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SITUATION UPDATE

June continues to see a large number of rescue missions as favorable sea and weather conditions contributed to an increase in migrant boats off Libya. A total of 2,483 migrants were rescued in Libyan waters in June, the majority off Azzawya. Clashes between the Libyan Coast Guard and migrant smugglers were reported on the 11 June, which led to the death of one migrant and the injury of two others. During the reporting period, the remains of 107 men, women and children were discovered along the Libyan coastline.

112 migrants were reportedly found in a truck in Garaboli after being held by smugglers. They were transferred to detention centres. In addition, six migrants (2 from Cameroon and 4 from Nigeria) were reported kidnapped and assaulted between Sabha and Ashshwayrif. One of the migrants reportedly died as a result, the remaining were found in poor health in Bani Waleed.

A peace agreement was signed on 19 June between the mayor of Misratah and the Tawergha Local Council. The agreement would enable the return of Tawergha IDPs, the majority of whom had been displaced in 2011, safely to their homes. According to DTM Data, 42% of those displaced between 2011 and 2014 were Tawergha IDPs from Misratah. As of the time of publication, no IDPs had been reported to have yet returned. (DTM Displacement Tracker)

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IOM Libya monthly update - June 2017 - ReliefWeb

THE day before he ordered the US military to intervene in Libyas civil warwithout securing a constitutionally mandated authorization from CongressPresident Barack Obama, with presumably unintended irony, attempted to sound poetic about the need to defend democratic values in the nation then ruled by Muammar Gaddafi.

Left unchecked, we have every reason to believe that Gaddafi would commit atrocities against his people, Obama said.

Many thousands could die, he said. A humanitarian crisis would ensue. The entire region could be destabilized, endangering many of our allies and partners. The calls of the Libyan people for help would go unanswered.

The democratic values that we stand for would be overrun, he said.

Obamas Libyan allies did overthrow Gaddafi. But did democratic values triumph in Libya? What about US national security interests?

The State Departments most recent country reports on terrorismdescribing the situation in 2015, four years after Gadhafis removaldeclared that violent extremist groups operate with impunity throughout Libya. A Congressional Research Service report published this March made a similar assessment.

Criminals and violent Islamist extremists have exploited these conditions, said CRS, and the latter have strengthened their military capabilities and advanced their agendas inside Libya and beyond its borders.

Obamas decision to intervene in Libyas civil war harmed the interests of both the Libyan and American people. Now, the question is: Should the United States intervene in Syrias civil waronce again siding with rebels who oppose an authoritarian leader who has used evil means to maintain his power?

Last month, after an engagement between pro-Syrian regime forces and US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, the US shot down a Syrian military aircraft over Syrian territory.

A statement put out by Operation Inherent Resolve, the US-led coalition operating in Syria and Iraq, said the coalition was not trying to fight the Syrian regime by shooting down its warplane.

The coalitions mission is to defeat IS in Iraq and Syria, said the statement. The coalition does not seek to fight Syrian regime, Russian, or pro-regime forces partnered with them, but will not hesitate to defend coalition or partner forces from any threat.

Yet, in April, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson described a step-by-step strategy for US-backed regime change in Syriaa regime change he envisioned would remove both IS and Assad and begin to create the sort of stable, peaceful government in Syria that Obama envisioned for post-Gaddafi Libya.

Overall, the situation in Syria is one where our approach today and our policy today is, first, to defeat IS, Tillerson said, according to a White House transcript.

By defeating IS we remove one of the disruptive elements in Syria that exists today, he said. That begins to clarify for us opposition forces and regime forces.

So, its to defeat IS; its to begin to stabilize areas of Syria, stabilize areas in the south of Syria, stabilize areas around Raqqa through ceasefire agreements between the Syrian regime forces and opposition forces, he said.

Stabilize those areas; begin to restore some normalcy to them. Restore them to local governanceand there are local leaders who are ready to return, some who have left as refugeestheyre ready to return to govern these areas.

Use local forces that will be part of the liberation effort to develop the local security forceslaw enforcement, police force, Tillerson said.

In the midst of that, through the Geneva Process, we will start a political process to resolve Syrias future in terms of its governance structure, he said, and that ultimately, in our view, will lead to a resolution of Bashar al-Assads departure.

Despite the similarity between this administrations desire to see Assads departure and the last administrations desire to see Gaddafis, it would be a mistake to see Libya and Syria as similar nations.

Libya, according to the CIA World Factbook, is 96.6 percent Muslim and they are virtually all Sunni. It sits in Africa, separated by wide deserts and the significant regional power of Egypt, from Israel and the heartland of the Middle East.

Syria is 87 percent Muslim. But its Muslim population is divided between 74 percent who are Sunni and a combined 13 percent who are Ismailis, Shiites and Alawitesthe sect of the Assad family.

Ten percent of Syrians are Christianstargeted for genocide by the Islamic State, not Assad. Three percent are Druze.

Syria borders Lebanon Turkey, Iraq, Jordan and Israel.

Pointing to the precedent set in the 12th century by Nur ad-Din and Salah ad-Din, al-Qaida leader Ayman al Zawahiri has cheered on the Syrian rebellionseeing Islamist control of Damascus and Cairo as strategic precursors to the conquest of Jerusalem.

After pursuing regime change in both Iraq and Libya, we have not been able to establish stability in either of these countries or deny their territory to terrorists.

This does suggest a basic rule that can be applied to Syria: A Middle Eastern regime that does not come to power through its own power cannot retain power. Nor restrain terrorists.CREATORS.COM

Terence P. Jeffrey is the editor in chief of CNSnews.com.

More here:
Will Syria be the next Libya or worse? - The Manila Times

Lawyers for one of the wounded law enforcement officers filed the complaint Friday in US District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana against various arms of the Black Lives Matter movement and leaders including DeRay Mckesson and Johnetta Elzie.

The complaint alleges Black Lives Matter and its leaders are responsible for the shooting because they "incited the violence against police in retaliation for the death (sic) of black men shot by police," and "did nothing to dissuade the ongoing violence and injury to police."

"In fact, they justified the violence as necessary to the movement and war," the complaint says.

The person who filed the lawsuit is named in the complaint only as Officer John Doe Smith. It says he is 42 with two children and is permanently disabled as a result of the numerous injuries he suffered in the ambush.

Smith, the complaint says, was shot through his abdomen, left shoulder and left side of his head. The shot to his abdomen "tore up his intestines," requiring 16 surgeries and causing recurring infections. Medical staff must attend to the exit wound daily, it says.

The shot to Smith's head almost tore off his left ear, which needed to be sewn back on, the complaint says. His skull was shattered and he lost brain matter on the left side, in an area controlling communication. His left eye stays mostly closed with the eyeball turned outward, it says.

"John Doe Police Officer was strong and vibrant and he has been struggling everyday, fighting to live, and fighting to get better," the complaint says. It seeks at least $75,000 in compensatory damages.

It is not clear why the officer filed the complaint under a pseudonym.

Donna Grodner, the attorney for the officer who filed the suit, told CNN she wasn't authorized to speak about the case.

Armed with a rifle, he fatally shot Officers Matthew Gerald, 41, and Montrell Jackson, 32, outside the store as soon as he saw them.

Sheriff's Deputy Brad Garafola, who apparently was responding to reports of a man with a rifle, heard the shots and took cover, but then ran to help one of the downed officers. That's when Long opened fire, killing Garafola.

Long then shot Officer Chad Montgomery, who had pulled up in front of the building. The bullet grazed his head.

In a nearby parking lot, Sheriff's Deputy Nicholas Tullier, then 41, was in his cruiser to run the tag on Long's car when the gunman emerged from the woods and opened fire, shooting as he walked toward the vehicle.

Tullier was shot once in the head and twice in the abdomen and was in a coma for months.

Long took shots at another arriving deputy, Bruce Simmons, 51, shattering the bone from his elbow to his shoulder. Simmons now has a titanium rod in his arm.

SWAT officers then arrived on scene and shot Long in the leg, causing him to fall to the ground. As Long reached for his weapon, five SWAT officers fired, killing him.

The complaint describes in detail numerous protests that erupted across the country over several years, spurred by the shooting deaths of black men at the hands of police, and lists instances of violence, looting and vandalism at protests in Ferguson, Missouri; Baltimore; McKinney, Texas; Dallas and Baton Rouge.

The suit notes Mckesson's involvement in Black Lives Matter, and it points to his participation in the protests and his appearances in the media when he was introduced as a leader of the movement or a protest organizer.

When violence erupted at some of the protests, the complaint says, Mckesson and other Black Lives Matter leaders "failed to disavow the violence and urged its followers that violence was part of revolution," the complaint says.

"By embracing and supporting violence in protest that could have been conducted peacefully, BLM declared a virtual war on police," it says.

When reached for comment, Mckesson told CNN, "This is the second lawsuit an officer has filed against me from Baton Rouge. ... I'm confident it has no merit."

Elzie had no comment, and other defendants from Black Lives Matter could not be immediately reached for comment.

Mckesson and Elzie were present for protests in Baton Rouge in July 2016 held in response to the officer-involved shooting deaths of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge and Philando Castile near Minneapolis earlier that month.

The suit says they came to protest and "to incite others to violence against police and other law enforcement officers."

Mckesson was arrested during the protests on July 9, though he told CNN days later the arrest was unlawful because he was complying with police requests to move back at the time.

The lawsuit also says Long's actions when he killed the Baton Rouge officers "followed and mimicked those of another BLM activist who killed several officers in Dallas just days earlier."

Investigators identified the Dallas gunman as Micah Xavier Johnson, 25, a military veteran who had served in Afghanistan.

Long, who acted alone in the shooting, traveled to Baton Rouge after stopping in Dallas shortly after the shooting to get revenge for the recent killings, the complaint says, suggesting that Black Lives Matter encouraged the behavior.

CNN's Shawn Nottingham and Melissa Gray contributed to this report.

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Baton Rouge officer sues Black Lives Matter - cnn.com

A Black Lives Matter march is planned for Hampton Roads Monday night, according to event organizers.

The organization #BlackLivesMatter757 will march throughout the region starting at 7:57 p.m., the group posted on social media.

The organization was spearheaded July 10, 2016, in light of the the national Black Lives Matter movement and aimsto give "concerned citizens within the Hampton Roads area a voice, a platform, a way to join in the national fight for social justice," according to the organization's website.

Marches will start at the same time in Hampton at Mercury Boulevard, Newport News near Rouse Tower at Jefferson Avenue and Mercury Boulevard, Portsmouth at High Street and Virginia Beach at the Oceanfront and Norfolk on Granby Street, the organization posted on social media. No specific addresses were released.

Newport News and Hampton police departments released statements about the planned marches.

"Officers will be on-hand to ensure a peaceful First Amendment demonstration and are prepared to manage and coordinate traffic flow in order to provide for the safety of the demonstrators, as well as the public," Newport News police said on Facebook. Alternate routes will be posted on the department's South Precinct twitter page.

Hampton police will also set up patrols in the area to facilitate pedestrians and drivers on the road, said spokesman Matt Bond.

"There has not been a permit obtained by the organizers of this event; however, there has not been an official decision made regarding any applicable law enforcement action that may be taken," he said.

Bond said decisions about enforcement would be made during the event.

The rest is here:
Black Lives Matter marches planned for Monday night - Daily Press

Black Lives Matter (YouTube screenshot)

Last week the National Rifle Association reposted a controversial propaganda video disguised as a recruitment ad that takes aim at the Black Lives Matter movement and uses lies in order to whip its supporters into a frenzy and encourage them to take up arms to protect themselves from a supposed enemy. Friday, a Black Lives Matter chapter in Los Angeles shot back with a video of its own.

In the video response shared with Mic, the group features families of victims of police brutality on-screen and accuses the NRA of issuing a public call to their constituents inciting violence against people who are constitutionally fighting for their lives.

We dont take that lightly. We know that we are not safe, but we are not scared, either, Funmilola Fagbamila, a member of Black Lives Matter L.A., says in the video.

The first minute of BLM L.A.s video appears to be a direct parody of the NRAs one-minute video in which spokeswoman Dana Loesch accuses an unnamed they of using their media to assassinate real news, using their schools to teach their children that their president is another Hitler, and using their movie stars and singers and comedy shows and award shows to repeat their narrative over and over again.

And then they use their ex-president, Loesch says, in a not-so-veiled reference to Barack Obama, to endorse the resistance, all to make them march. Make them protest. Make them scream racism and sexism and xenophobia and homophobia, to smash windows, burn cars, shut down interstates and airports, bully and terrorize the law-abidinguntil the only option left is for the police to do their jobs and stop the madness.

Yes, the NRA hinted that shooting protesters or otherwise hindering people from exercising their First Amendment rights is the job of the police.

In the BLM L.A. video, Fagbamila counters by saying, We will continue to produce media, teach students, march and protest to not only protect the First Amendment as fiercely as the NRA protects the Second, but to protect our lives from gun-toting racists.

Fagbamila concludes her comments with a demand that the NRA immediately remove their dangerous propaganda videos, narrated by conservative talk radio hosts Dana Loesch and Grant Stinchfield.

This is followed by images of the family members of Keith Bursey, who was killed by the Los Angeles police; Charleena Lyles, who was killed by Seattle police; and Kisha Michael, who was killed by Inglewood police. There is then a call to action, encouraging supporters to contact the NRA directly and demand that they take down the videos.

The NRA is disgusting for taking the fight for Black Lives and using it as a dog whistle to get their people worked up and up in arms. Salute to Black Lives Matter L.A. for directly speaking out against it.

Painting Black Lives Matter as a violent, racist movement is one of the laziest attacks ever, but it is also the most pervasive, because the people who support the NRA find that to be a much easier pill to swallow than admitting their own inherent and most times blatant racism against black people.

It cannot be said enough that Black Lives Matter is not an attack against anyone else; it is simply a reminder (and obviously a painful one for white people) that black humanity is still disregarded in this country.

Read more at Mic.

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Black Lives Matter LA Demands NRA Remove 'Dangerous Propaganda' Videos - The Root