To Rebuild Libya, Start From Below

If Libya’s friends in the West want to boost effective governance, they need to cultivate the grassroots

There has been at least a bit of good news from Libya lately. Over the past few days, militias allied with the internationally recognized unity government have made substantial advances against Islamic State forces based in the city of Sirte. That has awakened hopes that Libyans might be on their way toward re-establishing an effective central government.

For the time being, however, the country remains badly fractured. Libya has been in a state of anarchy since the ousting of Muammar Qaddafi in 2011. Rival administrations, dozens of different armed groups, and complex and shifting tribal alliances have battled for control of the oil-rich state. Until its latest setbacks, the Islamic State exerted control over some 150 miles of the Mediterranean coastline. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of refugees from across Africa have exploited the chaos, using Libya as their launching pad for travel onward to Europe.

Worries over the risks posed by such turmoil explain the rush of the United States and other world powers to provide Libya’s national unity government with military assistance. Western diplomats are desperate to see a central authority emerge that they can entrust with fighting the Islamic State and stopping refugees at its borders.

Sadly, the new government has struggled to extend its writ beyond a handful of ministries it currently controls in Tripoli, the capital. Many observers are skeptical that it can do more, especially given its complete dependence on local militias for protection. Indeed, these efforts are built on sand; they are embedded in Libya’s weaknesses rather than its strengths.

The international community has tried and tried again to bring some order and stability to the situation, and has repeatedly failed to deliver. The previous U.N. special envoy, Bernardino León, tried for months to broker an agreement between two governments (and their affiliated political networks, militias, and backers) without success. Fearful that the talks would collapse, the new envoy, Martin Kobler, forced the issue by establishing a new national unity government in December 2015. But the other governments and many factions throughout the country continue to resist its mandate. Meanwhile, the international backers of various rival groups continue to flout an arms embargo, providing finance and hardware to their clients inside the country. The country grows ever more fragmented, fostering more fighting and more jihadism.

As in so many cases before, the current effort to broker some kind of agreement misses the most obvious point of entry. The many failed attempts to manufacture national unity stand in stark contrast to comparable efforts on the local level, where Libya’s myriad tribes and municipalities have proved themselves to be effective organizers of public authority. They have also negotiated local cease-fires, concluded agreements on issues as varied as prisoner exchange and checkpoint removal, and resolved criminal investigations.

Yet the international community’s plan for fixing the country has rigidly followed the standard “transitions” script: first set up a national unity government, then hold parliamentary elections. This approach only exacerbates Libya’s core weaknesses, namely its profound social divisions and its non-existent national institutions.

Libya does not have — at least for now — sufficient social cohesion and institutional capacity to establish a robust central government that can control all its territory. Even if the internationally recognized unity government were somehow able to gain support from its rivals, the agreement would be a flimsy thing. The fragile state that Libyans inherited from the predatory Qaddafi dictatorship cannot simply be pieced together again through a top-down approach: the central authority established will not be strong enough to arbitrate between factions or combat warlordism, jihadism, and criminality. Instead, it risks just creating one additional actor that will have to compete for power with elements of the rival governments as well as independent powerbrokers and militias.

A more prudent approach would be to work from the bottom up, focusing on Libya’s political assets: functional local governance and effective, tribal-based conflict management mechanisms. The country’s tribes are especially important because their long histories and socially embedded institutions make them more durable than its shallow-rooted political parties and coalitions.

Local agreements with modest but achievable goals have a far greater chance of success.

These would involve fewer players, and each would have a better chance of enforcing the commitments made within their own spheres of influence. They would also be far better placed to implement and police agreements, as well as arbitrate differences both between and, when necessary, within groups.

A limited agreement or set of agreements between a small number of the most powerful local actors — for instance, Misrata, Zintan, the Warfallah, the Warshefana, the Obeidat, the Amazigh, and the Awaqir — would obviously have to take into account obstacles such as resistance to compromise from the hardliners in each group. This has prevented previous attempts at forging ad-hoc local agreements from achieving more — but then the peace brokers face exactly the same stumbling block to their efforts to create a robust government of national unity.

International actors should be supporting, training and advising local actorsin parallel with efforts to develop an all-encompassing, top-down political settlement. Indeed, the two processes should be organized in such a way as to reinforce each other in a virtuous cycle. Change would certainly be slow and patchy, but once a few islands of stability begin to do well, others would be inclined to join and momentum would grow. Over time demand for national services such as central banking would increase, and central authority would grow in response.

This piecemeal approach may sound unorthodox, but it has many honorable precedents in countries such as Colombia, Uganda, and parts of Somalia. In fact, state recovery from failure or extreme weakness typically happens in this piecemeal fashion, advancing in fits and starts rather than through a single great leap.

Unless the international community can acquire the flexibility to push aside the same old centralized approach, its efforts are doomed to fail. It’s obvious, really. Countries work best when they build on their strengths. Asking them to build on their weaknesses is a recipe for — more — failure.

In the photo, Libyans protest against an UN-sponsored agreement on forming a national unity government on December 18, 2015 in Tripoli.

Photo credit: MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP/Getty Images

http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/06/15/to-rebuild-libya-start-from-below/

Why Turkey is making a return to Libya

14.06

Barın Kayaoğlu

Given economic troubles at home, it is no surprise that Ankara has decided to reopen its embassy in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, which had been closed since 2014.

In the aftermath of the Mavi Marmara crisis between Turkey and Israel in May 2010, Libya, then holding the presidency of the United Nations Security Council, issued a statement in support of Turkey. In November that year, Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi awarded Recep Tayyip Erdogan, then Turkey's prime minister, with Gadhafi's famed “human rights” prize.

When the Arab Spring reached Libya in early 2011 and a popular uprising against Gadhafi turned into a bloody revolution, Erdogan first tried to hold back his NATO allies from intervening against Gadhafi. “Can there be such nonsense? What business does NATO have in Libya? As Turkey, we say we oppose this; it cannot be talked about, it cannot be debated,” Erdogan told an audience in Hamburg, Germany, in late February 2011.

But as Ankara’s Western allies began pounding Gadhafi’s forces in mid-March, the Turkish prime minister had a change of heart. On March 21, 2011, Erdogan uttered one of the most nonsensical statements in his political career: “NATO must enter [Libya] to establish and record that Libya belongs to Libyans.” The Turkish military soon joined the UN-sanctioned blockade against Gadhafi, which led to his eventual overthrow.

Turkey’s initial reluctance to join the West in the Gadhafi regime’s overthrow and its subsequent about-face were both rational decisions. As Al-Monitor’s Fehim Tastekin reported last year, Turkish contractors in Libya undertook some 565 projects worth $29 billion from 1973 onward. Two years prior to the Arab Spring, Turkish engineering firms were awarded 124 projects valued at about $8 billion in Libya. Turkish entities were estimated to hold $2.5 billion in assets, funds and pending reimbursements in Libya, another $1.4 billion in overdue payments and nearly $100 million in Libyan banks in 2011. Given Libya’s high earnings from petrodollars in those days, the Gadhafi's regime's announcement that it would invest $100 billion abroad had also animated Turkish leaders’ imaginations.

By getting on board the fight against Gadhafi, Ankara hoped that its investors and entrepreneurs could quickly return to the North African country upon the Libyan strongman’s overthrow.

Yet that is not what happened. With no experience in deliberation and democracy, disparate Libyan factions failed to achieve transition to a democratic and representative government similar to the one in neighboring Tunisia. A bloody civil war followed Gadhafi’s demise in October 2011; Al-Monitor's Mustafa Fetouri has covered this conflict in great detail.

Much as it did with its ill-advised policies in other Arab countries (especially Egypt and Syria), the Erdogan regime bet on the wrong horse in Libya by favoring the Muslim Brotherhood over other political parties. Whereas Turkey’s Western allies backed the UN-recognized government in Tobruk, Ankara supported the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated General National Congress based in Tripoli.

Relations between Ankara and Tobruk became so bad that in February 2015, the latter decided to expel all Turkish firms from Libya. Less than three months later, forces loyal to Libya’s internationally recognized government attacked Tuna 1, a freighter owned by a Turkish company registered in the Cook Islands, on the suspicion that it was carrying weapons and supplies to pro-Tripoli militias.

The establishment of the Government of National Accord between Tripoli and Tobruk in December could turn the tide — even though the resolution of the crisis may still elude Libya. The Islamic State has entrenched itself in the country’s central coastal areas, while rival militias wield immense influence. In this context, the Erdogan regime probably calculates that it could play a role in stabilizing Libya.

According to Volkan Ipek, one of Turkey’s leading African specialists who teaches at Hacettepe University in Ankara, the Turkish decision to close the embassy in Tripoli was a strange one. Ipek told Al-Monitor, “There were also deep political and economic issues during the 2011 presidential crisis in the Ivory Coast, yet Turkey had not closed its embassy there.” In Libya, Ipek said, Turkey did not want to step too far from the West and so closed its embassy in 2014. He said that now that the Government of National Accord has come into existence, “Turkey wants to play nice with both Libya and the West, [and] it wants to show that it supports reconciliation [in Libya].”

Asked if Turkey’s “return” to Libya has any financial and economic motives, Ipek said, “That is precisely so. As I argue in a recent article, many Turkish companies did not receive their earned payments [after Gadhafi was killed], which especially affected 'Anatolian tigers.' I think these businessmen put pressure on the Turkish political elite, asking them to collect their monies from Libya. It is also quite likely that Turkish leaders said, 'We pursued a solution during the [Libyan] crisis so now Libya should offer us something,' which of course is oil. You can’t ask anything from Libya if you’re not in Libya.”

But what’s in it for the Libyans? Ipek argued, “Turkey is the only Muslim country that makes major overtures in Africa. Turkey could make massive investments in Libya, especially with its construction sector.” That makes a lot of sense. During Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu’s visit to Libya on May 30, the two sides emphasized economic and commercial cooperation as a leading reason to revive relations.

Ipek also suggests that the thaw in Turkish-Libyan relations could have political underpinnings. “Both countries are discussing their regimes these days. Debates on a presidential system in Turkey could influence Libyan debates. And of course, Turkey today is an immigration destination for Libyans. If Turkey is represented in Libya via its embassy, the migration of Libyans could be eased.”

Whether this conciliatory approach toward Libya means that Ankara is abandoning its pro-Muslim Brotherhood stance in its regional policy, Ipek is not so sure. He mentioned how Erdogan ousted Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu last month and will likely weigh even more heavily on foreign policymaking. “I don’t think Turkey will alter [its policy] either in North Africa or sub-Saharan Africa, irrespective of who comes to power. The pro-Brotherhood [outlook] will continue.”

Still, one hopes that realist policy calculations such as those that have led to positive results for Turkey in Libya could be repeated in other parts of Turkish foreign policy — starting with Syria and Iraq. Turkey’s economic well-being and national security depend on it.

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/contents/authors/barn-kayaoglu.html#ixzz4Bmd1KRSr

UN Votes to Allow EU Ships off Libya to Seize Illegal Arms

14.06

EDITH M. LEDERER-DAVE BRYAN

The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution allowing the European Union's maritime force off Libya's coast to seize illegal weapons that are helping to fuel violence and instability in the North African nation, including by Islamic State extremists.

The British-drafted resolution authorizes EU ships in Operation Sophia — now charged with seizing migrant-smuggling vessels — to also stop vessels on the high seas off Libya's coast suspected of smuggling arms in violation of a U.N. arms embargo.

Council President Francois Delattre of France said before the vote that the resolution, if passed, had the potential to be a "game changer" for Libya.

"We would finally have the means to enforce the arms embargo in Libya," he said. "In doing so, we will be better equipped to fight against" the Islamic State group.

EU foreign ministers are scheduled to meet in Luxembourg on Monday to give a green light to the new anti-arms smuggling dimension of Operation Sophia.

Libya slid into chaos following the 2011 toppling and killing of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Since 2014, the oil-rich country has been torn between two parliaments and governments, with each backed by a loose set of militias and tribes. IS militants have exploited the turmoil, seizing territory and triggering fears in Europe at the prospects of an expanding extremist-run bastion on its doorstep, just across the Mediterranean Sea.

Meanwhile, a U.N.-brokered unity government is struggling to gain control of the country, which is awash with weapons.

Britain's U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said "the existing arms embargo has been only partially effective" and the abundance of weapons in Libya has undermined peace and security in the country and the region.

The Security Council reiterated its "grave concern" at the growing threat from "terrorist groups" in Libya proclaiming allegiance to IS and to al-Qaida. It expressed concern that foreigners heading to Libya to join these groups "can increase the intensity, duration and complexity of the conflict and pose a serious threat to their states of origin, transit and travel."

The resolution condemns the flow of arms to and from Libya, including to IS "and other terrorist groups" and expresses concern that the situation in Libya has been exacerbated by the illegal smuggling of weapons.

The council authorized ships from the EU and other regional and individual countries to inspect "vessels bound to or from Libya which they have reasonable grounds to believe are carrying arms or related materiel to or from Libya" for the next year.

But it stressed that the ship carrying out the interception must make "good-faith efforts to seek the consent" of the country where the vessel is registered prior to an inspection. This provision was added to address a key concern of Russia and other council members that inspections would take place without attempting to get the consent of the vessel's flag state.

Russia's deputy U.N. ambassador Vladimir Safronkov raised questions about the real motives of the resolution's sponsors and complained that the text didn't stress the goal of establishing united security forces in Libya. He said Moscow didn't use its veto power to block its adoption but will be carefully monitoring whether countries where vessels are registered are contacted for consent, and will also be scrutinizing any requests from the Libyan government for exemptions from the arms embargo.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/votes-eu-ships-off-libya-seize-illegal-arms-39855020

Top ISIS Commander Killed in Sirte

09.06

Hamid Malouqa Al-Zliteni, a top ISIS commander known as the “Emir of ISIS,” was reportedly killed on Thursday, among other high ranking ISIS commanders, after heavy clashes with Operation Strong Foundation (Albinyan Almarsous) forces.

In addition, five ISIS fighters who were captured by Government of National Accord (GNA) forces on Thursday said that three high level ISIS commanders had managed to escape the city amid the clashes.

Operation Strong Foundation forces (Alinyan Almarsous) mounted an attack on Sirte from three directions on Thursday, with the offensive being conducted by land, air and sea.

In addition, Libyan forces took control of Zafarana Square, where ISIS militants have been accused of executing at least 49 people, and  Ouagadougou conference hall, which is a major landmark in the city, and was used as the administrative centre of ISIS.

The Libyan navy said on Thursday evening that they had taken full control of the entire coast of Sirte, making it nearly impossible for ISIS fighters to flee by sea.

The capturing of Sirte is a huge setback for the extremist group, as they are also losing ground in Syria and Iraq.

Two weeks ago, top ISIS commander Luqman Abu Sakhr, also known as Khaled al-Shayab, was reportedly killed by Libyan soldiers in a battle in Al-Baghla, 60 kilometres from Sirte.

ISIS militants have taken control of Sirte, the hometown of ousted dictator Muammar Gaddafi, since June and have taken advantage of the ongoing conflict between Libya’s political and armed groups. Sirte is located on the coast between the Tripoli-based unity government in the west and the Tobruk-based House of Representatives (HOR) located in the east.

The liberation of Sirte from the threat of ISIS was a priority for Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj’s new unity government as Western powers expressed their growing fear that the extremist militant group could use the coastal city to orchestrate attacks against Europe.

ISIS forces may have lost control of Sirte, however, they may still be planning terrorist attacks in Libya, as some ISIS fighters have retreated to the desert to possibly regroup.

Mohamed al-Ghasri, a spokesman for the Libyan military said ISIS “Snipers are a concern to us because they shoot from long distances and that has hindered us in the battle inside the city.”

https://www.libyangazette.net/2016/06/09/top-isis-commander-killed-in-sirte/

12 freed Kadhafi-era officials murdered in Libya

12.06

Gunmen have killed 12 Libyans after their release from jail for taking part in acts of repression during the 2011 revolt against Moamer Kadhafi, officials said on Sunday.

A Tripoli court ordered the conditional release of the former regime officials on Thursday, and on Friday their bullet-riddled bodies were found in the capital, the prosecution said on its Facebook page.

An investigation into the murders has begun, it added.

The victims had been imprisoned on charges of committing abuses during the NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed Kadhafi.

They were freed on condition that they report to the prosecutor every two weeks.

The UN special envoy to Libya Martin Kobler condemned the murders and called for a prompt and "transparent" investigation.

Kobler tweeted that he was "shocked and dismayed by the reports of murder of so many detainees released by a Tripoli court".

The Government of National Accord also denounced what it called a "despicable crime".

A statement on its Facebook page called on security and judiciary authorities to find the assailants and bring them to justice.

Seddiq es-Sour, of the prosecutor's office, told Libyan television the bodies were found in various parts of the capital and confirmed that all were former prisoners.

He said they had been arrested between 2011 and 2014.

The identities of the victims were not immediately released.

Earlier this month, es-Sour had said the supreme court had ordered the release of six Kadhafi regime officials pending an appeal, for reasons linked to their health and age.

Dozens of people are on trial in Libya for their role in the violent suppression of the revolt, including two sons of Kadhafi and ex-government officials.

In July 2015 several people were sentenced to death, including Seif al-Islam, Kadhafi's son and one-time heir apparent.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-3637862/12-freed-Kadhafi-era-officials-murdered-Libya.html

Al-Rwimy massacre and mixing cards

12.06

Killing Al-Rwimy’s prisoners is a hideous criminal act, may be the perpetrators felt that justice wasn’t held perfectly. Such thinking is against the law and Sharia. One of the reasons for such massacre is the absence of state control due to the proliferation of various kinds of weapons, besides the prevail security vacuum.

The crime wasn’t committed under the sight of the country; the accused were acquitted by the judiciary. Maybe the perpetrators are “the blood custodians” who revenge the prisoners for their part in suppressing and killing protesters during 2011 revolution in Tripoli.

Some thought the massacre could totally end reconciliation efforts and the Presidential Council (PC) as if the country is already stabilized and the government controls the whole state securely and administratively, while the fact is that the Government of National Accord (GNA) is facing many obstacles on different levels including security situation. The GNA is struggling to contain.

Common sense says that there should be a transparent and quick investigation to reveal all criminals who committed such act, and to cut the road in front of those who mix the PC cards and undermine its efforts, especially after the latest advances in Sirte.

From another side, the whole world welcomed the release of Gaddafi era prisoners, which it is considered as an important step towards achieving social peace and national reconciliation. The question here is why targeting a group of them? Who is the beneficial of killing the released prisoners?

Hence, there should be a thorough investigation to find all criminals and refer them to justice; there also should be an investigation in Derna massacres to know who is responsible for the air forces that killed children in Derna days ago. There should be investigations also in the crime of detaining dozens of prisoners in facilities affiliated to retired general Khalifa Haftar, including some who were assassinated outside the law framework.

Consequences that followed the death of Al-Rwimy prisoners prove that some parties try to mix all cards to confuse the (already weak) Presidential Council (PC). The crime is very strange, and if the target was revenge from Gaddafi regime prisoners, it should have been senior officials who were acquitted and the whole world watched how families welcomed them, and also they should have killed officials who are still inside prisons like Abdullah Al-Senussi.

http://libyaprospect.com/index.php/2016/06/12/al-rwimy-massacre-and-mixing-cards/

Al-Sour: We are looking for the killers of the prisoners

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The head of the Investigations Department of the Attorney General, Seddiq Al-Sour, confirmed the murder of twelve prisoners, on Friday morning, after releasing them from Al-Rwimy prison in Tripoli.

Al-Sour said that the murdered were accused of killing protesters in the events of 2011 revolution on the days of 19 and 20 February.

Al-Sour stated that “in 2014 the case was transferred to one of the criminal courts, and after two years 19 of them released and told them to attend two Wednesdays every month for signature, the court confiscated their passports.”

He confirmed that the prisoners left the prison with their families, but suddenly 12 bodies were found.”

Al-Sour stated that the Attorney General office ordered a committee to follow up the case and look for the criminals to arrest them.

On his side, the manager of the prison, Ali Al-Sadi, confirmed that the killing of the released prisoners happened outside the prison. He denied killing them inside the prison.

Al-Sadi said that “we are not involved, as we are surprised when we found the news on the social media pages. The families contacted us and came to take the prisoners away freely”.

http://libyaprospect.com/index.php/2016/06/12/al-sour-we-are-looking-for-the-killers-of-the-prisoners/

Presidency Council sets up investigation into murder of former Qaddafi soldiers

11.06

The Presidency Council (PC) headed by Faiez Serraj has condemned the murder of 12 former Qaddafi soldiers  released from jail by a court last week, and ordered a formal investigation to find out what happened and who was responsible.

The order followed a press conference today by a spokesman from the Attorney General’s office at which he confirmed the discovery yesterday of the 12 bodies – six in Wadi Rabie near Ain Zara, three that had been thrown from a moving vehicle near the morgue at Tripoli Central Hospital, and three thrown in the same manner near the morgue at Tripoli Medical Centre.

All had been shot in the head and the bodies showed signs of torture, according to Attorney General spokesman Sadik Essur.

The whereabouts of a further seven soldiers who were also ordered to be released with the 12 are meanwhile unknown.

The killings, which have shocked Libyans, are already beginning to having political ramifications.

Accusations of responsibility are being directed against the Presidency Council and the controversial grand mufti, Sadik Ghariani. In the case of the former, it is on the basis that it has legitimised a number of militias – and it is widely believed that a militia must have been involved. In the case of the latter, the accusation is on the basis that last week he criticised the court for releasing past regime figures, claiming that it was against Islamic law.

The circumstances of the killings are far from clear and subject to dispute.

Ali Gatrani, who has put out a statement condemning the killings, has intimated that the men were killed while still in prison. He too blamed the PC for enabling it to happen but insisting that he should not be blamed because he has boycotted the PC.

He also called for not only a national but an international investigation involving the International Criminal Court.

However, Ali Al-Saadi, the head of the Ruwaimi prison in Tripoli’s Ain Zara district where most of the victims were held, has issued a statement claiming that following the court decision the prisoners were released into their families’ care and left the prison with them.

The 12 were killed the same day.

There has been no statement as yet from any of the families, confirming or denying the version of events from Al-Saadi, said to be a cousin of militant political hardliner Sami Al-Saadi.

The killings have also been condemned by UN Special Envoy Martin Kobler.

The 12 dead have been named as Mohamed Alwash, Ibrahim Alwash. Salah Swahih, Marwan Enbia, Asharf Lamlum, Ali Alwaher. Mohamed Alriahi, Rabih Khalifa, Wajdi Alhadi, Ali Trabelsi, Mohamed Abdel Atti, Akram Naser and Ali Mohamed Waher.

According to the Attorney General spokesman, they and the seven others currently unaccounted for had been accused of killing demonstrators in February 2011. The case finally went to court in 2014 and took two years to adjudicate. Last Wednesday, the judge finally issued a resolution to release them all, with the proviso that their passports were handed over to the Attorney General’s office.

On Wednesday and Thursday, said Essur, the families handed over the passports and the Attorney General gave orders to release them.

It was at this point that events become unclear.

https://www.libyaherald.com/2016/06/11/presidency-council-sets-up-investigation-into-murder-of-former-qaddafi-soldiers/

Bodies of former regime soldiers reported found in Tripoli amid claims of summary executions

10.06

Several bodies of former Qaddafi regime soldiers have reportedly been found today in Tripoli. It is claimed they were summarily executed.

The bodies are said to have been discovered in different areas around the capital – six in Wadi Rabie, east of Tripoli International Airport, and others in Hadba and Falah. The latest reports, none of which have been verified so far, speak of 12 or even 17 bodies now found.

According to some accounts, the victims were Qaddafi soldiers who had been held in Ruwaimi prison in Tripoli’s Ain Zara district and in Mitiga and whose release had been ordered by the same court that just over a week ago ordered jail sentences on six Qaddafi-era politicians to be suspended.

The reports suggest the victims had been tortured before being shot in the head.

There are no further details at present.

https://www.libyaherald.com/2016/06/10/bodies-of-former-regime-soldiers-reported-found-in-tripoli-amid-claim-summary-executions/

HoR Speaker urges MPs to convene a meeting in Tobruk next Monday

09.06

The Speaker of Tobruk-based House of Representatives, Aqilah Saleh, urged the members of the HoR to come to the headquarters to convene a meeting next Monday.

In a statement Wednesday, Saleh said all the MPs must assume responsibility to the country and attend the meeting that will discuss amending the constitutional declaration and endorsing the Government of National Accord.

It is worth mentioning that the HoR failed to reach the full quorum to convene a meeting for more than five times over the last period due to internal disagreements and different political visions

http://www.libyanexpress.com/hor-speaker-urges-mps-to-convene-a-meeting-in-tobruk-next-monday/

Attorney General Office orders an investigation into Al-Rewaimy prison’s murdered inmates

11.06

The Attorney General Office in Tripoli has ordered the relevant authorities to investigate into the murder of 12 released inmates from Al-Rewaimy prison.

The 12 persons were released Thursday at 1:30 pm after found not guilty in Almathaba incident of 2011, however , on Friday the 12 inmates were found murdered viciously and their bodies tossed on different abandoned streets in Tripoli. Some were found in Wadi Al-Rabie area, some others were found next to Tripoli Medical Center, downtown Tripoli.

The Judicial Police Authority condemned the murder and urged for a quick investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice and clarify the incident to the public.

http://www.libyanexpress.com/attorney-general-office-orders-an-investigation-into-al-rewaimy-prisons-murdered-inmates/

Plenary Meeting of the Global Coalition to Counter-ISIL

10.06

As ISIL continues to lose territory and come under increasing pressure, ambassadors and ‎senior diplomatic representatives from the 66-member Global Coalition to Counter ISIL gathered today for a plenary session at the State Department to review progress in the campaign, discuss further actions to defeat ISIL, and seek additional support for urgent humanitarian and immediate stabilization efforts in liberated areas.

Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL Brett McGurk opened the briefing by outlining the progress of the multidimensional campaign to pressure ISIL and degrade its global network across all civilian and military lines of effort. He highlighted the numerous fronts where the Coalition is working in conjunction with local forces to apply simultaneous pressure to defeat ISIL including, in Iraq, Fallujah, Hit, Haditha, Rutbah, and areas around Mosul, and in Syria around Manbij, Raqqa, and Marea, and in Libya around Sirte.

With support of the Coalition, local forces have now recaptured nearly 10,000 square kilometers ‎in northeastern Syria and have retaken nearly 30,000 square kilometers in Iraq. This includes strategically significant territory such as severing key ISIL supply routes to Raqqa and Mosul and regaining control of the Baghdad-Amman highway, which can help reactivate the once $100 million in monthly trade with Jordan that was occurring before ISIL, and bring much needed economic resources to Anbar Province.

Special Presidential Envoy McGurk reviewed the contributions of Coalition members to this unprecedented effort. In the skies, twelve Coalition Partners have played a role in carrying out the nearly 13,000 air strikes against ISIL targets in Iraq and Syria. On the ground, seventeen Coalition partners have deployed personnel to advise, assist and/or training Iraq forces. Through these efforts in full coordination with the Government of Iraq, the Coalition has trained over 30,000 personnel, including Iraqi Army, Counterterrorism Service (CTS), Kurdish Peshmerga, police, tribal fighters, and border security forces.

He noted that, beyond significantly degrading ISIL militarily over the last year, ISIL’s financial and foreign terrorist fighter networks are under severe strain due to the coordinated efforts of our global Coalition. We have seen a significant reduction in the flow of foreign terrorist fighters entering Syria and Iraq each month, and its fighters are increasingly defecting and fleeing its ranks.

Financially, ISIL is under stress as it has been forced to cut its fighter salaries in half, and levy higher extortionist taxes on the populations under its control to alleviate economic shortfalls. Due to Coalition actions, ISIL’s oil production has been cut by approximately one-third since late 2015 and many of its cash storage sites have been destroyed, denying it access to hundreds of millions dollars of combined revenue and cash reserves. The Coalition is now prepared to further accelerate this economic pressure.

On messaging, he praised the work of fifteen Coalition partners who together share and coordinate the Coalition’s strategic messaging efforts to challenge ISIL’s propaganda online and in the media. He noted that the private sector has assisted Coalition governments in developing productive and effective measures to decrease objectionable content and accounts online while preserving free expression and exchange of ideas.

He also emphasized that a critical priority for the Coalition is to help communities in Iraq and Syria recover from the devastation ISIL has inflicted on them. According to the UN, more than 700,000 Iraqis have returned home to liberated areas over the last year, including over 95 percent of the population of Tikrit and more than 70,000 people in Ramadi, where stabilization efforts are working to keep pace with returns. The need for partners to support the Iraqi Government’s stabilization efforts is particularly important as Iraqi forces continue to reclaim additional population centers from ISIL. Thanks to generous contributions and pledges from nineteen Coalition partners, the UN’s fund for Immediate Stabilization (FFIS) now totals more than $100 million to support this important work, but much more is needed to help ensure liberated areas are stabilized after ISIL and humanitarian needs are addressed.

Significant progress has been made and ISIL is on the defensive but it remains resilient, dangerous, and the fight is far from over. As ISIL’s so-called “Caliphate” is degraded military, it will seek to continue suicide bombings and terrorist attacks. Today’s discussion made clear that the Coalition’s resolve is strong and ISIL’s use of terror only strengthens our determination to prevail.

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2016/06/258365.htm

Libyan forces taking back ISIS stronghold

12.06

Hamdi Alkhshali, Tim Lister, Angela Dewan

Libyan forces have retaken parts of Sirte from ISIS militants, gaining ground in the extremist group's most significant stronghold outside Syria and Iraq, according to a Libyan military group.

However, Libyan forces encountered fierce resistance Sunday, which included three suicide car bombs. One detonated near a field hospital in the city, according to the media wing of Al-Bunyan al-Marsous, a military offensive led by Libyan forces from Misrata. 

In the ongoing offensive, forces supporting the U.N.-brokered government gained control of a port late Friday after fierce clashes with ISIS militants and are in complete control of the al-Sarawa area east of Sirte, the group added.

The offensive that has lasted almost two weeks has left more than a hundred fighters dead and about 400 others wounded, the Government of National Accord said, calling on the international community to provide urgent medical support to Libyan security forces.

The force reopened a road between Sirte and a village around 70 kilometers (about 40 miles) east after sweeping for and removing improvised explosive devices, while the country's air force carried out six raids against the militants and their weaponry in Buhari, 3 kilometers to Sirte's south, according to Al-Bunyan al-Marsous.

The advance comes as ISIS loses more ground in Iraq and Syria, with forces supported by U.S.-led air strikes slowly moving closer in on its heartland Raqqa.

Sirte, a port city on the Mediterranean coast, was best known as Moammar Gadhafi's hometown before it fell into the hands of ISIS.

The extremist group has gained a foothold in the country in a power vacuum that hasn't been filled since collapse of Gadhafi's regime collapsed in 2011.

Following the Arab Spring, there were hopes that Libya would follow a more democratic path like its neighbor, Tunisia. But warring factions soon split over how to run the country, and civil war ensued. Two rival governments claimed to be the rightful leaders before signing a U.N.-backed peace deal in December.

U.S. officials estimate there are 4,000 to 6,000 ISIS militants in the country, and there are likely to be hundreds in Sirte.

How ISIS penetrated Libya

The Pentagon is providing additional resources to counter ISIS in Libya, according to a U.S. defense official familiar with the operation.

The group first took control of much of the city of Derna, a coastal town in the east, in late in 2014, before taking Sirte in June last year.

It established a presence in Sabratha, a town not far from the Tunisian border. It has also carried out deadly terror attacks in the capital, Tripoli.

Last September, its leader there, Abu al Mugirah al Qahtani, called for more jihadists to come to Libya to spread its influence in the country, and counterterrorism officials have been concerned at the influx of fighters into Libya -- many of them Tunisians.

Libya has been an important base for ISIS in launching attacks into Tunisia and, to a lesser extent, Egypt. The operatives who carried out deadly attacks against tourists in the Tunisian resort town of Sousse last year are thought to have been trained in Libya.

Its advance in Libya has also given ISIS access to a broad swath of the Mediterranean coast, and enabled it to exploit the migrant traffic seeking to cross to Europe.

ISIS was ejected from Derna late last year and targeted in U.S. airstrikes in Sabratha last February and now seems set to lose control of Sirte. But even if it loses territory and any pretense at governing, it is likely to regroup as more of an Islamist insurgency in the vast open spaces of the Libyan desert.

As Geoff Porter, an expert in Libya and president of North Africa Risk Consulting, puts it: "The Islamic State in Libya does not have to be a replica of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria to be dangerous and disruptive for Libya and it neighbors."

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/11/world/isis-libya-sirte-offensive/