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Ten years ago, the United Nations no-fly zone over Libya marked the beginning of the Libyan revolution and the Wests bombing campaign.

I spent much of the war embedded with the fighters in Misrata, Libyas third-largest city, studying the insurgency. The fighting stopped with the death of Col. Moammar Gadhafi, Libyas ruler for four decades.

Unfortunately, hope gave way to turmoil as Libyans watched duelling governments and hundreds of armed groups fight over the countrys oil riches. Peace initiatives repeatedly failed until just recently.

On March 16, the 10th anniversary of the Arab Spring and NATOS intervention, a government uniting the east and west of Libya took power for the first time since 2014. This opportunity is Libyans last and best chance for stability and prosperity. There are three reasons for hope, but they are equally compelling reasons to despair.

In April 2019, the leader of Libyas eastern militias, Khalifa Haftar, attacked Libyas capital, Tripoli. He wanted to take control before the Libyan National Congress could meet to set up elections.

At the time, he had the military advantage, backed by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Russia and France and wielding advanced drones and fighter aircraft. Haftar was on the verge of victory despite efforts by armed groups from Tripoli, Misrata and Zintan to stop him. That was until Turkey intervened a few months ago turning the tide of the fighting and upsetting the military balance in Libya.

Turkey wanted to check Russian and Egyptian power in the region and secure undersea drilling rights in the Mediterranean Sea. Turkeys intervention was decisive, leading to the retreat of Haftars militias and Russias mercenaries.

This defeat fundamentally altered Libyan politics. It became clear to Haftar and his backers that there was, for now at least, no military solution to Libyas conflict. This stalemate turned the United Nations political and military dialogue into an actual negotiation for power and the future of Libya.

Libyans are furious with their political class. Its hard to overstate the hell Libyans have lived through over the past decade, and the pandemic only exacerbated the situation.

Read more: Libya: where ghosts, guns and crooked politicians hold sway

Libyas health-care system collapsed during the revolution, leaving Libyans vulnerable to COVID-19. Over the summer, many families had to choose between waiting out shelling or exposing their families to COVID-19 if they fled.

Libya was a well-off country before the 2011 revolution. With only six million people and vast oil reserves, Libya should look more like Qatar or the United Arab Emirates, both wealthy nations with high standards of living.

Libyans know this and they are fed up. This anger has unsettled Libyas political leaders on all sides of the conflict and is a driving force behind recent, unexpected political progress. The fact that Haftar and other leaders are supporting the new government is further evidence of pressure from average Libyans given these leaders have rejected compromise until now.

After U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens was killed in 2012 in Benghazi, the international community abandoned Libya. Compare that response to European and American resolve in Iraq and Afghanistan, where thousands of diplomats remained despite extreme violence.

Regional powers filled the void, with an eye on Libyas wealth. Egypt, Russia and the UAE bet on Haftar, supplying him with sophisticated weapons systems and the mercenaries to operate them. But Turkeys intervention in 2019 changed that.

Now, in order for regional players to benefit from Libya, they need a functioning government thats in full control of its oil wealth. Turkey is also interested in the success of the marine treaty it signed with Libya a few days before it intervened, strengthening its broader strategy for the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

What else needs to go right?

The reasons for hope are, unfortunately, not plentiful enough. Libyas new prime minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, also needs to catch few breaks. Most crucially, Europe and the United States need to step up.

Europe has the greatest interest in doing so since Libya is a major route for migration. A functioning Libyan state would go a long way to stop thousands of men, women and children from drowning off European shores every year.

Because the U.S. is Egypts largest foreign aid donor, it must encourage the Egyptians to pressure Haftar to continue supporting the new government.

Finally, the international community must support the UNs efforts in Libya, including the enforcement of the arms embargo, which has been totally ineffective. Stephanie Williams, the UNs acting representative in Libya, is the unsung hero of the political negotiations that led to Libyas new unity government.

By creating a political dialogue that was gradual and inclusive, Williams used the public pressure to push politicians to act. The hope is that the UNs new representative in Libya, Slovakias Jn Kubi, wont squander this momentum by ignoring the principles that brought success: humility, transparency and the centrality of Libyans voices.

Continued here:
Ten years after the Arab Spring, Libya has another chance for peace - The Conversation CA

The House of Representatives on 10 March overwhelmingly endorsedthe Government of National Unity (GNU), Jn Kubi told the Security Council during his first briefing as Special Envoy, and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

Over 130 members gathered for the session, which in itself was a historic political milestone he said, pointing out that the new cabinet reflects different regions and constituencies. He added that with only a 15 per cent representation of women, more needed to be appointed to senior executive positions.

Oil-rich Libya had descended into multiple crises after former ruler Muammar Gadaffi fell in 2011, with the country essentially divided between a UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) based in the capital Tripoli, and a rival administration, led by the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) General, Khalifa Haftar.

After more than a decade of conflict and instability, the Special Envoy said that an emerging political will for unification had come through Libyan dialogue and decision-making, grounded in the wishes of the people to finally end the divisions and confrontations to reclaim their country and reinstate its unity and sovereignty.

He stressed that UNSMIL embraces the interim authorities key priorities, including advancing the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement, delivering basic services to Libyans and fostering human rights-based national reconciliation.

Based on a legal and constitutional framework, the Special Envoy outlined guidelines for presidential and parliamentary elections andurged officials to start working on election laws without delay a high bar, given current divisions.

The GNU has a distinct role to facilitate a secure environment in which to hold elections, and in facilitating the work of the national elections commission, according to Mr. Kubi.

The Libyan electoral authorities are exerting commendable efforts to hold municipal council elections despite COVID-19 and a precarious security environment, he said, flagging that UNSMIL will continue its work in strengthening democratically elected municipal councils to provide services, build social cohesion and improve the lives of vulnerable populations.

Special Envoy Kubi urged the Council to provide fresh support, by deploying UN ceasefire monitors.

While the ceasefire agreement continues to hold, there are reports of ongoing fortifications and new defensive positions as well as the continuous presence of foreign assets and elements, he said, naming ISIL terrorist fighters, among others.

It is important to continue to support the authorities to address this ongoing threat, act against international terrorism and to fight unlawful armed groups and organized crime networks plaguing the country, which is critical for the stability of Libya, for the stabilization of Sahel, he added.

Arbitrary detentions remain a critical concern, with more than 8,850 people arbitrarily detained at 28 official prisons in Libya in police custody, with an estimated 60 to 70 per cent in pre-trial detention, said Mr. Kubi. In addition, some 10,000 people are detained in detention centres under the authority of militias and armed groups.

Moreover, UNSMIL continues to receive credible reports of torture, enforced disappearances, extra-judicial killings and lack of access to justice.

And as various armed groups operate without hindrance [and] human rights violations continue with almost total impunity, he reminded that, among other things, freedom of expression is being undermined.

Although an estimated 38,000 displaced persons returned to their homes since the end of January, the Special Representative noted that returns remain limited due to lack of basic services and the presence of explosive hazards, especially in southern parts of Tripoli.

And COVID-19 continues to raise challenges for the most vulnerable, with some 150,300 confirmed cases reported, including 2,487 fatalities as of Sunday.

On a positive note, the national deployment plan for COVID-19 vaccination has been finalized with support from UNICEF [UN Childrens Fund] and WHO [World Health Organization], he said.

Meanwhile, the number of migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean has continued to increase this year.

From 20 to 28 February, an estimated 56 people drowned during attempted crossings, said Mr. Kubi, adding that currently some 3,858 were being detained in official detention centres run by the Department for Combatting Illegal Migration (DCIM) under extremely poor conditions without due process and with restrictions on humanitarian access.

UNICEF/Giovanni Diffidenti

A child runs through the debris and wreckage in downtown Benghazi, Libya.

Excerpt from:
Libya: UN envoy hails new national government after years of 'paralysis and internal divisions' - UN News

Cyrene lies between the Egyptian border and Benghazi, one of the key cities that rose up against longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011. The country has since fallen into anarchy and violence which sparked fears for its rich ancient heritage.

People walk through the remains of the Sanctuary of Apollo in the ruins of Libya's eastern ancient city of Cyrene. Abdullah Doma/AFP

The spectacular ruins of the ancient Greek city of Cyrene survived Libya's 2011 revolution and an ensuing decade of lawlessness, but today they face new threats: plunder and bulldozers.

Under balmy spring sunshine, a handful of tourists take advantage of the North African country's months-old ceasefire to wander around the temple of Zeus, perched atop a wind-battered hill near the eastern end of Libya's Mediterranean coast.

There are no queues here.

The scarce visitors all Libyans amble through the sanctuary of Apollo and the amphitheatre, before visiting a museum housing faceless busts of Greek divinities and naked statues in marble.

Founded in the seventh century BC, Cyrene "was one of the principal cities in the Hellenic world", according to the UN's cultural agency UNESCO, which added the site to its World Heritage List in 1992.

"A thousand years of history is written into its ruins," it said. Yet, beyond the fence marking out the protected part of Cyrene, residents of modern-day Shahat are taking possession of lands held in trust by the state, then selling them on to property developers.

Other areas are being dug up by treasure-seekers hoping to smuggle looted artefacts to sell abroad.

"Some people are coming in and bulldozing areas containing artefacts, dividing them and selling them, then building housing blocks on top of these priceless sites," said Adel Abu Fejra, of the Cyrene department of antiquities.

'This is our land'

Abu Fejra said his department "can't even measure" how much has been lost, as the plots "are outside the fenced area under our protection".

Cyrene lies between the Egyptian border and Benghazi, one of the key cities that rose up against longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011. The country has since fallen into anarchy and violence which sparked fears for its rich ancient heritage.

UNESCO in 2016 added Cyrene and four other sites in Libya to its List of World Heritage in Danger. The war saw the country splinter into fiefdoms under the control of a kaleidoscope of militias including the Islamic State group which at one point held a stronghold in Derna, just 70 kilometres further east.

A view of the ruins at the Temple of Demeter in Libya's eastern ancient city of Cyrene. Abdullah Doma/AFP

Today, despite the signing of a peace deal between Libya's main factions and the creation of a unity government this month, many residents have more immediate concerns than protecting ancient heritage.

"They want us to stop using our land around the ruins, saying there are still artefacts underneath them but this is our land, and we have the right to exploit it," said Saad Mahmoud, who owns farmland nearby.

"It's up to the state to find solutions and pay landowners compensation that fits with the rising prices of real estate, which have made it hard for us to find alternatives."

Graffiti and looting

Like Mahmoud, many of Shahat's 50,000 residents see the pressing need for housing as a higher priority than preserving old ruins.

A town plan last updated in 1986 has been largely ignored.

Ismail Dakhil, an official at the museums department of eastern Libya, says as much as 30 percent of the ancient city may have been built on. And that is not the only problem.

"There has been graffiti on the ancient ruins, and lots of informal digs, where antiquities are dug up and smuggled out of the country," he said.

Libya does have laws aimed at protecting its ancient heritage, overseeing archaeological digs and sanctioning violators. But Dakhil says they have little effect, with "derisory fines and prison sentences" of up to a maximum of a year.

Some are now hoping that after a decade of violence the new government will also improve protection of precious historical sites.

"The policies on protecting heritage must be reviewed," says researcher and historian Ahmad Faraj. "I hope this government will come up with a new vision."

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How the ancient city of Cyrene near Libya, a world h..e site in danger, faces threats of bulldozers and loot - Firstpost

SHAHAT, LIBYA (AFP) - The spectacular ruins of the ancient Greek city of Cyrene survived Libya's 2011 revolution and an ensuing decade of lawlessness, but today they face new threats: plunder and bulldozers.

Under balmy spring sunshine, a handful of tourists take advantage of the North African country's months-old ceasefire to wander around the temple of Zeus, perched atop a wind-battered hill near the eastern end of Libya's Mediterranean coast.

There are no queues here.

The scarce visitors - all Libyans - amble through the sanctuary of Apollo and the amphitheatre, before visiting a museum housing faceless busts of Greek divinities and naked statues in marble.

Founded in the seventh century BC, Cyrene "was one of the principal cities in the Hellenic world", according to the UN's cultural agency Unesco, which added the site to its World Heritage List in 1992.

"A thousand years of history is written into its ruins," it said.

Yet beyond the fence marking out the protected part of Cyrene, residents of modern-day Shahat are taking possession of lands held in trust by the state, then selling them on to property developers.

Other areas are being dug up by treasure-seekers hoping to smuggle looted artefacts to sell abroad.

"Some people are coming in and bulldozing areas containing artefacts, dividing them and selling them, then building housing blocks on top of these priceless sites," said Adel Abu Fejra, of the Cyrene department of antiquities.

Abu Fejra said his department "can't even measure" how much has been lost, as the plots "are outside the fenced area under our protection".

Cyrene lies between the Egyptian border and Benghazi, one of the key cities that rose up against longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The country has since fallen into anarchy and violence which sparked fears for its rich ancient heritage.

Unesco in 2016 added Cyrene and four other sites in Libya to its List of World Heritage in Danger.

Men work on maintaining the site of the ruins of Libya's eastern ancient city of Cyrene on March 10, 2021. PHOTO: AFP

The war saw the country splinter into fiefdoms under the control of a kaleidoscope of militias - including the Islamic State group which at one point held a stronghold in Derna, just 70km further east.

Today, despite the signing of a peace deal between Libya's main factions and the creation of a unity government this month, many residents have more immediate concerns than protecting ancient heritage.

"They want us to stop using our land around the ruins, saying there are still artefacts underneath them - but this is our land, and we have the right to exploit it," said Saad Mahmoud, who owns farmland nearby.

"It's up to the state to find solutions and pay landowners compensation that fits with the rising prices of real estate, which have made it hard for us to find alternatives."

Like Mahmoud, many of Shahat's 50,000 residents see the pressing need for housing as a higher priority than preserving old ruins.

A town plan last updated in 1986 has been largely ignored.

Maintenance worker at the site of the ruins on March 10, 2021.PHOTO: AFP

Ismail Dakhil, an official at the museums department of eastern Libya, says as much as 30 per cent of the ancient city may have been built on.

And that is not the only problem.

"There has been graffiti on the ancient ruins, and lots of informal digs, where antiquities are dug up and smuggled out of the country," he said.

Libya does have laws aimed at protecting its ancient heritage, overseeing archaeological digs and sanctioning violators.

Local policemen patrol by a colonnade from the remnants of the Temple of Demeter on March 10, 2021.PHOTO: AFP

But Dakhil says they have little effect, with "derisory fines and prison sentences" of up to a maximum of a year.

Some are now hoping that after a decade of violence the new government will also improve protection of precious historical sites.

"The policies on protecting heritage must be reviewed," says researcher and historian Ahmad Faraj. "I hope this government will come up with a new vision."

Link:
Bulldozers and looting threaten Libya's ancient treasures, Middle East News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

TRIPOLI--Signs of discord between the head of Libyas new Government of National Unity (GNU), Abdel Hamid Dbeibah and the commander-in-chief of the Libyan National Army (LNA), Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, have raised fears for the peace process and a final settlement of the eight-year civil Libyan conflict.

The recent parliamentary vote of confidence in the new government had raised hopes of an end to divisions in the country.

Dbeibahs conspicuous absence from the Benghazi ceremony during which the interim government headed by Abdullah Thinni handed over power to the GNU was duly noted. It sparked speculation of an emerging rift between new premier and Haftar.

Further indications of such a rift began to emerge after Dbeibah tweeted his plan to open an investigation into the discovery of at least a dozen bodies in Benghazi, which is under Haftars control.

Dbeibah wrote, It is not possible to allow the recurrence of these events or to cover them up. He stressed that he had given direct instructions to the minister of interior to deal with this incident, and I asked the public prosecutor to open an investigation into the matter.

Media outlets close to the LNAs general command criticised the prime ministers decision. Their attacks on the Dbeibah government have checked the momentum which had marked the first days of the GNU taking office. The new prime ministers relations with Haftar appear to have broken down even before they had really began.

Although the developments are unlikely to spark a new outbreak of violence, the emerging discord could very well limit Dbeibahs control over the eastern region.

During the last few months, Benghazi has witnessed a growing climate of insecurity. A number of activists has been assassinated or kidnapped, in addition to the repeated discovery of dead bodies dumped into the streets. This is ironically a grim echo of the anarchy that gripped Benghazi in 2012 when the Islamist group Ansar Sharia murdered scores of police, former army officers and civilians who opposed them. It was in crushing Ansar Sharia in the tortuous Operation Dignity campaign that took more than five years, that Haftar and the LNA came to prominence and a position of power.

Now there are signs of increasing domination in Benghazi of Salafist elements who are are said to be close to the LNA. The murders and seizures have prompted tribal elders to condemn the deteriorating security situation within the city.

Their protest earlier this month coincided with the new government assuming power. They appeared to echo a more general popular discontent with Haftar. This was quickly picked up and used by Dbeibah against the field marshal.

At the same time, a mood of anger lingers in Cyrenaica (the eastern region) after the debacle suffered by the LNA when it attempted last year to advance on and seize the capital Tripoli.

Haftars defeat and the withdrawal of his forces from the west of the country toward Sirte have reduced his political influence.

The military strongman has since seemed to be under some kind of political siege, as his political contacts with foreign actors nearly stopped . He has had to limit himself to local meetings aimed at calming popular unrest in the east.

Observers believe that Dbeibahs decision not to visit Benghazi for the Thinni power handover can be seen as an attempt to ignore Haftar, whom he sees as one of the main obstacles to his complete control of Libya.

This however goes against the tacit understanding between both men, which was reflected in the vote of LNA-affiliated MPs in favour of Dbeibah and for the President of the Presidency Council Muhammad al-Manfi.

Observers suspect that the delay by Aguila Saleh, the speaker of the parliament in convening a session to discuss and vote on a Dbeibahs new budget is linked to the current cold spell between Haftar and the premier.

It is regrettable that the issue of discussing the unified general budget has turned into a tool for political blackmail, said Sulaiman al-Bayoudi, a political activist.

Bayoudi added in a post on his Facebook account, What is happening now does not bode well. Either (members) of parliament meet and carry out their duties, or the presidency council and the GNU should reject blackmail and opt instead for the implementation the financial arrangements according to Paragraph 2 of Article 9 of the Libyan Political Agreement.

He added, If the speaker of the parliament and the deputies do not act with a sense of responsibility and patriotism, they will be the first and only people to blame for the continuing difficult economic conditions, by stalling the budget debate.

The GNU, made up of twenty-six ministers and six state ministers, won the unanimous confidence of the Libyan parliament on March 10.

On Tuesday, the parallel government in eastern Libya handed over its powers to the GNU, a week after the latter officially assumed its duties from the capital, Tripoli.

The handover ceremony took place at the headquarters of the parallel government in Benghazi, the second largest city in Libya, in the presence of its outgoing premier, Abdullah al-Thinni.

The GNU was represented by Deputy Prime Minister Hussein Gatrani, Minister of Interior Khaled Mazen and a number of other ministers.

Gatrani asserted that the stage of division has ended, and said in a press statement, The government of national unity is there to serve all citizens.

The new executive authority is responsible for unifying state institutions and overseeing the transitional phase until the December 24 elections, when their term expires according to the approved roadmap.

However, the UN-demanded departure of the Syrian mercenaries and elements of the Russian Wagner Group from the west and east of the country remains one of the thorniest issues confronting Dbeibah. Achieving it will close coordination between all parties to the conflict, including Haftar.

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Signs of discord between Dbeibah and Haftar dim prospects of Libyan reunification | | AW - The Arab Weekly