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Foreign Minister Najla al-Manqoush urges Turkey to comply with UN resolutions, expel foreign fighters from Libyan territory.

Libyas top diplomat has called for the departure of foreign forces and mercenaries from the North African country as it heads towards elections later this year.

Najla al-Manqoush, foreign minister of Libyas interim government, urged Turkey on Monday to implement UN Security Council resolutions demanding the repatriation of more than 20,000 foreign fighters and mercenaries from Libya.

We call on [Turkey] to take steps to implement all the provisions of the Security Council resolutions and to cooperate together to expel all foreign forces and mercenaries from the Libyan territories, al-Manqoush said.

Her remarks came at a joint news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. He visited Tripoli along with Defence Minister Hulusi Akar and other top military and intelligence officials.

The remarks were seen as a rebuke to Turkey, which has deployed troops and Syrian mercenaries to fight along with Tripoli militias since forces of eastern-based military commander Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive to wrest control of the capital their attack in 2019.

Cavusoglu responded by saying that Turkish forces were in Libya as part of a training agreement that was reached with a previous Libya administration.

We attach importance to preservation of Libyas integrity, sovereignty, independence, and political unity, he said.

In the face of the attacks on Tripoli, the legitimate government of Libya invited some countries, including us. Only Turkey replied in the affirmative to this call, he continued, saying there are some parties that sought to equal Ankaras presence with that of foreign mercenaries that are in Libya for monetary gain.

Turkey has been closely involved in Libya, backing the UN-recognised Government of National Accord based in Tripoli that controlled the west of the country, against the offensive by Haftar and his self-styled Libyan National Army.

Turkey sent military supplies and fighters to Libya, helping to tilt the balance of power in favour of the Tripoli government.

Turkey also signed an agreement with the Tripoli-based government delineating the maritime boundaries between the two countries in the Mediterranean, triggering protests from Greece and Cyprus.

Both countries denounced the agreement, saying it was a serious breach of international law that disregarded the rights of other eastern Mediterranean countries.

Libya was plunged into chaos when a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 toppled longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi, who was later killed. The oil-rich country was in recent years split between rival east- and west-based administrations, each backed by different armed groups and foreign governments.

Libyas interim government, which took power in March, is meant to steer Libya through a general election on December 24.

Security Council diplomats have said there are more than 20,000 foreign fighters and mercenaries in Libya, including 13,000 Syrians and 11,000 Sudanese, along with Russians and Chadians.

The United Nations Security Councils 15 member nations agreed in an informal meeting last week that getting the foreign fighters and mercenaries to go home was the only way forward, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was closed.

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Libyas top diplomat calls on Turkey to withdraw foreign fighters - Al Jazeera English

An Italian fisher wounded when his trawler was machined-gunned by the Libyan coastguard was fired on from a boat supplied by Italys government to help Tripoli control the flow of migrants.

Libyan authorities, who say the coastguard vessel fired warning shots into the air, said three Italian fishing vessels had entered Libyan territorial waters without authorisation before the incident on Thursday, the latest episode in a territorial dispute involving crews from the Sicilian port of Mazara del Vallo who fish for red prawns off the Libyan coast.

The fishers were freed following the intervention of an Italian navy vessel, which also managed to rescue the man after his arm was injured in a volley of machine-gun fire.

The Italian navy confirmed the patrol boat that fired the shots was the former Italian coastguard patrol boat 660, nicknamed Ubari, which was provided to the Libyans in November 2018 to intercept migrants crossing the Mediterranean. It followed a 2017 deal signed by Italys former interior minister Marco Minniti and the leader of Libyas UN-backed government, Fayez al-Sarraj, to train and equip its coastguard. The deal empowered the Libyan coastguard to intercept migrant boats at sea and redirect them to Libya, where aid agencies say refugees are abused and tortured.

The Libyan coastguard colonel Massoud Abdalsamad told Italian media his men fired warning shots into the air against vessels which had allegedly trespassed into Libyan waters. He was approached for comment but has not responded.

A Guardian investigation revealed in April that Massoud had been wire-tapped by Italian prosecutors investigating sea rescue charities for alleged complicity in people smuggling . On one occasion, in June 2017, when asked by Italian coast guards to rescue a migrant boat in distress, Massoud replied: Its a day off. Its a holiday here. But I can try to help. Perhaps, we can be there tomorrow.

According to data compiled by the International Organization for Migration by the end of that weekend 126 people died.

The trawler captain, Giuseppe Giacalone, told the Italian news agency ANSA: It is a miracle we are alive. We were shot at. The cabin of our boat is full of holes. It was 2pm on Thursday when it happened. While we were sailing towards the north-east, a Libyan patrol boat caught up with us and started shooting. The shots hit us and the dashboard glass shattered.

According to aid agencies, the Libyan patrol boat Ubari is the same vessel that allegedly ignored a distress call from a migrant dinghy before the deaths of 130 asylum seekers on 22 April.

The incident with the fishing boats is likely to spark a row in Italy after the prime minister, Mario Draghi, went to Libya in early April and complimented the coastguard, saying he was satisfied with the rescues carried out by Libya.

Italian fishing boats have previously been attacked by Libyan authorities as far back as the mid-1990s, when Tripoli began protecting its fishing waters from foreign vessels with the use of force.

In the 180 miles of sea that separates Libya from Italy, the War of the Gambero Rosso, named after the prized red prawn found in those waters, has continued for decades but intensified after 2005, when Muammar Gaddafi unilaterally decided to extend Libyas territorial waters from 12 to 74 miles offshore.

According to data from Sicilys Distretto della Pesca, a cooperative of fishing industry stakeholders, in the past 25 years more than 60 boats have been seized or confiscated, about 40 fishers detained and dozens of people injured.

The most serious recent incident took place in September 2020, when two Sicilian fishing boats named Antartide and Medinea were approached by Libyan patrol boats that accused them of fishing in Libyan territorial waters and, from there, were transferred to Benghazi, a region in eastern Libya controlled by Haftar.

The 18 fishers from Sicily eight Italians, six Tunisians, two Indonesians and two Senegalese were held captive in Libya for more than 100 days and were eventually freed in December, ending a political standoff between the two countries over the fate of the men.

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Libyan coastguard boat that shot Italian fisher was provided by Rome - The Guardian

Libyas recently installed Government of National Unity (GNU) must address the human rights crisis across the country, break the cycle of impunity and re-establish rule of law, Amnesty International said today.

In a letter to the GNU, which has faced tremendous challenges since taking office in mid-March to unify institutions in a deeply divided and conflict-torn country, the organization highlighted key areas that the new government must urgently address. The priorities include reining in militias and armed groups responsible for abductions, arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearances, forced displacement, looting and other crimes.

For 10 years, since Muammar al-Gaddafi's 42-year repressive rule ended in 2011, armed conflict and lawlessness have haunted civilians in Libya. Peoples daily lives have been upended by rival militias and armed groups who have committed war crimes and human rights abuses with impunity. The advent of the Government of National Unity provides a vital opportunity to reset the political agenda and put human rights at the heart of it, in order to begin healing a country reeling from a decade of bloodshed, chaos and rights abuses, said Diana Eltahawy, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.

The advent of the Government of National Unity provides a vital opportunity to reset the political agenda and put human rights at the heart of it, in order to begin healing a country reeling from a decade of bloodshed, chaos and rights abuses

The GNU has struggled to exert its full control over the country, which for many years has been ruled by unaccountable armed groups and militias, and in which foreign fighters backed by Turkey, Russia and UAE continue to operate. The Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF), an armed group in control of much of eastern Libya, claimed in a statement on 27 April to be under no obligation to answer to the GNU, after a planned trip by the GNUs Prime Minister to Benghazi was cancelled.

In an alarming revelation, the Libyan minister of foreign affairs told Italian parliamentarians in Rome on 23 April that the Libyan government has been discussing amnesties for commanders of militias and armed groups.

Successive governments have sought to appease powerful and unruly militias, and secure their loyalty through showering them with praise, high-level positions and legitimacy. The same mistake should not be made again. Amnesties for war crimes and other crimes under international law would only further embolden such actors and entrench their stranglehold on the country and are contrary to international law, said Diana Eltahawy.

Any attempts to integrate members of militias or armed groups must involve rigorous and thorough individual vetting. Those reasonably suspected of war crimes and serious human rights violations must be removed from positions of power or responsibility, pending criminal investigations and prosecutions.

In its letter, Amnesty International also called on the GNU, which is tasked with laying the ground for presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for 24 December 2021, to ensure non-discrimination and equal rights to participate in political and public life for all Libyans and uphold the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.

The GNU must ensure that groups that have long suffered marginalization and entrenched discrimination, including women, ethnic minorities and internally displaced people can meaningfully participate in political and public life and be protected from violence, coercion and intimidation by armed groups and militias, said Diana Eltahawy.

In its nine-point human rights agenda Amnesty International called on the GNU to:

The international community also has a key role to play by respecting and enforcing the UN arms embargo, ensuring the withdrawal of all foreign fighters from Libya and supporting efforts to establish accountability, including through the International Criminal Court and the UN Fact-Finding Mission.

No response from the GNU to Amnesty Internationals letter was received in time for publication.

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Libya: New government must prioritize human rights and tackle impunity crisis - Amnesty International

Western countries on Thursday urged Libyas interim government to start preparations for the war-torn countrys planned elections in December.

Libya's interim government, which came into being in March through a U.N.-backed inter-Libyan dialogue, is mandated to lead the country to elections on Dec. 24, but formal preparations have not yet started.

"In addition to the political and security arrangements, the technical and logistical preparations will be critical," a joint statement of France, Germany, Italy, the United States and Britains embassies in Libya read, calling on the authorities to "agree the constitutional and legal basis for these elections by July 1."

"Now is not the time for any disruptive changes at the relevant bodies which enable that preparation to take place within the timescale set out."

The interim government replaced two rival administrations based in Tripoli and the country's east.

Both gave their backing to the new administration and the election timetable, generating cautious hope that Libya might move beyond the conflict and chaos that has entrapped it since the overthrow and killing of the longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

This week, the U.N.s special envoy for Libya submitted a draft proposal clarifying the constitutional basis for the upcoming elections to the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) plenary.

The draft proposal was finalized by the LPDF's Legal Committee following their meeting in the Tunisian capital on April 7-9, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said in a statement.

Formed on Dec. 17 based on a road map approved by the LPDF, the Legal Committee consists of 17 members who are tasked with following the constitutional road map leading to elections.

Jan Kubis recently met with Libyan interlocutors and officials to advance the implementation of a cease-fire and the LPDF road map leading up to national elections in December. Kubis stressed that holding the national elections on Dec. 24 is critical for Libyas transition toward unity, democracy, stability and prosperity.

However, despite these positive political developments, foreign mercenaries and a constant supply of weapons by foreign powers remain obstacles to lasting peace in the country.

Foreign mercenaries and arms have poured into the country since putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar launched his offensive, with Russia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) serving as the warlords top suppliers against the legitimate government in order to capture the capital Tripoli. According to the U.N., there are currently 20,000 foreign forces and/or mercenaries left in Libya.

The Russian Wagner Group, which is owned by businessperson Yevgeny Prigozhin, a figure close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, is known as one of the main groups that sent mercenaries to fight in Libya. Most of the foreign forces are concentrated around Sirte at Jufra air base held by Haftar's forces 500 kilometers (300 miles) south of Tripoli and further west in al-Watiya.

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West calls on Libya to start election planning in joint statement | Daily Sabah - Daily Sabah

Tripoli, 3 May 2021 - Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya Jn Kubi continued his meetings with Libyan officials, political and security actors. Special Envoy stressed the importance of implementing in full the recently adopted UN Security Council 2570 (2021) and 2571 (2021) resolutions, including its call upon the House of Representatives and relevant state institutions to take the necessary steps to facilitate the holding of elections on 24 December.

Yesterday, the Special Envoy met with the Chairman of the High National Election Commission, Dr. Emad Sayyeh, at its HQ in Tripoli where he renewed the UN strong condemnation of the terrorist attack, which took place on the same date in 2018. The Special envoy and HNEC Chairman discussed preparations and steps needed for the holding of national elections on 24 December, in accordance with Security Council resolution 2570 (2021), including the coordination between HNEC, the Government of National Unity (GNU), the Presidency Council and the Ministry of Interior. Special Envoy Kubi renewed the UN and the international communitys readiness to continue to provide the necessary support to HNEC.

Special Envoy Kubis also met with the Central Bank Governor Siddiq ElKaberto discuss the economic and financial situation and the need to support the GNU and the institutions of Libya, enabling them to address the most pressing issues, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the electricity crisis, as well as the financing of the NOC. Highlighting the importance of the smooth functioning of the CBL Board of Directors and of financial and state institutions, Special Envoy Kubis stressed the need to ensure transparent and adequate management of the countrys national resources and revenues for the benefit of the Libyan people. With Governor ElKabe, he also discussed the next steps following the conclusion of the international audit of the Central Bank.

In the meeting with Minister of Justice, Ms. Halima R. Abdul Rahman, the Special Envoy discussed the overall human rights situation across the country in particular the issues of arbitrary detention, illegal detention centers, and detainees held without due process. They welcomed the recent release of detainees by various parties in eastern and western Libya. The Special Envoy and the Minister discussed the role of the judiciary in the electoral process, the need to revise the laws in order to enable the broadest possible participation in the elections, the protection of the civil space for women and youth as voters or candidates. The Special Envoy pledged UN support for the PC and the GNU efforts to proceed with a right based national reconciliation process and transitional justice. Finally, they confirmed the need to fully respect international humanitarian law, rights of migrants and refugees.

Special Envoy Jn Kubi continued his outreach in a meeting with the Minister of Oil and Gas Oil. Mohamed M. Oun and separately with the Chairman of the National Oil Cooperation Mustafa Sanalla. In both meetings, SE Kubis discussed ongoing challenges, notably the persistent lack of adequate and timely financing for maintenance and renewal of oil infrastructure and operational needs of the oil sector. He stressed the importance to safeguard the neutrality of Libyas oil sector without politicization, as well as to allocate the necessary funding to finance operations and implement the required maintenance and development plans to ensure continuity of oil production.

On Saturday, Special Envoy Jn Kubi met with the Commander of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces Khalifa Haftar. The meeting focused on advancing the implementation of the Ceasefire Agreement in full in compliance with the UN Security Council Resolution 2570 (2021), starting with the immediate reopening of the costal road and the withdrawal of all foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya without further delay. They also discussed the unification of Libyas military institutions, praising the work of the 5+5 Joint Military Commission (JMC). Both sides emphasized the importance to commit to the date for the holding of national elections on 24 December 2021 as a crucial step to reinforce the stability, independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and national unity of Libya. They considered the situation in the South of Libya in light of developments in Chad and the need to protect stability and security.

In a meeting today, the Special Envoy and members of the Presidency Council (PC), Musa Elkonyand Abdullah Allafi, reconfirmed the critical importance of the unification of Libyas military under the umbrella of the PC also in light of recent regional developments. They further discussed national reconciliation and the contribution of both the UN and the African Union in this regard.

On Friday, 30 April, The Special Envoy briefed the President of the High Council of State, Khaled Meshri on his engagements with national and international actors aiming at advancing peace process in Libya. They discussed recent developments with regards to the constitutional and legislative framework for the holding of parliamentary and presidential elections.

Special Envoy Kubis also met today with Mohamed Sawan and Nizar Kawan of the Justice and Construction party, to discuss the political situation in the country and the next steps towards the holding of elections on 24 December, as well as the important role of political parties in the electoral process.

These days Special Envoy Kubis held telephone calls with several Libyan and international partners, notably Prime Minister Dbeiba, following their meeting several days ago, and former Minister of Interior Fathi Bashaga. He also met with the newly arrived Ambassador of Egypt to Libya Mohamed Sarwat Selim.

Today, the Special Envoy also met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey avuolu, who is visiting Tripoli together with other high-level officials. In their discussion they notably focused on the withdrawal of foreign fighters and mercenaries, requests and requirements of Libya for training and capacity building, criteria for the UN ceasefire monitoring operation and situation around the elections envisaged for 24 December 2021.

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Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Libya holds a series of meetings with Libyan and officials and actors from different backgrounds and affiliation...