Libyan Gazette Weekly News Digest 05/23: Haftar Says His Forces Will Not Cooperate with GNA Until Its Army Is Disbanded

(Author: Libyan Gazette Editorial Staff)
In an interview with French news channel iTélé on Friday, General Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the self-proclaimed “Libyan National Army” (NLA), said it was “unthinkable” for eastern Libyan forces to join the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) until its armed wing has been disbanded. Speaking on his views of the GNA’s military operations …

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(Author: Libyan Gazette Editorial Staff)
On Thursday, Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) called on the international community to provide it with arms without delay after the death of over 30 Libyan troops in a battle against ISIS militants near Sirte.     The unity government urged the international community to “shoulder its responsibilities and accelerate fulfilling its promises to …

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(Author: Libyan Gazette Editorial Staff)
“While the world’s attention is focused on atrocities in Syria and Iraq, ISIS is also getting away with murder in Libya.” ISIS militants have executed dozens of people in their Libyan stronghold Sirte since February 2015, according to the advocacy group Human Rights Watch. On Wednesday Human Rights Watch accused ISIS of unlawfully executing at …

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(Republished from Washington Times) By Esam Omeish
The increasing influence of the Islamic State, or ISIS, in Libya testifies to the fact that organized terrorism feeds on political instability and confusion. Libya has suffered continuous political chaos since the fall of Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s regime in 2011 and while not a failed state, it is on the verge of failure …

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(Author: Libyan Gazette Editorial Staff)
Mohamed Swalm, Libya’s former Minister of Labour was killed during a battle against ISIS forces near the region of Wadi Allowd on Saturday. Swalm was appointed Minister of Labour and Retraining from November 2012 to March 2014 in the cabinet of former Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan. Zeidan was was elected by the General …

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(Author: Libyan Gazette Editorial Staff)
On Thursday the US State Department designated Libya’s ISIS branch as a “foreign terrorist organization.” The US added the ISIS branches from Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and Libya to its global terrorism blacklist. The three ISIS branches were declared “specially designated global terrorists,” meaning that the US can sanction any individuals or organizations that are …

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(Author: Libyan Gazette Editorial Staff)
In a television interview on Tuesday General Khalifa Haftar stated that the decisions made by the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) mean nothing to him. “Decisions of the Unity Government are just ink on paper.” Haftar, who is loyal to the Tobruk-based House of Representatives (HoR), is a divisive figure in Libya and …

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 NATO agreed on Thursday to work with the European Union in their efforts to stop human smugglers from trafficking migrants across the Mediterranean to Europe. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said “When it comes to the Mediterranean, that’s of course something which we are now discussing with the European Union. It was an issue I discussed with the European Union …

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(Author: Libyan Gazette Editorial Staff)
The Maltese-flagged oil tanker, the Seachance, began loading a shipment of oil on Thursday from the Marsa al-Hariga port in eastern Libya after an agreement was reached between Libya’s Tripoli-based National Oil Corporation (NOC) and a rival oil company in the east. Exports from the Hariga port have been blocked since the beginning of May …

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(Author: Libyan Gazette Editorial Staff)
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) speaks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo. REUTERS/Charles Dharapak/Pool US Secretary of State John Kerry met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss Libya, Syria, and the Egyptian president’s ideas on how to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The meeting followed a …

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(Author: Libyan Gazette Editorial Staff)
Migrants, who attempted to flee the Libyan coast to head for Europe, are seen after being detained at the coast guard center in the coastal city of Tripoli, Libya, May 16, 2016. Italy and Libya were in talks on Tuesday to renew a 2008 accord under which Italy pledged billions of dollars in investment in …

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(Author: Libyan Gazette Editorial Staff)
Libyan troops celebrated the recapture of the Abu Grein checkpoint from ISIS forces on Tuesday Thirty-two Libyan Army soldiers were killed on Wednesday in clashes with ISIS fighters, including in a car bomb which went off near ISIS stronghold of Sirte. An official from the operations room set up by the Government of National Accord (GNA), …

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(Author: Libyan Gazette Editorial Staff)
The UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) said that it wanted warplanes and helicopters to fight ISIS extremists on Tuesday, a day after world powers agreed to provide weapons to Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj’s government. International backing to partially lift the arms embargo, which was in place since the 2011 ousting of Muammar Gaddafi, …

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(Author: Libyan Gazette Editorial Staff)
South of the city of Misrata has become a war zone between the Libyan Army and ISIS militants and the Government of National Accord (GNA) has banned civilians from the Abu Grein area after two trucks packed with explosives detonated at the checkpoint located between Misrata and ISIS held Sirte. The Libyan Army’s media …

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(Author: Libyan Gazette Editorial Staff)
Three soldiers were killed in a landmine explosion as Libyan forces advanced towards ISIS held Abu Grein, east of the city of Misrata, on Tuesday. Libyan ground forces have surrounded Abu Grein from all sides and the army has launched airstrikes on ISIS targets in the vicinity of Abu Grein.   On Monday a …

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(Author: Libyan Gazette Editorial Staff)
The international community pledged its support to Libya’s fledgling UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in a joint communique released after the meeting in Vienna between foreign ministers to support security and stability in Libya. The meeting in Vienna, which took place Monday, was attended by foreign ministers or senior officials from Algeria, Chad, …

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(Author: Libyan Gazette Editorial Staff)
Oil shipments will resume from the port of Marsa el-Hariga after an agreement was reached during talks in Vienna on Monday between Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) based in Tripoli and a rival oil company in the east. Exports from the Hariga port have been blocked since the beginning of May due to a standoff …

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(Author: Libyan Gazette Editorial Staff)
In a summit held in Vienna today about Libya between UN Security Council members, and more than 15 other European and regional powers have stated that they are going to provide arms to Libya’s UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) to aid in their offensive against ISIS forces. “The Government of National Accord has voiced …

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(Author: Libyan Gazette Editorial Staff)
The UN-backed Government of National Accord’s (GNA) Presidency Council announced on Monday that it has given permission to 18 government ministers to start working, despite not yet being endorsed by the Tobruk-based House of Representatives (HoR) in the east. This move is another decision made by the GNA to overcome the House of Representatives’ (HoR) …

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