International actors

On 8 July, a widely publicized leak shed light on active Western military support for Khalifa Haftar and the LNA. The leak has caused disarray in the GNA camp, especially within the ranks of Islamists. This new information is seen as evidence of a Western betrayal of the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement that produced the GNA… Speaking at a House of Lords Committee hearing on 7 July, Britain’s Ambassador to Libya Peter Millett said that he that he had visited Tripoli five times since the arrival of the GNA.

Western countries continue to project support for the Government of National Accord (GNA), with a number of representatives travelling to Tripoli throughout last week to discuss immediate assistance… Haftar travelled to Moscow on 27 June, followed immediately by GNA deputy prime minister Ahmed Metig on 29 June to solicit Russian support… UN Special Representative Martin Kobler met with HoR Chairman Ageelah Saleh, and a delegation of HoR members and eastern tribal leaders, in Muscat on 28 June to explore the potential for political resolution.

The weakness of the Government of National Accord (GNA) was more fully realised in international diplomatic circles last week, when GNA Foreign Minister Taher Siala failed to make a positive impact on the European stage… During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing on 22 June, President Barack Obama’s nominee to command US forces in Africa, Marine Lt. General Thomas Waldhauser, said that more ground troops were needed in Libya to fight ISIS and agreed the current strategy of not bombing the group there “makes no sense.”

Following UN Security Council approval on 14 June to inspect vessels off the coast of Libya, EU foreign ministers agreed at talks in Luxembourg on 20 June to extend Operation Sophia to July 2017, and tasked it with supporting Libya’s coast guard and navy. At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on 15 June, special envoy for Libya Jonathan Winer told the committee that the Obama administration seeks to support the Government of National Accord (GNA) with a $56 million aid package.

Despite the steady advance on Sirte by the Bunyan Marsus coalition, there were no significant actions taken by the Western international community last week. Most notably, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution to extend the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) mandate to December 15, 2016, and encouraged UNSMIL to re-establish a permanent presence in the country.

The European Union (EU) is pushing for increased authority to enforce the existing embargo on arms shipments Libya. Speaking to the UN Security Council on 6 June, EU Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini urged members to authorize EU naval operations in the Mediterranean Sea “to enforce the UN arms embargo on the high seas, off the coast of Libya.”

International support has also been key to this week’s explosion of momentum on the western front against ISIS… The spokesperson of the Government of National Accord’s (GNA) Sirte Operations Room said they have started to receive financial and logistical support from the GNA and other countries.

Last week, US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford said that the Government of National Accord (GNA) is in a “period of intense dialogue” that could soon lead to an agreement in which US military advisers will be deployed to Libya, in addition to Special Forces already in the country. Following a request by GNA Prime Minister Fayez Serraj on 23 May, the European Union agreed to step up its naval operations off the coast of Libya.

This week, Western powers opted to loosen their policies toward Libya in order to support the Government of National Accord (GNA) and combat the expansion of ISIS.  At a meeting in Vienna on 16 May, the US and its European and regional partners agreed to supply the GNA with weapons, aimed at preventing ISIS fighters […]