Libyan unity government forces race towards IS' coastal stronghold

17.05.2016

Libyan unity government forces are waging war on IS militants 

Forces loyal to Libya's new unity government announced the recapture of a strategic crossroads after the Islamic State group took the crossing last week.

Libyan government forces said they are closing in on the IS' group's stronghold Sirte, and are now 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the coastal city. 

The Government of National Unity said on their Facebook page that they lost seven fighters in retaking Abu Grein crossroads.

This is the point that the highway along the Mediterranean Sea meets the main road south into the desert interior.

Moving forward

The GNA and forces of a rival government based in eastern Libya have embarked on a race to evict IS from its stronghold in Sirte, 400 kilometres east of Tripoli.

The announcement comes as the unity government pushes for arms from the West, including war planes and gunships as Europe and the United States become increasingly concerned about the threat from IS' powerbase Libya's coast.

A 25-member group has agreed to drop an embargo on the unity government, which has been imposed on Libya's warring parties since dictator Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown five years ago.

Allowing the unity government to purchase arms is "fundamental to the creation of a strong army... capable of fighting the jihadist Islamic State group and other extremist groups", the GNA's deputy head Mussa al-Kony told AFP.

"State institutions have collapsed because the army itself fell apart. Our priority today is to unify this institution and revive it, but without weapons we cannot do this," Kony said.

"What we want is to acquire all sorts of weaponry... but our priority is aircraft," he said. "We want pilots, helicopters and warplanes."

Dropping embargo

The US has already backed the plans to drop a Libyan arms embargo which includes the new internationally-recognised government.

Secretary of State John Kerry has already said that it would back exempting the GNA "from the UN arms embargo to acquire those weapons and bullets needed to fight Daesh (IS) and other terrorist groups".

However, France has cautioned the move saying the flow of arms into the war-torn country could mean weapons falling into the wrong hands.

"As was decided... in Vienna, it is essential to help the national unity government to control and ensure the security of Libyan territory," the French foreign ministry said.

"[But] the arms embargo must be maintained," it said, although the GNA "can legitimately request exemptions".

With international backing, power now lies in the hands of the Tripoli-based unity government, formed under a December power-sharing deal agreed by some lawmakers from both sides.

The authority has announced the formation of a new military command to take charge of the battle against IS.

But forces loyal to the rival Tobruk government are also preparing to battle IS under the command of General Khalifa Haftar.

Ahmed al-Mesmari, a spokesman for Haftar's forces, said the decision to ease the arms embargo for the benefit of the GNA only was "illegal", adding that the forces of the unity government are "a new front for militias".

He said the decision will "create chaos, and we will turn to countries that support the army in order to arm ourselves".

https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2016/5/17/libyan-unity-government-forces-race-towards-is-coastal-stronghold

Arms sales to Libya draw congressional skepticism

The United Nations' readiness to lift the international arms embargo on Libya landed with a thud in Congress, where lawmakers were either blindsided by the announcement or downright skeptical

JULIAN PECQUET

17.05.2016

A grand coalition including the United States, European Union, African Union, League of Arab States and several of Libya's neighbors came together May 16 in Vienna to endorse the coalition Government of National Accord in Tripoli and urge the UN to relax the embargo that has been in place since the 2011 uprising. Many lawmakers, however, remain concerned that blanket support for the fledgling government could lead to weapons ending up in the wrong hands and perhaps trigger greater US involvement in that country's messy conflict.

"This is an incredibly fragile government. I hope that we ask some very tough questions before we start arming a government that's on ice that's still pretty thin," said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. "Congress has abdicated its responsibility to oversee weapons sales. I think it's about time that we get back into the game and oversee what has been a fairly significant ramp up of weapons sales to the region." 

Murphy has taken the lead in questioning US bomb sales to Saudi Arabia for its campaign against the Houthis in Yemen.

House Armed Services member Hank Johnson, D-Ga., another frequent critic of arms sales to the region, worried about "flooding Libya with American arms."

Even lawmakers who are fully supportive of the Obama administration's strategy in Libya raised concerns.

"I think it's something Congress needs to look at and evaluate, and then decide what to do," said Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "It's not black and white. We want to see Libya succeed. We want to see ISIS [Islamic State] driven out of Libya. But … I think we need to be very careful." 

Others, including Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and House intelligence panel ranking member Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said they'd just found out about the proposed policy shift and needed time to review it before commenting.

"I heard some rumblings in that regard," said Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, the chairman of the foreign relations panel on the Near East. "I guess I'm a little surprised that they've actually pulled the trigger."

The international community argues that arming the new government is vital to restoring security and defeating IS. The new government announced earlier this month its intention to create a "presidential guard" to protect "government buildings, border posts, vital installations and VIPs."

"We’ve called for lifting the embargo on arms to support the joint command and the military establishment," Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj said in press remarks May 16. "We’ve called for equipping and arming … the presidential guard, which will have a clear role in fighting extremism and securing key institutions, and it’s not a substitute to police or the army."

Secretary of State John Kerry supported the move at the same press event. 

"As the communique that we produced earlier makes clear, it is imperative to put the international community’s full weight behind the Government of National Accord," Kerry said. "To that end, the international community spoke today with a single voice on several key points [including that] the international community will support the Presidency Council as it seeks exemption from the UN arms embargo to acquire those weapons and bullets needed to fight [IS] and other terrorist groups."

Meanwhile, arms control groups began a concerted effort to raise awareness about the risks involved.

"We know that the Pentagon lost track of about 190,000 AK-type assault rifles and pistols in Iraq. We know that it lost track of more than 40% of the firearms provided to Afghanistan’s security forces. And we know that the Pentagon is unable to account for more than $500 million in US military aid given to Yemen," Action on Armed Violence Executive Director Iain Overton said in remarks carried by the Washington-based Forum on the Arms Trade. "What are the chances, then, of a headline in five years' time stating that the Pentagon has lost millions of dollars' worth of guns in Libya? And then we wonder how Islamic extremist militant groups are so heavily armed."

Andrew Feinstein, executive director of Corruption Watch, shared similar concerns on the same forum.

"The West's provision of arms into Libya has been devastating to the country for years," he said. "When NATO airstrikes were launched in support of rebels fighting Col. [Moammar] Gadhafi, they first had to target weapons, including ground-to-air missiles, that the West had supplied to Gadhafi. On the dictator's overthrow, the huge number of surplus weapons provided to him soon found their way onto the black market. Will the West never learn that pouring weapons into an existing conflict only results in that conflict becoming bloodier and longer?"

Further compounding the difficulty of the Obama administration's sales pitch on Capitol Hill is the fact that many lawmakers objected to the 2011 intervention in the first place. Three years after the Sept. 11, 2012, death of US Ambassador Chris Stevens in Benghazi, Republicans are still probing the matter with some pinning the chaos caused by the proliferation of well-armed militias squarely on then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, now the Democratic presidential front-runner.

Those concerns are hardly alleviated by the ongoing chaos in Libya, where Khalifa Hifter — a former Gadhafi loyalist who later turned on Gadhafi — continues his battle against Islamic militants, unsanctioned by the new government. The international community flatly acknowledged the issue May 16.

"We have to cooperate on security to make possible a Libyan ownership of the anti-terrorism fight. … We will look for inclusiveness of all the subjects that are on the field fighting [IS], including Gen. Hifter," said Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni. "But this will be something based on the authority of the Government of National Accord and on the support, the international support, to [the Government of National Accord]."

Kerry also acknowledged the rough road ahead to ending five years of chaos in Libya.

"It’s a delicate balance," Kerry added. "But we are, all of us here today, supportive of the fact that if you have a legitimate government and the legitimate government is struggling against terrorism, that legitimate government should not be made the prisoner or it should not be victimized by virtue of the UN action that has been taken that has always awaited a legitimate government."

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/05/arms-sales-libya-congress-skepticism-washington-embargo.html#

International Community Pledges its Support to Libya’s Unity Government

17.05.2016

The international community pledged its support to Libya’s fledgling UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in a joint communique released after the meeting in Vienna between foreign ministers to support security and stability in Libya.

The meeting in Vienna, which took place Monday, was attended by foreign ministers or senior officials from Algeria, Chad, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Jordan, Italy, Malta, Morocco, Niger, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sudan, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the European Union, the United Nations, the League of Arab States, and the African Union.

In a joint press conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry, Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni, and Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, Kerry said that “their presence is a powerful statement about the international community’s commitment to the GNA, to Prime Minister Sarraj, and to the effort to bring unity to Libya and the long-term goal of a stable Libya that is at peace with itself, which is unified and secure.”

The communique stated that the international community fully supported the implementation of the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) signed on December 17, 2015 in Skhirat, Morocco.

“We share the Libyan people’s aspiration to transform Libya into a secure and democratic state, achieve unity and reconciliation, and restore the rule of law and state authority. We are committed to supporting all efforts of the GNA in order to enhance political outreach throughout the country.”

The communique added that all parties in Libya were encouraged to work constructively toward the political transition, particularly the House of Representatives (HoR) was called on to carry out its role as outlined in the LPA and give its vote of confidence.

Kerry stated that the “House of Representatives must take a vote on the GNA and honor the Skhirat agreement, and the international community can help that by being present when that takes place.”

Establishing security and stability in Libya was also a key talking point during the meeting, with the international community stressing that only through unity can the government ensure the security of Libya and defend the country against terrorism.

“Security is key for the future of Libya. The GNA faces critical security challenges, but it does not face them alone. We salute the Presidency Council’s creation of the Presidential Guard which will be composed of professional personnel according to Article III of the Presidential Council Decree No 2 to protect national institutions, members of the Presidential Council, and members of the government.”

Foreign Minister Gentiloni reiterated that security and stabilization was they key to the GNA’s success, “with stabilization, we can fight terrorism; we can assure development to a country with rich potentialities but with a strong humanitarian crisis now. We can tackle the migration issue; we can develop the resources of Libya. Without stabilization, we risk tensions, divisions, and intra-Libyan fights.”

In addition, the communique stated that the international community would cease supporting or having contact with parallel institutions, “Libya’s national economic institutions, including the Central Bank of Libya (CBL), National Oil Corporation (NOC), and Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), must function under the sole stewardship of the GNA.”

Kerry made it clear in his statements that it is imperative that the international community fully support the GNA, as the unity government is the only entity that can “unify the country and address the economic crisis and humanitarian suffering” in Libya.

In the joint statement with Kerry and Gentiloni, Sarraj thanked the international community for supporting the GNA and reiterated that the collaboration of all parties is necessary in order to solve Libya’s “extremely bad” economic, financial and security issues.

Sarraj said: “we’ve called for lifting the embargo on arms to support the joint command and the military establishment. We’ve called for equipping and arming the presidential guard, which will have a clear role in fighting extremism and securing key institutions, and it’s not a substitute to police or the army.”

Addressing Sarraj’s call to lift the arms embargo, the communique stated “we will fully support these efforts while continuing to reinforce the UN arms embargo.”

Furthermore, the international community expressed its willingness to reopen diplomatic missions in Tripoli as soon as possible.

https://www.libyangazette.net/2016/05/17/international-community-pledges-its-support-to-libyas-unity-government/