Libya

The allegations, ranging from profligacy to corruption, are not only an internal Libyan matter. Officials said widespread smuggling was helping to provide fuel to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces fighting in Sudan, a point highlighted in a recent report submitted to the UN security council. Some of the money may also be going indirectly to the Russia-backed Wagner Group, now rebranded as the Africa Corps.

75 political parties issued a joint statement on Wednesday calling on the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, to assist in forming a new unified government in the country, and to expand the circle of political dialogue away from the initiative of the UN envoy to Libya Abdoulaye Bathily.

Moscow is consolidating the Wagner Group’s operations in Libya under the direct control of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (GRU) and relying on the African Corps under the purview of Russia’s deputy defense minister.

Command of Wagner’s overseas presence has been assigned to Russia’s military intelligence (GRU), specifically General Andrei Averyanov. Through a series of intermediate PMCs like Convoy … and Redut, … Wagner’s Ukrainian operation is being retitled the Volunteer Corps, with other operations becoming the Expeditionary Corps.

Armed groups that have been controlling Tripoli for more than a decade have agreed to leave Libya's capital. Interior minister Imad Trabelsi - part of the internationally recognised government - said after lengthy negotiations a deal had been struck for regular forces to police Tripoli.

Progress towards credible elections in Libya is impossible without an agreement between the key political players, the UN’s top envoy to the north African country said on Thursday.

The Head of the Presidential Council Mohammed Menfi met Wednesday in Tripoli with the US Special Envoy to Libya, Richard Norland, and explained his vision for addressing the current political impasse, stressing his keenness to advance the political process in partnership with the United Nations. … The American delegation, headed by Norland, began a working visit to Libya … in order to mobilize support for the political process led by the UN.

The United Nations (UN) envoy to Libya Abdoulaye Bathily held a number of meetings on Tuesday with the ambassadors of France, Germany, Egypt, the Netherlands, and Tunisia, dealing with developments in the political situation in Libya, and renewed his invitation to Libyan leaders to sit for dialogue.

The United Nations Support Mission to Libya (UNSMIL) has sent an invitation to the members of the Joint Military Commission (JMC) 5+5, to discuss activating what was signed at the Geneva meeting in October 2020 regarding the removal of mercenaries and foreign fighters from Libya, according to local media sources.

Despite recent legislative progress, Libya’s political landscape remains fraught with power struggles, as key figures attach conditions to taking part in crucial talks, the UN envoy to the north African nation said on Monday.