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.
GNU Chief of Staff visits Turkish frigate
On 24 August, the Government of National Unity (GNU) Chief of Staff Mohammed al-Haddad and an accompanying delegation reportedly visited the Turkish frigate TCG Gediz located off the coast of Tripoli.
Lavrov meets with Mangoush in Moscow for talks on bilateral cooperation
On 19 August, Government of National Unity Minister of Foreign Affairs, Najla Mangoush, met with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. In a press conference, Lavrov appealed to the ‘friendship and cooperation’ between the two countries and spoke of...
UNSMIL calls for calm as security actors mobilise
On 18 August, following military activity in Al-Shwayrif, the UN Support Mission for Libya (UNSMIL), called on Libyan parties ‘to refrain from any mobilization or deployment of security elements and troops that may be perceived as an escalation and may undermine the...
Haddad and Akar meet, discuss Turkish forces in Libya
On 17 August, Chief of Staff Mohammed al-Haddad met in Istanbul with Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar, where the two sides discussed bilateral cooperation and regional issues of mutual concern. During the meeting, Akar reportedly said that Turkish military forces...
Claims Russia is seeking to install Saif al-Islam Qadhafi as next Libyan President
In the last week, Bloomberg published an article citing informed sources to claim that Russia is working to have Saif al-Islam Qadhafi elected as President of Libya in the elections scheduled for 24 December this year. The report claimed that Russia was applying...
BBC publishes Wagner investigation
On 11 August, the BBC published an exposé on the presence of the Wagner group in Libya following the BBC’s discovery of a tablet left behind by an operative. According to the report, documents, including a ‘shopping list’ of weapons and equipment given to the BBC by a...
Norland and Haftar meet in Cairo
On 11 August, the American Ambassador and Special Envoy to Libya, Richard Norland, met in Cairo with Libyan National Army (LNA) Commander Khalifa Haftar. The US embassy said on Twitter that the visit was ‘part of US efforts to support Libyan parliamentary and...
Russian and Syrian fighters killed in landmine blast
On 7 August, the Syrian news network Suwayda 24 reported that a young man from As-Suwayda (southwestern Syria) was killed in Libya, alongside a Russian Wagner operative, after a landmine exploded in a military vehicle on 5 August. Several other Syrian fighters were...
Operation EUNAVFOR MED IRINI signs a working arrangement with EUBAM Libya
On 7 August, Operation EUNAVFOR MED IRINI signed a working arrangement with the European Union Border Assistance Mission in Libya (EUBAM Libya). The agreement establishes effective cooperation between Operation IRINI and EUBAM in order to ‘strengthen their respective...