Norland was in Tripoli June 28-29 for meetings with a focus on “U.S. support for moving beyond the transitional phase in Libya to an elected, unified government,” according to US Embassy in Libya. With attention focused on UN-facilitated talks in Geneva, the Ambassador highlighted the importance of finishing the process started in Cairo to find a consensus on the constitutional basis for elections, the Embassy said in a statement.
