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.
Greece seeks to win over LNA with training programmes on migration control
On 23 July, Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed during an interview with Skai TV that Greece will not tolerate illegal mass migration. He said it will do everything in its power to prevent it within the framework of international law. A first group of Libyan...
Operation IRINI commander leads EU visit to Libya
On 22 – 24 July, the commander of EUNAVFOR MED Operation IRINI, Admiral Valentino Rinaldi, visited Libya for the first time accompanied by a EU delegation, and met with Libyan officials including the Attorney General and Government of National Unity (GNU) ministers....
Saddam Haftar and Mahmoud Hamza meet senior Turkish officials at IDEF 25 in Istanbul
On 22 July, Turkey’s Defence Minister Yaşar Güler received Lieutenant General Saddam Khalifa Haftar, Chief of Staff of the Libyan National Army (LNA) Ground Forces, in Istanbul on the sidelines of the International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF) 25 defense expo in a...
Greek PM invites GNU to discuss ongoing maritime dispute as Athens prepares formal response
On 22 July Greek diplomatic sources explained to the Greek newspaper Kathimerini that a formal response to recent Libyan diplomatic notes in the maritime border dispute is being prepared, relying on ‘fully documented, strictly legal arguments’. They stressed that,...
Anger at UNSMIL persists with calls for sit-in and open civil disobedience outside HQ
On 21 July, the Western Region Movement announced that it would embark on a sit-in and open civil disobedience outside the headquarters of UNSMIL, demanding its immediate departure from the country. The movement accused the mission of a disastrous failure to fulfil...
Israel still seeking to forcibly relocate Gazans to Libya
On 18 July, Axios reported that the head of Israel’s intelligence agency (Mossad), David Barnea, had visited Washington, D.C. to persuade the Trump administration to support it in convincing Ethiopia, Indonesia and Libya to accept large numbers of displaced...
Germany arrests Mitiga prison official on ICC war crimes warrant
On 18 July, the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced that on 16 July, Libyan national Khaled Muhammed Ali al-Hishri was arrested by German authorities was arrested on the basis of an ICC arrest warrant for crimes against humanity and war crimes.
EU to re-engage with Haftar over fears of Russia weaponising migration
On 10 July, a meeting on the incident and wider migration crisis reportedly took place between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni and the Maltese PM Robert Abela on the sidelines of...
Europeans and Libyan officials discuss migration and broader security cooperation
Libya’s Attorney General Sadiq al-Sour has held several meetings with European ambassadors and officials over the last two weeks, with discussions focusing on combating human smuggling and info-sharing with Operation Irini. On 10 July, a new meeting of the Technical...