The Libya Observer | Video: New operation launched against wholesalers The Libya Observer Large Libyan supermarket chains that were supposed sell their subsidized goods at the cheaper price were only selling some at the lower price and the rest was being sold to Egyptians, as Egyptians would not report such activity to authorities in fear ... |
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Video: New operation launched against wholesalers - The Libya Observer
The Libya Observer | Sirraj, Trump meet in Riyadh The Libya Observer Sirraj also held a separate meeting with US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, who reiterated his country's support for an inclusive solution that brings stability again to Libya. In his speech in Riyadh Summit, Sirraj called on the international ... Libyan PM meets Trump in Saudi Arabia |
BENGHAZI, Libya A car bomb killed a prominent tribal elder allied to eastern security forces and five other people outside a mosque in a town south of Benghazi as they were leaving afternoon prayers on Friday, a security official said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but rivals of the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) have previously carried out similar attacks in Benghazi targeting figures associated with the LNA.
The blast in Suluq, 31 miles (50 km) south of Benghazi killed Ibrayk Al-Awati, an elder of the Al-Awaqir tribe, and 11 wounded 11 other people, the official said.
The LNA has been fighting a three-year campaign against Islamist militants and other opponents in Benghazi and other parts of eastern Libya.
Images shared on social media showed flames and plumes of black smoke rising from the shell of a car, with debris and blood on the ground nearby.
Libya has been split since 2014 between rival governments aligned with loose and shifting armed alliances based in the east and west of the country.
(Reporting by Ayman al-Warfalli Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Louise Ireland)
DUBAI Iranians yearning for detente abroad and greater freedoms at home have handed President Hassan Rouhani a second term, but the hardline forces he defeated in elections on Friday will remain defiantly opposed to his plans.
HOMS, Syria/BEIRUT Syrian rebels started leaving the last opposition-held district of Homs city on Saturday in the final phase of an evacuation deal that will bring an early center of the uprising back under government control in the conflict's seventh year.
BEIRUT Islamic State militants killed nearly 20 people including two children in a village in Syria's eastern Deir al-Zor province, and captured fighters participating in a U.S.-backed operation against the jihadists, a monitoring group said on Saturday.
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Tribal elder, five others killed by car bomb south of Libya's Benghazi: of... - Reuters
Tunis, 17th May 2017 - UNFPA, United Nation Fund for Population, IOM, the UN Migration Agency, and IFRC, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, have jointly organized a training on Gender Based Violence Multi-Sectoral Coordination in Libya during the period 14th to 18th of May 2017.
The overall objective of the training is to raise awareness of GBV in humanitarian settings in the region and specifically in Libya and to provide fundamental skills to formulate appropriate prevention, mitigation and response strategies and programme interventions, and strengthen coordination across all relevant sectors. The training is the outcome of the combined efforts of UNFPA, Ahfad University in Khartoum and the KAWTAR Center for Arab Women for Training and Research and a new partnership between IOM and UNFPA with regards to the protection of vulnerable women in Libya. The workshop is aiming to set a new structure to ensure the protection of the most at risk women and girls among displaced and conflict affected families including migrants.
Thirty participants from the Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Health/ National Control Disease Center, Ministry of Interior and local CSOs/NGOs working on protection and GBV in Libya and Tunisia took part in the training. This synergy of efforts among the Libyan authorities and humanitarian actors is critical in order to provide seamless services to the most vulnerable efficiently.
I salute the Libyan women, who is facing challenges inside and outside the house and who, we should guarantee their protection by providing psychosocial support, health services and legal counselling. This is only possible by close coordination with partners and a multi-sectorial approach on the ground with the line ministries and civil society actors said Dr. Georges Makram GEORGI, UNFPA Libya Country Director.
Partnership is an essential part to ensure women protection, it allows for more coordinated and cohesive approaches on Sexual and Gender based-violence said Amelia MARZAL, IFRC Head of Country Cluster. This training is a great example of coordination, led by UNFPA with its partners, to work together to achieve common goals. And from the International Federation together with the Libyan Red Crescent we are very glad to join efforts in this initiative.
Maysa KHALIL, Programme Officer, IOM Libya, stated IOM is ensuring that the protection of women and men is mainstreamed in all our Programmes though our strategic partners in Libya such as the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Social Affair and Ministry of Health. This workshop serves as a good opportunity to further enhance the coordination between UN agencies and partners inside Libya to better assist vulnerable populations.
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Gender Based Violence (GBV) Multi-sectoral Coordination in Libya - ReliefWeb
In past years, similar warning zones have almost always been relegated to the far reaches of the eastern Mediterranean, to the waters off Syria. Even legitimate Russia exercises in the area have used the body of water between Crete and the Syrian-Lebanon coastline. Also, Russia's only warm water port is located in Tartus, Syria, adjacent to this naval operating area.
With all this in mind, this latest warning notice is especially peculiar.
Eastern Libya has remained particularly mired in chaos in recent months, and just last week, Libyan National Army troops, under the command of the rogue General Khalifa Haftar, struck deeper into central Benghazi. Haftar's forces are at odds with the UN backed Libyan government in Tripoli, but he is a favorite of the Kremlin. The Russian Navy even hosted the strongman aboard their only carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, as it traversed the region earlier this year. We described Haftar as such in a recent feature on Russia's increasing involvement in Libya:
"Haftar himself has had a complicated political history. He served as a military officer in Gaddafis army before running afoul of the enigmatic leader and ending up in prison. In 1990, he moved to the United States after officials in Washington helped secure his release.
Though Haftar styles himself head of Libyas national armed forces, fighting terrorists on behalf of the countrys central government, he has disputed the GNAs authority and seems intent on becoming president. His spokespersons have declared taking over Tripoli is key to the groups supposed counter-terrorism mission, implying that government officials are in league with dangerous Islamist extremists."
It seems very possible that Russia could be moving to actively support the General's forces in the region, and specifically in the coastal power center of Benghazi now that he has established a steady foothold there. Once again, this could be done via cruise missile attacks on opposition forces bases or even via naval gunfire support. Russia would likely classify such an act as an anti-terror campaign in a similar way as it has done in Syria. Russia has deployed a number of special operations troops to eastern Egypt, whichare likely operating in Libya in support of Haftar. These troops could work as a targeting cell for such strikes.
Just today, Putin seemed ready to deepen Moscow's involvement in the conflict, after meeting with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni. Meanwhile, General Haftar met with Egypt's Army Chief of Staff today, a totally unprecedented event and a signal that a Egyptian-Russian-FLA alliance could be in the works.
Another possibility, albeit a less likely one, is the Russians are demoing weaponry for Egypt, who have ordered a lot of hardware from Moscowsince the US turned away from Cairo under the Obama Administration.
If Russia does become "kinetically" involved in Libya, it would mark a major change in policy by the Kremlin and would act as another reminder of how Russia is willing to opportunistically fill any geopolitical void left by the US.
Although the US has periodically waded back into the Libyan civil war, the actions have largely centered around counter-terror operations, with targeted strikes on particular Islamic extremist groups or individuals operating in the country or even occupying portions of it. But Russia may be looking to accomplish an entirely different set of objectives. It Moscow could prop-up Hafter to where his forces can reliably secure the eastern part of Libya, it could offer Russia another warm water port in the Mediterranean and doing so could result in a persistent Russian military presence on NATO's southern flank.
Contact the author:Tyler@thedrive.com
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What Do The Russians Have Planned Off Libya's Coast Next Week? - The Drive