On 22 August, a Russian military delegation led by Deputy Minister of Defense Yunus-bek Yevkurov arrived in Benghazi at the invitation of Libyan...
International actors
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.
FACT accuses Chadian forces of airstrikes against its base in Libya as LNA announces plan to secure borders
On 18 August, the Front pour l’Alternance et la Concorde au Tchad (FACT) published a statement in which it claimed that the Chadian army had carried...
Libyan and international actors condemn Tripoli clashes, call for end of hostilities
On 15 August, as the fighting intensified in Tripoli after the commander of the 444 Brigade, Mahmoud Hamza, was arrested by the Special Deterrence...
Tunisia and Libya reach agreement to end migration crisis
On 9 August, the interior ministers of Tunisia and Libya, Kamel Fekih and Emad Trabelsi, reached an agreement in Tunis to end the crisis at the...
Libyan concerns around Niger crisis increase
On 9 August, Presidential Council (PC) Deputy Mousa al-Koni received a Tebu delegation in Tripoli to discuss the situation of the Tebu and the...
GNU condemns Niger coup as ECOWAS threatens military intervention
On 1 August, GNU Minister of Foreign Affairs Najla al-Mangoush held a phone call with her Chadian counterpart about the situation in Niger. They...
UNSG spokesperson ‘deeply concerned’ over migrants’ expulsion from Tunisia
On 1 August, Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General, issued a statement expressing ‘deep concern over the...
Mangoush discusses Niger coup concerns with US State Department
On 29 July, Government of National Unity (GNU) Foreign Minister Najla al-Mangoush spoke by phone with Counsellor of the US State Department Derek...
Niger coup raises concerns of further destabilisation in southern Libya
On 26 July, soldiers in Niger (which borders Libya to the south-west) announced a coup on national TV, saying they had dissolved the constitution,...
Security Working Group meets in Benghazi
On 24 July, Bathily and the the Ambassadors of Italy, Egypt, France, Germany, Tunisia, Turkey, and the United Kingdom met with Haftar in Benghazi to...
Amnesty International condemns activist kidnapping in Benghazi
On 18 July, Amnesty International highlighted that activist and professor of geography at the University of Benghazi Belkacem Eljard was kidnapped...
US civil case filed against Haftar and Prigozhin for ‘war crimes’ against Libyans
On 17 July, the Libyan-American Alliance (LAA) announced that it had filed a lawsuit against Russia’s Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and...
Paris hosts 5+5 JMC meeting to discuss establishment of joint military force in the South
On 17 - 18 July, France hosted in Paris a meeting of the 5+5 Joint Military Committee, in the presence of senior representatives of UNSMIL and...
Greece calls for resumption of ‘Operation Sophia’ naval mission
On 16 July, newly appointed Greek Migration Minister Dimitris Kairidis called on the European Union (EU) to resume ‘Operation Sophia’, an EU-led...
UNSMIL, US condemn Boumtari’s detention and HSC members’ travel ban at Mitiga Airport
On 13 July, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said it was ‘deeply disturbed’ by the ‘continued abductions, arbitrary arrests, and...
NGO condemns Libyan coastguard for opening fire on migrant boat
On 10 July, European rescue group SOS Mediterranee issued a statement condemning the Libyan coastguard for firing shots ‘in close proximity’ to...
European Commission says Libyan coast guard ‘infiltrated by criminals’
On 6 July, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson stated that there was a clear indication that the Libyan coast guard was...
Tunisia deports hundreds of African migrants to Libyan border region amid international condemnation
On 5 July, Tunisia forcibly deported several hundred black Africans to the Libyan border after violent riots involving migrants in Sfax (in which...
Wagner allegedly targeted in drone strikes on Khadim base as GNU, LNA deny responsibility
On 29 June, facilities of the Wagner mercenaries at al-Khadim Air Force Base in the Kharouba area south of al-Marj were reportedly attacked by at...
EU renews EUBAM mandate for two years
On 26 June, the Council of the European Union (EU) extended the mandate of the EU Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM) in Libya for an additional two...
Wagner halts march to Moscow following Minsk-brokered deal
On 24 June, Wagner Group commander Yevgeny Prigozhin ordered his fighters to halt their advance on Moscow and return to their bases in southern...
EU delivers more patrol boats to Libya
On 22 June, the European Union (EU) delivered two patrol boats to Libya in a ceremony in the Sicilian city of Messina. The delivery is part of an EU...
Chinese citizens arrested following raids on bitcoin mining farms in western region
On 21 June, two Bitcoin mining farms were raided in Misrata. Ten people were arrested (all Chinese). On 22 June, another Bitcoin mining farm was...
EUBAM Libya hosts counter terrorism workshop
On 20 June, the European Union Border Assistance Mission in Libya (EUBAM) said it was hosting a three-day workshop on Counter Terrorism with the...
Bathily highlights armed groups and human rights issues at UNSC briefing
In his briefing to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on 19 June, UN Special Envoy to Libya Abdoulaye Bathily stated that there is a...
EU denies helping smugglers in Libya
On 16 June, European Commission spokesperson Eric Mamer denied accusations that the European Union (EU) was helping smugglers in Libya as it steps...
Nine Egyptians in Greek court over Tubruq migrant boat tragedy
On 15 June, Greek authorities announced that nine Egyptian survivors were arrested and are due in a Greek court on suspicion of belonging to the...
Rome to ask Haftar for greater cooperation on migrant control from eastern Libya
On 9 June, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said at a press conference that Rome was planning to ask Libyan National Army (LNA) Commander...
HRW, UNSMIL slam eastern Libyan authorities for mass deportations
On 9 June, Human Rights Watch (HRW) slammed eastern Libyan authorities for the mass deportation of Egyptian migrants, who were forced to leave Libya...
Thousands of illegal migrants deported to Egypt amid unrest in Umm Sa’ad border town
On 2 June, thousands of illegal migrants were deported to Egypt amid unrest in Umm Sa'ad on the Egyptian border. As of 4 June, about 2,200 illegal...
Mishri discusses Zawiyya unrest with Turkish ambassador
On 31 May, High State Council (HSC) Chair Khaled Al-Mishri spoke with the Turkish Ambassador to Libya Kenan Yilmaz about the security situation in...
International concerns over use of weapons in Zawiyya’s civilian areas
On 29 May, the US said it is closely monitoring the situation ‘with concern amid reports of weapons being used in civilian areas.’ It called on...
UNSMIL ‘closely monitoring’ situation in Zawiyya
On 26 May, UNSMIL said that it was ‘in contact with the concerned national authorities’ about the airstrikes in Zawiyya and would continue to...
Security Working Group of the Berlin Process meets in Libya for first time
On 24 May, UN Special Envoy to Libya Abdoulaye Bathily and Turkish Ambassador to Libya Kenan Yilmaz co-chaired the first plenary session of the...
Haddad heads high-level military delegation to Rome
On 22 May, GNU Chief of Staff Muhammad al-Haddad led a high-level military delegation to Rome, where he met with Italy’s Chief of the Defense Staff,...
Haftar meets ambassadors of France, Sweden
On 21 May, Libyan National Army (LNA) Commander Khalifa Haftar received French ambassador to Libya Mustafa Maharaj in his office in Benghazi, where...
High-level Egyptian intelligence delegations visit Dabaiba and Haftar
On 17 May, Government of National Unity (GNU) Prime Minister Abdul Hameed Dabaiba met with a high-level Egyptian intelligence delegation to follow...
Haftar ‘promised’ RSF to provide advanced anti-aircraft cannons, say Darfuri rebel sources
On 17 May, a Middle East Eye report citing sources from Darfuri rebel factions, who maintain a presence in Libya’s southern region, said that Libyan...
New warrants issued for Libya crimes, ICC tells UNSC
On 11 May, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, briefed the UN Security Council on the prosecution of alleged...
Haftar may have been ‘pressured’ into supporting RSF, says Sudan’s Sovereignty Council
On 10 May, a member of Sudan's Sovereignty Council, Yasser al-Atta, stated that they have received conflicting information that Libyan National Army...
US embassy recognises Libyan participants in US sponsored counter terrorism training
On 5 May, the Deputy Head of the United States Mission to Libya, Leslie Ordeman, said the embassy recognised Libyan participants in a US...
UN envoy says Haftar has no decisive role in Sudanese conflict despite supporting Hemedti
In an interview with Deutsche Welle published on 5 May, the UN Envoy to Sudan Volker Perthes stated that he could say ‘very little about the role of...
US Defence Attaché meets with Libyan military leaders in Tripoli
On 3 May, the US Defence Attaché Mark Imblum led a US delegation to meet with a delegation of Libyan military leaders in Tripoli led by the Chief of...
Nadhouri meets with French military delegation in Rajma
On 3 May, the Libyan National Army's (LNA) Chief of Staff General Abdurrazaq al-Nadhouri held a meeting with the French Military Attaché and his...
US urges Haftar to prevent destabilisation in Sudan by Wagner
On 27 April, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Barbara Leaf, said she spoke with Libyan National Army (LNA) Commander...
US offers support for preventing Sudan violence spillover in meeting with Mangoush
On 26 April, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Barbara Leaf, spoke with the Government of National Unity's Foreign Minister...
LNA, Wagner Group accused of sending support to RSF in Sudan
On 19 April, the Wall Street Journal reported that Libyan National Army (LNA) Commander Khalifa Haftar had sent at least one shipment of ammunition...
SAF seizes strategic RSF base on Libyan border
On 19 April, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) announced its seizure of a strategic military base belonging to the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF)...
Bathily comments on latest 5+5 JMC talks in UNSC briefing
On 18 April, UN Envoy to Libya Abdoulaye Bathily briefed the UN Security Council on developments in Libya. He noted the significant symbolic value...
GNS expresses concerns over Khartoum clashes, urges ‘end to bloodshed’
On 17 April, the Government of National Stability (GNS) expressed concerns over the situation in Khartoum as fierce clashes between Sudan's army and...
Canada’s GardaWorld under investigation over irregularities
On 16 April, a Tripoli court launched an investigation into administrative irregularities at Canadian security contractor Garda World, resulting in...
GNU urges Sudanese parties to resume peace talks following clashes in Khartoum
On 15 April, the Government of National Unity (GNU) said it was following the ‘unfortunate events’ taking place in Khartoum, urging all parties to...
Canada’s GardaWorld staff arrested at Mitiga Airport
On 12 April, several employees of Canadian security contractor GardaWorld were arrested at Mitiga Airport in Tripoli by the Special Deterrence...
Norland welcomes 5+5 Benghazi meeting
On 8 April, US Special Envoy for Libya Richard Norland welcomed the security meeting held by the 5+5 Joint Military Commission (JMC) in Benghazi...
Bathily concludes first official visit to Libya’s southern neighbours
On 5 April, UN Special Envoy to Libya Abdoulaye Bathily concluded his first official visit to Libya’s southern neighbours, Sudan, Niger and Chad,...
Bathily in Niger to discuss withdrawal of Nigerien mercenaries and fighters from Libya
On 3 April, UN Special Envoy to Libya Abdoulaye Bathily met in Niamey with the President of the Republic of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, who commended the...
Italy takes over IRINI tactical command
On 1 April, Italian Rear Admiral Valentino Rinaldi took over tactical command of the European Naval Force Operation IRINI operating in the Central...
Bathily visits Chad to discuss withdrawal of foreign fighters from Libya
On 31 March, UN Special Envoy to Libya Abdoulaye Bathily met in N’Djamena with the Transitional President of Chad, Mahamat Idriss Déby. President...
Bathily tours Sudan as part of 5+5 JMC peace efforts
On 30 March, UN Special Envoy to Libya Abdoulaye Bathily started an official tour to visit Sudan, Chad and Niger as part of UNSMIL’s mandate to...
UN Fact-Finding Mission issues final report on Libya’s deteriorating human rights situation
On 27 March, the UN Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) on Libya issued its final report expressing deep concern over the country’s deteriorating human...
IAEA inspectors locate most of the missing uranium in southern Libya
On 26 March, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that UN inspectors visiting southern Libya had found drums containing natural...
Joint Libyan Navy delegation attends US summit
On 20 – 23 March, the US Naval Forces Europe-Africa held the inaugural African Maritime Forces Summit in Cape Verde focusing on ‘security at sea...
EU extends IRINI’s mandate
On 20 March, the Council of the European Union (EU) extended the mandate of operation IRINI until 31 March 2025.
US Assistant Secretary of State meets separately with Haftar and Saleh
On 20 March, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf accompanied a delegation headed by Special Envoy Richard Norland...
UNSMIL and UK hold meeting on forwarding security track
On 16 March, the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and the UK (in its role as the current lead co-chair of the Security Working Group of the...
Italy accuses Wagner of being behind spike in migration flows and failing to respond to capsized vessel north of Benghazi
On 12 March, a boat carrying 47 people from eastern Libya towards Italy capsized due to bad weather in the central Mediterranean about 177km north...
Haddad meets with the Alergian People’s National Army Chief of Staff
On 9 March, the Government of National Unity (GNU) Army Chief of Staff, Muhammed al-Haddad, met with the Chief of Staff of Algerian People's...
GNU MoI Emad Trabesli briefly detained at Paris airport
On 3 March, reports indicated that the Government of National Unity (GNU) Minister of Interior, Emad Trabelsi, was temporarily detained at the...
IRINI monitors 25 suspicious flights to Libya and visited 9 vessels in February
On 2 March, the EU naval force Operation EUNAVFOR MED IRINI said that in February 2023 it had investigated 271 merchant vessels via radio calls (out...
GNU MoI Trabelsi gives speech at Arab Council
The Government of National Unity (GNU) Minister of Interior, Emad Trabelsi, gave a speech on 1 March at the fortieth session of the Council of Arab...
Egypt reportedly planning to provide the LNA with training
On 27 February it was reported that private sources informed the international Arabic news television channel Al-Arabiya about a proposal for Egypt...
Haddad and Nadhouri meet AFRICOM commander in Rome
From 27 February to 2 March, the Government of National Unity (GNU) Army Chief of Staff, Muhammed al-Haddad, and the Libyan National Army (LNA)...
Haftar attends defence conference in UAE
On 20 February, the Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar visited Abu Dhabi, meeting with UAE Deputy Prime Minister Mansour bin Zayed...
EUBAM organises training for Libya border force
Over the course of the last few weeks, the EU’s Border Assistance Mission in Libya (EUBAM) has launched a number of initiatives. On 12 February,...
EU provides search and rescue vessel to Libyan coastguard
On 6 February, EU Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi attended the handover ceremony of the first of five EU-financed search and rescue vessels to the...
Reports US is seeking to push Wagner out of Libya
On 3 February, The Associated Press and the Wall Street Journal claimed that regional officials from Libya, Egypt, and Sudan have stated that the US...
Bathily meets with Moroccan Foreign Minister and other regional diplomats to discuss Libya
On 31 January, UN Special Envoy to Libya and the head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Abdoulaye Bathily, met with the...
LNA issues statement accusing UK Embassy of sponsoring offensive in the South
On 28 January, a statement from the Libyan National Army's (LNA) Al-Karama Military Operation Room surfaced online claiming that the LNA had...
Italian PM travels to Tripoli to meet with Dabaiba
On 28 January, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, along with her Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and Minister of Interior Matteo Biantidosi,...
Chadian mercenaries to leave Libya
On 22 January, a group of Chadian fighters from the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development (UFDD) - which is affiliated with the Libyan...
Turkish officials meet Dabaiba and others in Tripoli
On 17 January, the Head of Turkish Intelligence, Hakan Fidan, met with the Government of National Unity (GNU) Prime Minister, Abdul Hameed Dabaiba,...
Bathily announces collaboration with international monitors at 5+5 JMC meeting
On 15 January, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG), Abdoulaye Bathily, chaired a two-day meeting of the 5+5 Joint Military...
Head of the CIA visits Tripoli and Benghazi
On 12 January, US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Williams Burns arrived in Tripoli to meet with the Government of National Unity (GNU)...
UNSMIL, US, and France call for HoR and HSC to reach timely agreement
The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) released a statement soon after the House of Representatives (HoR) Speaker Aqeela Saleh and the High State...
Libyan Coast Guard intercepts boat carrying 700 migrants off coast of Moura
On 30 December, the Libyan Coast Guard reported that they had intercepted a boat carrying at least 700 migrants off the coast of Moura, 90km west of...
LNA pilot killed in Syria plane crash
On 29 December, Syrian media reported that a Libyan pilot was killed when an L-39 jet crashed in the vicinity of Kuweires Military Airport, east of...
UNSMIL rejects ‘fake news’ about Bathily’s readiness to announce a new roadmap
On 28 December 2022, the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) released a statement rejecting ‘fake news’ that UN Special Representative of the...
Bathily hints at alternative mechanism should the HoR and HSC not finalise basis for elections
On 16 December, UN Special Envoy to Libya and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Abdoulaye Bathily, addressed the UN Security Council...
Maltese police intercept British private military contractors en route to Libya
On 15 December, the Maltese newspaper MaltaToday reported that a group of 14 British private military contractors (PMCs) were intercepted by Maltese...
MSF rescues 90 people off the coast of Libya
On 6 December, the international NGO Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors without Borders, announced that they had rescued 90...
Reports of Russian grain sent to Libya from occupied areas in Ukraine
On 3 December, Bloomberg reported that Russian vessels had been exporting grain from Russian-occupied areas in Ukraine to Libya and Iran. According...
Dabaiba meets with Bathily in Tunisia and expresses support for Bathily
On 1 December, the Government of National Unity (GNU) Prime Minister, Abdul Hameed Dabaiba, met with the UN Special Envoy to Libya, Abdoulaye...
Zenenga attends workshop on State Monopoly on Weapons in Libya
On 28 November, the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) reported that the UN Deputy Envoy for Political Affairs in Libya Raisedon Zenenga attended...
EU ministers endorse new migrant plan to curb illegal crossings from North Africa
On 25 November, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that European Union (EU) interior ministers agreed on a plan to improve cooperation on migrant...
Italy to provide boats to Libyan coastguard
On 19 November, Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, said that Italy is seeking to provide police patrol...
Bathily calls out Libyan stakeholders as ‘hindering’ process at UNSC
On 15 November, UN Special Envoy to Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, addressed the UN Security Council (UNSC). He asserted that ‘there is an increasing...
US Special Envoy Norland meets with GNU and HSC officials during diplomatic visit to Libya
On 10 November, the US Embassy to Libya released a statement detailing the visit of US Special Envoy, Richard Norland, to Libya from 8-10 November...
Operation Irini intercepts vessel violating arms embargo
On 9 November, the European Union’s Operation EUNAVFOR MED IRINI announced that on 11 October it had conducted an inspection of the merchant vessel...
UNSMIL’s mandate extended by UNSC for a year
On 28 October, the United National Security Council (UNSC) voted unanimously to extend the United Nations Support Mission in Libya’s (UNSMIL)...
Dabaiba signs military cooperation agreements with Turkey
On 25 October, during a visit to Istanbul, the Government of National Unity (GNU) Prime Minister, Abdul Hameed Dabaiba, signed two military...