Libya

Libya’s presidential council has banned any military movement across the country without its approval after forces loyal to renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar said they took control of a border crossing with Algeria and declared it a military zone.

In the lead up to the second Berlin Conference, UNSMIL reported Friday that its head, Jan Kubis, continued his engagements with national and international stakeholders to mobilize further support for the multi-track UN-facilitated, Libyan-led, and Libyan owned political process.

A military drone that attacked soldiers during a battle in Libya’s civil war last year may have done so without human control, according to a recent report commissioned by the United Nations.

Germany and the United Nations will host a new round of Libyan peace talks on June 23 in Berlin, Germany's foreign ministry said in a statement. It will be the first time that Libya's transitional government will take part in the talks that were launched with a first conference in January 2020.

International pressure is growing on Turkey over its military presence in Libya. … Ankara insists its forces are in Libya at the invitation of Libya's internationally recognized government.  But this month, Libyan Foreign Minister Najla El-Mangoush called for all foreign fighters to leave, including Turkish forces. 

Libyan politicians have moved with salutary speed in 2021 to reunify their divided country. With UN help, the new government should hasten to clear two last hurdles: establishing a legal framework for elections and clarity about who holds supreme command of the armed forces.

On the heels of recent positive developments, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Libya pointed to renewed hope for peace in the conflict-affected country, and stability across the wider region, in a briefing to the Security Council on Friday.

As part of ongoing consultations with Libyan interlocutors, UNSMIL reported Assistant Secretary-General and UNSMIL Coordinator Raisedon Zenenga met virtually yesterday with representatives of civil society from all regions of Libya.

Today the office of the European Union Mission to Libya reopened in Tripoli.