NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES
- Unlike the escalating migrant crisis in western Libya, the country’s eastern Cyrenaica region has seen negligible outflows of irregular migrants as the Libyan National Army intensifies its crackdown on human trafficking and smuggling networks. Statistics from Italy’s interior ministry reveal over 20,000 irregular migrants have arrived on Italian shores since January, a 58.44% decline compared to the same period last year when 48,778 migrants made the perilous Mediterranean crossing.
- The Attorney General’s Office reported that its Prosecutor has detained the Current Accounts Officer and seeking three other employees at the National Commercial Bank – Zawiya Refinery Branch. The four bank employees are sought by the law for using forged bank instruments for illicit gains amounting to over LD 4.86 million.
NATIONAL POLITICS AND SOCIAL ISSUES
- Libya’s Tripoli based Ministry of Oil and Gas announced that Oil and Gas Minister Mohamed Aoun has returned to his post. The social media post was accompanied by a photograph of Aoun working at his ministerial desk. The Ministry of Oil and Gas’s announcement said ‘‘With reference to the issuance of Resolution No. 347 of 2024 on 25 March, 2024 by the Administrative Control Authority (ACA), which stipulates the suspension of the Minister of Oil and Gas from work in reserve for investigation reasons, and after the completion of the investigation and the issuance of Resolution No. 492 of 2024 on 12 May, 2024 to lift the precautionary suspension and the end of the investigation after this date and notify the government of that.
- The UNDP Libya office published its 2023 Annual Report. The report stated that 2023 was ‘‘a year marked by resilience and rigorous efforts amidst significant challenges. Unprecedented floods in the northeastern region tested the resilience and unity of the communities we serve. Despite these adversities, the spirit of solidarity and the joint response to these crises highlighted the strength and compassion of the Libyan people”. The report said that in 2023, the UNDP Libya’s journey was shaped by the priorities set forth in the UNDP’s three-year Country Programme Document (2023-2025), which focuses on local peacebuilding, strengthening democratic governance, and advancing our energy and environmental initiatives.
- The Voice of the People Party, a major political group in Libya, has strongly rejected accusations of migrant abuse made against the country in a report from the outgoing prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
In a statement, the party denounced the report’s claims as “unfounded accusations” that aim to undermine Libya’s sovereignty and mar its international reputation. Spokesman stated the allegations “have no basis in fact” and accused the report of politicized bias.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
- The Maltese Embassy in Libya announced that it had opened a new visa application centre in Misrata . The centre is in partnership with visa processing company VFS Global. At the ceremony Maltese ambassador to Libya, Charles Saliba, highlighted the role being played by the embassy to facilitate commercial and social exchanges between Libya and Malta in order to build ever closer bilateral relations as well as shape a positive narrative regarding the situation in Libya.
- A Turkish source confirmed to Libya Herald that a new ambassador to Libya will be taking over from Kenan Yilmaz at Tripoli ‘‘soon’’. The new ambassador, announced, will be Guven Begec. Begec was serving as the Permanent Representative of Turkey to the UN Geneva Office.
