NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES
- 1062 migrants were disembarked back on Libyan shores in the period from 11 to 17 September, 2022, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). So far in 2022, 16,506 migrants have been disembarked on Libyan shores, IOM said on Monday, September 19. It added that 231 migrants died and 808 went missing in the period from 1 Jan to 17 September, 2022 on the Central Mediterranean route.
- Sea rescue NGO Open Arms have rescued 294 migrants, including 49 women and 60 children, on Sunday, September 18, after they spent 5 days adrift central of the Mediterranean Sea. “A search of more than 24 hours and a rescue that, due to its difficulty, lasted 6 intense hours, various medical cases due to dehydration,” said the Spanish NGO, which also pointed out that the migrants spent two days without water. On Saturday, the Open Arms picked up 59 migrants from Syria, Egypt, Sudan and Eritrea, among them 10 minors, from an oil platform in international waters off Tunisia. Inside the flimsy smugglers’ boat, the charity found the wrapped body of a migrant who had been shot on shore by smugglers, AP reported citing Open Arms spokesperson Laura Lanuza. “The smugglers forced the people to take the corpse with them. They spent a day or so at sea, and kept the corpse until they were saved,” Lanuza said.
- At least one police officer was wounded after armed groups clashed last night in the area near Mitiga International Airport, south of Tripoli. According to press reports, the clashes erupted after an armed group affiliated with the Ministry of Defense, known as the Second Security and Support Force, attacked police patrols with heavy weapons. At that point, another militia, called the Directorate Support Force, affiliated with the Ministry of the Interior, intervened and attacked the other militia in question and seized an armed vehicle bearing the rival group’s logos. Press reports indicated that Brigade 444, which affiliated with the Presidential Council, intervened to resolve the conflict and restore calm in the area.
NATIONAL POLITICS AND SOCIAL ISSUES
- Libyan Foreign Minister, Najla Manqoush, held a meeting with the US State Department’s Counselor, Derek Chollet, and the US Ambassador to Libya, Richard Norland; On the sidelines of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The meeting discussed the latest political developments in Libya, the Government of National Unity said Thursday, September 22.
- S. Assistant Secretary of State Barbara Leaf and Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Mangouh discussed “the urgent need for Libyan leaders to agree on a path to hold elections without delay, working with UN Special Representative to Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily,” U.S. State Department said Tuesday, September 20.
- The Libyan Prime Minister, Fathi Bashagha, revealed Monday that he would hold “fruitful and constructive meetings with friendly and brotherly countries” to present his plan that focuses on “achieving stability, peace and prosperity for Libya and its people.”
- Bashagha added that his plan guarantees access to free and fair simultaneous presidential and legislative elections. The Prime Minister stated: “I highly value the positivity that we have seen and readiness for cooperation and joint work with friendly and brotherly countries.” “We will develop Libya on the basis of democracy, based on the will of the Libyan people, who deserve to live in economic and social peace,” Bashagha said.
- The Chairman of the Libya’s Presidential Council, Mohamed Al-Menfi, met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the 77th session of the U.N. General Assembly last night in New York. According to a statement by the Libyan council, the two leaders discussed “the latest developments in the political situation in Libya, the parliamentary and presidential elections and national reconciliation.” During the meeting, the Turkish president underlined his “support for the steps taken by the chairman of the Presidential Council to achieve peace and stability in the country.”
- “There is no law preventing the Libyan government from assigning land to foreign embassies,” this is how Adel Jumaa, the Minister of Cabinet Affairs for the Government of National Unity, responded to criticisms against his government’s decision to assign land to four foreign embassies. The decision in question was made by the Tripoli-based government, under leadership of Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, last week. The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Turkey and the United States are the beneficiaries of the decision which will see the embassies of the four countries acquiring land worth approximately 100 million dollars. The idea is to create a “diplomatic citadel”, a compound under the protective umbrella of Turkey’s attack drones, located east of Tripoli’s Mitiga International Airport. In a press conference on Saturday, September 17, Jumaa defended the move, claiming that it is “legitimate and in accordance with the interests of the Libyan state”.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
- The President of the Libyan Presidential Council (PC), Mohamed al-Menfi, met Saturday with the Chairman of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly’s 77th session in New York. The meeting dealt with the permanent support of the African Union Commission to achieve the reconciliation project led by the Presidential Council to reach stability in Libya. Al-Menfi stressed Libya’s pioneering and historical role in establishing the African Union, praising the efforts of the Chairman of the African Union Commission and his keenness to support the political track by raising the Libyan file at all African summits.
- Malta has pledged to use its time on the United Nations Security Council to “work tirelessly” to support UN efforts in Libya. This was reported by the Times of Malta after a meeting between the country’s Prime Minister Robert Abela and Libyan Presidential Council chairman Mohamed Menfi on Friday in New York, on the fringes of the UN General Assembly. Abela told Menfi that Malta would continue to push for Libya to remain high on the EU’s agenda, and assured the Libyan leader that Malta was fully behind the “laudable and unwavering” work that UN Secretary-General António Guterres and his special representative for Libya Abdoulaye Bathily are doing in Libya.
- President of the Libyan Presidential Council (PC), Mohamed al-Menfi, held a meeting in New York with the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan. According to a brief statement by the Presidential Council, this came on the sidelines of the 77th regular session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
- The Chairman of the Presidential Council, Mohamed Al-Manfi, took part on Monday, September 19, at a U.N. called ‘Transforming Education’ on the sidelines of 77th General Assembly in New York, according to a brief statement by the council.
