Libya

While Libya’s ceasefire agreement is holding, ongoing military build-up, fierce competition for territorial control among Western armed groups, recent armed mobilizations in and around Tripoli, coupled with a crippling economic crisis, have renewed fears about a potential outbreak of violence in the capital, the UN’s top official in the country told the Security Council today. 

Russia’s rehabilitation of an abandoned airbase in the Libyan desert offers an opportunity to create a reliable line of supply to Russian forces operating in West Africa. 

[…] The bout of public accusations by Libyan stakeholders of who is to blame for Libya’s unstable economy has been increasing recently as the Libyan dinar continued to lose its value. 

The Council today extended the mandate of the EU Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) military operation in the Mediterranean - EUNAVFOR MED IRINI - until 31 March 2027. The decision was taken in the wake of the Strategic Review of the operation carried out by the Political and Security Committee. In this context, the Council also decided to add a new task to the mandate of the operation.

The dream of a civil, democratic and prosperous Libya remains unfulfilled 14 years after the revolution that led to the overthrow of the Gaddafi regime, the head of UN Political and Peacebuilding Affairs told the Security Council on Wednesday.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) is pleased to announce the establishment of the Advisory Committee, as part of its multi-track political initiative announced to the Security Council on 16 December 2024. The role of the Advisory Committee will be developing technically sound and politically viable proposals for resolving outstanding contentious issues to enable the holding of elections, … .

The International Criminal Court has reminded Italy of its obligation to cooperate fully after it let warlord Ossama al-Masri return to Libya. Al-Masri is accused of murder, rape and torture. 

Updating its sanctions regime concerning Libya today, the Security Council exempted certain activities from the arms embargo on that country, allowed for the investment of its frozen assets and created new sanctions designations for those involved in the illicit trade in Libyan petroleum products. … The Council also decided to extend, until 15 May 2026, the mandate of the relevant Panel of Experts.

The U.N. Libya mission expressed on Tuesday its alarm over what it said was footage circulating on social media featuring "brutal torture and ill-treatment" of detainees at the Gernada detention facility in eastern Libya.

Russian military bases in Syria appear to be being packed up and evacuated. If Russia relocates to Libya, experts worry the shift could impact security in the Mediterranean and unbalance the frozen conflict there.