US Welcomes Appointment Of New UN Special Envoy For Libya
WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th September, 2022) The United States welcomes the appointment of Senegalese diplomat Abdoulaye Bathily as the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the appointment on Friday. Libyan Ambassador to the United Nations Taher El Sonni said at the end of last month that his country was calling on Guterres to quickly select a new special representative for Libya. "We welcome the appointment by UN Secretary-General Guterres of Mr. Abdoulaye Bathily as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya. The United Nations has been facilitating peace efforts in Libya since the overthrow of President Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, which left the country split between rival factions.
Source:Libya Today
September 04, 2022 04:21 UTC
Turkey supports Libya's Tripoli forces amid deadly battles
September 3, 2022A fresh round of deadly clashes has forced Turkey to step into fray and host high-level meetings with two rival Libyan leaders in a bid to de-escalate the tensions, Al-Monitor has learned. The meetings came after deadly clashes between the rival forces rattled Tripoli last week, leaving 32 people dead and more than 150 wounded. Ankara has grown aloof from Bashagha, who once had worked closely with Turkey while serving as interior minister in the GNA. The Libyan leader’s following rapprochement with France and Egypt, which have supported eastern-based forces, further fed into Ankara's mistrust. As Turkey can hardly break the impasse by maintaining its appearance of neutrality, Ankara will have to choose its side.
Source:Libya Today
September 04, 2022 01:31 UTC
Libyan armed factions clash on outskirts of Tripoli
Fighting has broken out between Libyan armed factions on the western outskirts of Tripoli, as forces aligned with the Government of National Unity (GNU) under Abdul Hamid al-Dabaiba further consolidated their control over the capital. Libyan oil production, a prize for the warring groups, has repeatedly been shut off. During last week’s fighting, a major Bashagha-aligned faction based in Zawiya was said to be among groups that were repulsed from the outskirts of the capital. In the southern Tripoli district of Ain Zara, a powerful faction that backed al-Dabaiba during last week’s fighting took over a security headquarters. Following last week’s fighting, Bashagha and al-Dabaiba visited Turkey, which helped the now-divided western factions fight off an eastern assault in 2020.
Source:Libya Today
September 04, 2022 00:54 UTC
Clashes rock western outskirts of Libyan capital
Clashes break out in Warshafala, a district west of Tripoli that has seen numerous clashes since Gaddafi’s ouster. Pro-Dbeibah forces seize military headquarters in southern Tripoli. During last week’s fighting, a major Bashagha-aligned faction based in Zawiya was said to be among the groups repulsed from the capital’s outskirts. AdvertisementA powerful faction that supported Dbeibah during last week’s fighting has taken over a security headquarters in the southern Tripoli district of Ain Zara. Also Read Fighting rips through Libyan capital, killing 13 Libya has been on the verge of civil war for months.
Source:Libya Today
September 04, 2022 00:09 UTC
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Senegalese diplomat Abdoulaye Bathily appointed UN special envoy to Libya
Former Senegalese minister and UN diplomat Abdoulaye Bathily will be the new UN envoy to Libya after the Security Council approved the appointment. In December, Mr Guterres appointed veteran American diplomat Stephanie Williams, a former UN deputy special representative in Libya, as his special adviser — a job that did not require council approval. Mr Guterres said Mr Bathily brings 40 years of experience to his new role in Libya. Libya’s transitional government, which opposed Mr Bathily’s nomination, reportedly sent a protest letter to Mr Guterres, which raises questions about how effective the new envoy can be in trying to resolve the country’s crisis. "The United States will provide full support to Special Representative Bathily as he mediates the Libya-led political process, and we call upon the international community to work in lockstep with the special representative," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
Source:Libya Today
September 03, 2022 19:00 UTC
There is plenty of blame to go around in Libya
There is plenty of blame to go around in LibyaHafed Al-GhwellPeople inspect the damage following clashes between backers of rival governments in Libya's capital Tripoli. Oil production — and by extension the revenues from exports — has long had strategic, political and economic significance to the multitude of actors active in Libya. As Libyan factions reorient themselves and plan their next moves, international efforts remain rudderless and devoid of any sense of urgency. In essence, the international community has not only engineered the deliberate failures that are stifling progress in Libya, it has also become numb to the tragic consequences. Hafed Al-Ghwell is a non-resident senior fellow with the Foreign Policy Institute at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.
Source:Libya Today
September 03, 2022 18:22 UTC
Norland, Bashagha discuss military de-escalation in Tripoli
U.S. Special Envoy and Ambassador to Libya, Richard Norland, spoke on the phone today with Prime Minister-designate Fathi Bashagha following the latter’s trip to Turkey, the American embassy announced. “We discussed the importance of de-escalating the military confrontation in and around Tripoli,” Norland was quoted as saying by the embassy via Twitter. The two also discussed “the urgent need for all parties” to work with the new U.N. Envoy to Libya Abdoulaye Bathily to “establish a clear roadmap to early elections as the only solution to Libya’s instability.”
Source:Libya Today
September 03, 2022 15:32 UTC
5 wounded after clashes rock Warshafana, in outskirts of Tripoli
Libyan armed factions fought in the western outskirts of Tripoli late on Friday and early Saturday as forces aligned with Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh’s government further consolidated their control over the capital. Fighting took place in Warshafala, a district west of Tripoli that has been the site of repeated clashes throughout the 11 years of violence and chaos since a NATO-backed uprising ousted veteran leader Muammar Gaddafi. According to Tripoli’s Ambulance and Emergency Service, five people, all from the same family, were wounded in the aftermath of the clashes. The clashes, along with a major pro-Dbeibah group taking over a military headquarters in southern Tripoli, come a week after Libya’s biggest bout of warfare for two years, as several rival factions battled in and around the capital. Last week’s fighting dislodged several groups that had aligned with Dbeibah’s rival as prime minister – the former interior minister Fathi Bashagha who has been appointed by the eastern-based parliament to head a new government.
Source:Libya Today
September 03, 2022 12:14 UTC
16 new people test positive for Coronavirus in Libya
16 new people tested positive for COVID-19, marking 8 percent of the infection rate, according to a Friday report by the National Center for Disease Control in Libya (NCDC). The center also said 23 have recovered during the same reporting period. The total recorded COVID-19 cases in Libya have exceeded more than 50,000 since the start of the pandemic, while over 490,000 of which have recovered, according to the NCDC. The virus has claimed the lives of 6,437 people. Over two million people received one dose of the vaccination, while more than one million others were vaccinated with two doses.
Source:Libya Today
September 03, 2022 12:14 UTC
Dbeibeh, eyeing military build-up, meets Erdogan in Istanbul
Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on Friday as the outgoing Libyan premier signals intent to boost military cooperation after a recent wave of violence in the Libyan capital, which threatened to dethrone him from power. Accompanied by the Governor of the Central Bank of Libya Saddek Elkaber, Dbeibeh discussed with Erdogan “a number of economic dossiers in the public and private sectors, as well as increasing military cooperation between the two countries through training and development for all military and support forces,” according to a statement by Dbeibeh’s media office. Turkey considers Dbeibeh as Libya’s legitimate leader and has a military presence in the country. In June, the Turkish parliament extended for another 18 months a mandate that allows the deployment of Turkish troops to Libya. The mandate first came into force in January 2020 following a security and military agreement with Libya’s UN-backed administration in Tripoli in November 2019.
Source:Libya Today
September 03, 2022 10:58 UTC
Clashes rock outskirts of Libyan capital
TRIPOLI : Libyan armed factions fought in the western outskirts of Tripoli late on Friday and early Saturday as forces aligned with Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah's government further consolidated their control over the capital. Last week's fighting dislodged several groups that had aligned with Dbeibah's rival as prime minister - the former interior minister Fathi Bashagha who has been appointed by the eastern-based parliament to head a new government. Following last week's fighting, both Bashagha and Dbeibah have visited Turkey, which helped the now-divided western factions fight off an eastern assault in 2020. During last week's fighting, a major Bashagha-aligned faction based in Zawiya was said to be among groups that were repulsed from the outskirts of the capital. In the southern Tripoli district of Ain Zara, a powerful faction that backed Dbeibah during last week's fighting took over a security headquarters.
Source:Libya Today
September 03, 2022 10:57 UTC
New UN Libya envoy is Senegal’s Bathily
Will security deal with Israel jeopardize Japan’s impartial image in the Middle East? Japan has long been hailed as an impartial broker of a future deal between Israel and the Palestinians. (AFP)“Japan feels relieved from the pressure that existed in trying to balance its Middle East policy with its energy security,” Tanaka told Arab News Japan. Waleed Siam, the Palestinian Authority’s ambassador to Tokyo, told Arab News Japan that the Japanese government is “mostly supportive” of the two sides. Japan has long framed itself as the country most capable of negotiating a peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians.
Source:Libya Today
September 03, 2022 10:23 UTC
New UN Libya envoy is Senegal's Bathily - statement
TUNIS : U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres has appointed Senegalese diplomat and former government minister Abdoulaye Bathily as his Libya envoy, the U.N. Libya mission said in a statement on Saturday. Bathily succeeds Jan Kubis, who stepped down from the role late last year as diplomacy aimed at resolving Libya's longstanding conflict faltered in the run-up to an aborted national election. (Reporting by Angus McDowall; editing by Jason Neely)
Source:Libya Today
September 03, 2022 09:58 UTC
UN chief appoints Senegal's Bathily to head UN Libya mission
In December, Guterres appointed veteran American diplomat Stephanie Williams, a former U.N. deputy special representative in Libya, as his special adviser — a job that did not require council approval. So, the mission has had no leader as Libyans grapple with a constitutional and political crisis. Libya has been in chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. Guterres said Bathily brings 40 years of experience to the job of special representative and head of Libya’s U.N. political mission. Bathily has doctorates from Universite Cheikh Anta Diop and the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom and is fluent in English, French, Soninke and Wolof.
Source:Libya Today
September 03, 2022 09:45 UTC