Libya

Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh on Monday sacked Foreign Minister Najla Al-Mangoush. … The move came one day after Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said that he had met with Al-Mangoush in Rome, Italy, last week.

On Friday evening, the air force of Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) bombarded Chadian rebel positions on the Libyan side of the border, before launching an airborne assault, its press office said. The LNA did not specify which Chadian armed faction was the target of its operation. A number of rebel groups operate out of the Tibesti mountains which straddle the border.

After calling for elections in Libya ahead of government unification for years, the United Nations now says unification should come before voting. Its Libya envoy, Abdoulaye Bathily, said on Tuesday that it is imperative stakeholders agree on a unified government that could then lead Libya into elections.

At least 55 people were reported killed and over 100 injured - including civilians - in fighting between the Deterrence Apparatus for Combatting Organized Crime and Terrorism (DACOT) and the 444 Brigade, on 14 and 15 August, the head of the UN political mission in Libya, UNSMIL, told the Security Council.

Two powerful militias that back Libya's UN-supported government have clashed in the capital, Tripoli, killing 55 people and injuring 146 others, medics say. The fierce fighting, which erupted on Monday until late on Tuesday, forced the city's main airport to close.

The Tripoli-based High State Council (HSC) on Sunday chose Mohammed Takala in a run-off by 67 votes to 62, unseating its former head Khaled al-Mishri, who had led the HSC since 2018. The introduction of a new leader at the helm of a key political institution could add more uncertainly to the country’s already divided politics.

[…] The joint statement comes on the back of an UNSMIL statement yesterday warning the House of Representatives (HoR) and High State Council (HSC), without naming them, against any unilateral measures or an attempt to undermine the aspirations of Libyans to hold national elections

[…] The mandate of the EU Integrated Border Management Assistance Mission in Libya (EUBAM Libya) has been renewed for two years until 30 June 2025. In the context of the Strategic Review of EUBAM Libya, the Council decided that the mission should contribute to enhancing the capacity of the relevant Libyan authorities and agencies to manage Libya’s borders, to fight against cross-border crime - including human trafficking and migrant smuggling - and to counter terrorism.

Libyan political leaders who are being encouraged to set aside their differences for the sake of a new democratic future, must put the interests of the people “above all else”, said the UN’s Special Representative for the country on Monday. Abdoulaye Bathily, briefed the Security Council and acknowledged the recent efforts of the so-called “6+6” Committee working towards new elections, as an important step forward, though insufficient to resolve the most contested issues.

The European Union (UN) naval operation enforcing a United Nations (UN) arms embargo on Libya has been extended for a year.