Libya

After some equivocation, Moscow is now reportedly throwing its weight more fully behind Libya’s maverick General Khalifa Haftar in his attempt to overthrow the United Nations-backed Tripoli government of Fayez al-Sarraj.

The Libyan civil war has found a new battlefield: the halls of Washington. The eight-year conflict shows little sign of ending, and the warring governments are stepping up their efforts to influence policymakers in the United States. Crucial to these efforts, and the Libyan conflict as a whole, is the country's oil output.

The AU could provide the legitimacy needed for a multilateral peace process in Libya, which is marred by the history of international involvement.

Libya remains entangled in a “cycle of violence, atrocities and impunity”, International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told the UN Security Council on Wednesday, nearly a decade since the Court began its work in the country.

Religious issues and leadership play an increasingly important role in the lives of many Malians, but international actors are ill-equipped to understand and analyse this. … This paper examines the history of Islam in Mali, as well as the influence of some of the most important Muslim leaders in the country.

Libya’s UN-backed Government of National Accord on Tuesday reopened Mitiga, Tripoli’s only functioning airport, after almost two months of closure, the transportation minister said.

Germany's foreign minister says he's seeking an end to all "foreign interference" in war-torn Libya. Heiko Maas says this issue is a "fundamental problem" in Libya that will be discussed at a conference on the North African country, which will take place in Berlin later this year.

[…] A report by Amnesty International released Tuesday said warring parties have killed and maimed scores of civilians. The report says both sides are launching indiscriminate attacks and using inaccurate explosive weapons in populated urban areas.

The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has condemned the airstrike on Monday that killed three children in Al-Fernaj neighborhood in Tripoli, deploring in the strongest possible terms the reckless disregard for the lives of innocent people, and calls for the immediate cessation of such indiscriminate attacks.