Our archive of international activity in Libya’s security space including military operations, the presence of foreign operatives and diplomacy pertaining to Libya’s security.
The Guardian reports that British Special Air Service (SAS) forces have been deployed in Libya since the beginning of the year. This information comes from a leaked memo detailing a confidential briefing given to US congressional leaders in January 2016 by Jordan’s King Abdullah. The memo indicates that US lawmakers were personally briefed about plans […]
The UK parliament’s foreign affairs select committee asked the government whether it intends to send 1,000 non-combat troops to Libya to train an army capable of driving ISIS from the country. Senior members of the committee said they were told in Tunis that the Italians would provide 5,000 troops and the UK 1,000, with more […]
In an Atlantic article from the April 2016 issue, US President Barack Obama hinted that America’s European and British partners have gravely disappointed in their support for Libya. Meanwhile last week’s comments by Italian Prime Minister Renzi against French ‘haste’ in 2011 have generated their fair share of scorn. The US, UK and EU called […]
A recent article by the Washington Post said that the Pentagon had presented the White House with the most detailed set of military options yet for attacking the growing ISIS threat in Libya. The plans are said to include a range of potential airstrikes against training camps, command centres, munitions depots and other militant targets. […]
As the political process for Libya mediated by the UN begins to flounder, signals are emerging that the international community is more seriously considering the ‘military option’. International media reports have begun to reveal the different roles played by western countries such as France, the US and the UK in supporting various power brokers in […]
Despite the inconsistency of the Western community’s position vis-à-vis ISIS in Libya, as well as the faltering Libyan political process, an international bombing campaign of ISIS forces in the country seems a very probable prospect in the near future…Although US Secretary of State John Kerry, downplayed the US role or the intentions of President Barack Obama to intervene militarily in Libya, the chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee said that Obama is “on the verge of taking action” against ISIS in Libya.
Days before the Italian president’s visit to the White House on 9 February, US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter reportedly told media that the Italians have indicated that they want the lead in Libya, an impulse the US is willing to support. … Meanwhile Russian media is reporting that Russian Ambassador to Libya Ivan Moltokov has unveiled his country’s intention to fight terrorism, also saying that Russia has approached the UN Security Council with a request to lift arms sanctions against Libya to enable its fight against ISIS.
International media widely speculated last week about the potential for Western intervention against ISIS in Libya, fuelling controversy and tension inside the country, and even provoking citizens to begin stockpiling essential goods in Benghazi and other areas in Eastern Libya. The value of the Libyan Dinar (LYD) also plummeted, reaching a record low on the […]
The international community continues to push ahead with plans to intervene decisively in Libya, including statements to that effect by the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff last week. Despite the obvious urgency for such international assistance to counter ISIS in Libya, the political disconnect between the UN and international missions with the […]
News reports confirmed that unidentified airstrikes targeted the port and other locations inside Sirte on 14 Janaury. It is highly likely that these strikes are conducted by international forces (France, US) but local reports (and ISIS) suggested that Libyan aircraft from Misrata were responsible. Germany’s defense minister says she does not rule out dispatching military […]
A high-level meeting was held on 12 January, which included the Italian PM, defense, Intelligence and security ministers, including Italian special forces where Libya was the key agenda item. The meeting may be related to the flash incident in Mellitah complex on 12 January, where gunfire at the complex entrance forced a quick evacuation of […]
Although ISIS do not control any oil ports yet, new reports suggest that British SAS Special Forces could be preparing to lead an international team to take back control of any oil fields which would fall under ISIS control. At present this seems infeasible, as the international community first needs the Government of National Accord […]
Ibrahim Dabbashi, Libyan ambassador to the UN, told La Stampa newspaper: “Italy, France, Britain and the United States are preparing air strikes to hit the bases of ISIS in Sirte. I believe that as soon as the political conditions allow, they will take action.”
On Sunday night 20 Dec, there were new reports of ‘unidentified’ low-flying, surveillance aircraft over ISIS territory east of Sirte, near Noufaliyah, Um Qandil and Bin Jawwad, a town just 40km from Sidra and Ras Lanuf, the largest oil terminals in Libya. Sources speculate that the aircraft are likely French jets flying from the French Carrier Charles De Gaulle…. In fact, prominent Islamists and political hardliners in Tripoli are saying that the purpose of the GNA is to rubber stamp international intervention against all Islamist forces, a potently dangerous rhetoric as it risks emboldening extremist groups and IS even further. In a recent statement by Dar Al Ifta, the religious establishment headed by the Grand Mufti in Tripoli, Sadeq Al Gheryani, the GNA is deemed against Sharia due to its illegitimate and unconstitutional origins.
After months of measured statements by foreign ministers and top officials dismissing the notion of direct military intervention in Libya, recent reports indicate that the UK and possibly France could extend ‘Syria-style’ anti-ISIS strikes to Libya, subject to the establishment of a GNA which invites them to do so.
This week, both the Italian and French PMs explicitly dismissed the notion of boots-on-the-ground military intervention against ISIS in Libya. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also ruled out such an intervention…. France confirmed that it carried out ISR flights over Sirte on 20 and 21 November, aimed at collecting intelligence on ISIS movements.
There was no discernable Western response to the ISIS threat in Libya this week.
The US announced its first airstrike against an IS target in Derna, claiming to have killed the top IS leader in Libya. an entire LNA unit was killed by a suicide bomber.
There was no discernable Western response to the ISIS threat in Libya this week.
Sources in Sirte have reported airdrops of supplies and ammunition by other unidentified aircraft in the night.
There was no discernable Western response to jihadi threats in Libya this week.
There was no discernable Western response to jihadi threats in Libya this week.
There was no discernable Western response to jihadi threats in Libya this week.
There was no discernable Western response to jihadi threats in Libya this week.
There was no discernable Western response to jihadi threats in Libya this week.
There was no discernable Western response to jihadi threats in Libya this week.
There was no discernible Western response to jihadi threats in Libya this week.
There was no discernable Western response to jihadi threats in Libya this week.
There was no discernable Western response to jihadi threats in Libya this week.
There was no overt western response to jihadi threats in Libya this week.
US forces launched airstrikes against a militant base south of Ajdabiyya meant to target Mokhtar Belmokhtar.
There was no overt Western response to jihadi activity in Libya this week.
There has been no further progress in the UN sponsored peace negotiations. UNSMIL is still in the process of reworking the draft roadmap document that was issued at the end of April and rejected so forcefully by the GNC. The amended roadmap is expected to be ready by the start of the second week of […]
There was no overt Western response to jihadi activity in Libya this week.
There was no overt Western response to jihadi activity in Libya this week.
There was no overt Western response to jihadi activity in Libya this week.
There was no overt Western response to jihadi activity in Libya this week.
There was no overt Western response to jihadi activity in Libya this week.
There was no overt Western response to jihadi activity in Libya this week.
There was no overt Western response to jihadi activity in Libya this week.
The UN Security Council unanimously voted on 28 March to extend its arms embargo on Libya although it allowed space for restrictions to be lifted on a case by case basis by calling on the Sanctions Committee to consider requests for the transfer of arms and related material to the Libyan Government for use by the official armed forces in its fight against IS and its supporters.
There was no overt Western response to jihadi activity this week.
There was no overt Western response to jihadi activity this week.
British Ambassador to the UN, Sir Mark Lyall Grant stated during an interview with the Al-Arabiya television channel that Libya would only be supplied with weapons to fight IS if it agreed to a national unity government first.
There was no overt Western response to jihadi activity this week.
Italian Defence Minister, Roberta Pinotto, stated in an interview published on 15 February that the situation in Libya was urgent after the beheadings and that Rome was ready to fight against Islamist militants in the context of an international mission including European and North African powers.
There was no overt Western response to jihadi activity in Libya this week.
On Wednesday 14 January, multilateral direct UN-backed negotiations started in Geneva, despite the last minute boycott of the Martyr’s bloc which was misrepresented in the media as a boycott of the whole rump GNC.
Italy’s PM Matteo Renzi opened the door to a UN-sanctioned peacekeeping mission in Libya should negotiations fail. It is unclear what impact, if any, will this week’s terrorist attack in Paris have over France’s already pro-active policy in Libya.
There was no overt Western response to jihadi activity in Libya this week.
Although UNSMIL’s Chief Bernardino Leon and Libya’s Western partners continue to staunchly promote the undertaking of negotiations to follow up on the Ghadames process, hardly any positive developments have emerged from the country during the past week.
Unsurprisingly given the ongoing violence, including in the oil crescent, the UN-sponsored peace talks that were planned for 16 December did not go ahead.
The future of the UN-sponsored peace talks known as the Ghadames II dialogue is still uncertain. The talks had been due to go ahead on 9 December but were postponed at the last moment and rescheduled for 16 December.
UN Special Representative to Libya, Bernardino Leon has continued his efforts this week to try to bring Libya’s warring parties together and to convince them to participate in the next round of UN-sponsored peace talks.
UN Special Representative to Libya, Bernardino Leon, has continued in his efforts to try to bring Libya’s rival factions together in what he hopes will be a Ghadames Meeting Mark Two.
No Western Response this week.
Libya’s political scene remains deeply divided with last week’s Supreme Court ruling leaving both sides more entrenched than ever.
As ISIS has firmly established itself in Derna and announced that presences to the world, the West made no response and HoR PM Thinni, resolutely refused to deal with those he dismisses as “terrorists”.
The Algerian initiative appears to be dead on the vine as there doesn’t seem to be any official pronouncements about it.
The US along with the UK, France, Italy and Germany issued a joint statement this week condemning the violence in Libya and calling on all parties to agree on a ceasefire.
Algeria’s bid to host a Libyan national reconciliation initiative is gathering momentum. Algeria has been trying for some time to sponsor peace talks between Libya’s warring parties, viewing this as a preferable option to some kind of military intervention.
The UNSMIL sponsored peace talks went ahead in Ghadames on 29 September and surprisingly heralded an agreement of sorts. Operation Libya Dawn made clear its objections to the talks right from the start calling on those boycotters of the House to suspend their participation in the dialogue.
The United Nations is sponsoring peace talks in Ghadames this week.
News this week that Haftar has received 8 military jets that were sent abroad for reconditioning suggests that he has no intention of giving up the fight.
The international community looks highly unlikely to respond to French calls for mobilisation as Syria overshadows Libya.
The Libyan government accused Sudan this week of providing military support to Operation Libya Dawn forces in the capital.
No Western Response to jihadist in Libya was logged this week.
Libya’s neighbours held another ministerial level meeting on 25 August in Cairo in a bid to come up with a plan to resolve the crisis in Libya. The meeting was attended by the foreign ministers of Libya, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Sudan and Chad, and others.
There was no overt Western response to jihadi activity in Libya this week.
The United Nations (UN) responded positively to a request by the House of Representatives this week to oversee the brokering of a ceasefire in the capital. A UN delegation, led by Special Representative Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, has begun talks with the main parties in the conflict, as well as with officers from the Libyan army.
Western entities did not take action on Libya this week.
Tripoli remains engulfed in fighting, with the violence continuing to overshadow the formal political process. Many Western countries, including the US, have evacuated their embassies and advised their citizens to leave Libya.
House of Representatives (HoR) Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdulaziz requested that the UN Security Council dispatch experts to train Libya’s defence forces and police eliciting condemnation from some for appearing to invite foreign forces into the conflict.
United Kingdom Special Envoy to Libya Jonathan Powell, along with his US and UN counterparts, are devising a new strategy to mediate between Libya’s warring factions. HoR Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni had a meeting with EU, UK, US, and UN ambassadors and envoys, during which he accused Westerners of destroying the Libyan military, while also requesting peacekeeping forces to protect Libyan government institutions.
There was no Western Response this week.
Tarek Mitri, head of UNSMIL, congratulated the High National Election Commission on a well-run election, indicating that the Libyan election was not bought or stolen at the ballot box.
The U.S. military captured Ahmed Abu Khatallah in Benghazi and the UNSMIL reconciliation meeting between Libya’s opposing coalitions was indefinitely postponed.
On 6 June, UNSMIL Representative Tarek Mitri announced the UN’s support for a Libyan national dialogue, which would bring together some of the country’s most influential actors to settle long-divisive issues.