International actors
Tracking developments of international actors in Libya’s security space including military activity, the presence of foreign operatives and diplomacy pertaining to Libya’s security.
Russia continues to deliver military shipments to Tubruq
Reports indicate that Russia continues to deliver military shipments to Tubruq. Two Russian landing vessels (the Ivan Gren and the Alexandr Otrakovsky) have delivered two more loads of military equipment and weapons from Tartus port in Syria to Tubruq port over the...
US ‘closely monitoring’ Russian activities in Africa
In remarks to the UNSC on 16 April, US Ambassador Robert Wood said that, ‘We are closely monitoring the situation in Niger, Chad, Sudan, and Mali – including the movement of foreign fighters and rampant arms trafficking – and its destabilizing implications for Libya.’...
Shipment of Russian military equipment arrives at Tubruq port
On 14 April, a video was widely circulated on social media showing military vehicles, weapons and military equipment being unloaded from a vessel in Tubruq port. The vessel was reportedly a Russian Ivan Gren-class landing ship which sailed from Tartus in Syria,...
NGOs call on Maltese government to halt migrant pushbacks to Libya
On 10 April, twenty-two Maltese organisations and academics called on the Malta government to stop pushing back people at sea to Libya, following allegations that 83 migrants on a boat adrift in Maltese waters had been ‘forcibly intercepted’ by the Libyan Coastguard...
US ‘corrects’ reports on training of ‘armed groups’ in Libya
On 9 April, Africa Intelligence, Nova Agency and several other news sites reported that the American private military company Amentum had begun training the 444 Brigade (commanded by Mahmoud Hamza), the 111th (Misrata) ‘Halbous’ Brigade (the former brigade of Libyan...
Ex-Irish forces accused of training Haftar forces despite arms embargo
On 3 April, the Irish Times reported that former members of the elite Army Ranger Wing within the Irish Defence Forces have been training troops under the command of Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar in contravention of the ongoing UN arms and...
Operation IRINI conducts three friendly visits and registers 10 suspicious flights in March
On 3 April, the Operation EUNAVFOR MED IRINI announced that (only) three ‘friendly visits’ to suspicious ships were carried out in March (without finding weapons or ammunition) and ten ‘suspicious flights’ were registered.
US Defense Attaché delegation visits several security posts
A US Defense Attaché delegation travelled to Misrata and al-Khoms, where they ‘made productive visits’ to the Central Military Zone, Al Khoms naval base, and various important military and counterterrorism forces, stressing that the US ‘will continue to support...
EU Ambassador and Trabelsi discuss migration as part of trilateral task force
On 31 March, EU Ambassador to Libya Nicola Orlando met with Libyan officials including Minister of Interior Emad Trabelsi, as well as AU and UN representatives, as part of an AU-EU-UN Trilateral Task Force on migration. They called for establishing legal process for...