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.
LNA CoS Khaled Haftar in Moscow for first official visit
On 29 August, the newly-appointed Chief of Staff of the Libyan National Army (LNA) Khaled Haftar arrived in Moscow for an official visit, his first in this role. He was received at the airport by Deputy Russian Defense Minister, Colonel-General Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, in...
Turkey tries to mediate truce between GNU and Rada
On 29 August, Turkish diplomats and senior officers present in Tripoli reportedly started to mediate between the Government of National Unity (GNU) and the Special Deterrence Force (Rada). It seems some sort of agreement may have been reached between the GNU and Rada...
Vessel seized by Spanish authorities for taking military equipment from UAE to Benghazi
Spanish media has reported that on 27 August, the Liberian-flagged cargo ship Lila Mumbai, number 9253143, had been detained on suspicion of transporting military equipment to Benghazi. It was held in the waters off the Spanish port of Ceuta for four days as...
Al-Sisi discusses Sudan and maritime MoU with Haftar and Saleh
On 26 August, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi received Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar and House of Representatives (HoR) Speaker Aqeela Saleh in El Alamein, Egypt. According to official information, the talks centred on the latest...
Libyan Coast Guard shoots at migrant rescue ships off the coast of Khoms
On 25 August, SOS Mediterranee announced that one of its rescue ships, the Ocean Viking -- with its European crew members aboard -- was shot at with small arms by a Libyan Coast Guard vessel in international waters off the coast of Khoms, after it rescued 87 migrants...
Hellenic Navy completes first training for Libyan coast guard
On 21 August, the Hellenic Navy completed the first round of a training for (eastern) Libyan coast guard officers, which was held at the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre (NMIOTC), a Greek training facility at Souda Bay, Crete. The Commander of...
UNSMIL notes ‘increasing militarization’ amid volatile security situation in Libya
On 21 August, SRSG Hanna Tetteh gave her much-anticipated briefing to the UN Security Council (UNSC) in which she laid out a new political roadmap, with the aim of holding elections within 18 months. In her briefing, she said: “The security situation in the country...
UNSMIL HQ in Tripoli targeted in rocket attack
On the evening of 21 August, the HQ of UNSMIL in Janzour was reportedly attacked with an SPG rocket while UN SRSG Hannah Tetteh was in the middle of her briefing to the UN Security Council in New York. Despite supposedly aiming for the entrance gate and the compound...
GNU suspends Huawei’s activities in Libya over move to establish eastern mobile network
On 17 August, the Government of National Unity's (GNU) General Authority for Telecommunications and Informatics issued a statement announcing the suspension of all activities by China’s Huawei company in Libya in order to ‘preserve Libyan national security and...