Grant
Honorary Master
when embassies evacuate staff, one can expect huge crap is about to go down.
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Fighting rages in Libya
- Thread starter LazyLion
- Start date
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
LIBYA HOSPITALS FACE COLLAPSE IF ASIAN STAFF FLEE
Libya has warned of a "total collapse" of its health care system as the chaos plaguing the country threatens to send into flight many of the Filipino and Indian staff on whom its hospitals depend.
Fighting between rival militias in Tripoli over the past three weeks and bloody clashes between Islamists and army special forces in the eastern city of Benghazi have prompted several countries to evacuate their nationals and diplomatic staff.
Now, 3,000 health workers from the Philippines, making up 60 percent of Libya's hospital staff, could leave -- along with workers from India, who account for another 20 percent.
Libyan hospitals, meanwhile, are flooded with a wave of admissions, victims of the fighting which has shaken the capital and Benghazi.
In Tripoli, at least 102 people have been killed and 452 wounded in the clashes that began on July 13, the health ministry said Wednesday.
It said 77 people have been killed and 289 wounded in Benghazi's violence.
Manila already urged its citizens in Libya to leave on July 20 after a kidnapped Filipino worker was found beheaded.
Of the estimated 13,000 Filipinos in Libya, only around 700 heeded the warning and left. The rest refused to abandon their jobs despite the dangers.
But Manila said Thursday it would charter ferries to evacuate its nationals, a day after a Filipina nurse was kidnapped and gang raped in Tripoli.
Hundreds of Filipino doctors and nurses in Tripoli's Medical Centre walked out in protest at the savage attack on their colleague, unleashing anarchy in the hospital.
Families were forced to transfer sick relatives to private clinics, a hospital official said.
"Hospitals could be paralysed" in the event of the mass-departure of Philippine nationals, health ministry spokesman Ammar Mohamed said, while authorities warned of a possible "total collapse" of the health care system.
A medical official said the ministry was trying to persuade the Filipinos to stay.
Complicating the situation further are the difficulties faced by Libyan staff as they struggle to keep work hours.
Mohamed said Libyan doctors and carers have been struggling to reach their workplace from home because of fighting around the capital and fuel shortages.
Faced with the deteriorating situation at home, Health Minister Nureddin Doghman has instructed Tripoli's missions in Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan, Turkey, Italy, Greece and Germany to organise the transport and care for Libyans needing treatment, to be paid for by Tripoli.
But the closure of Libya's airports in Tripoli and Benghazi because of the unrest has made medical transfers even more difficult.
"My brother spent several days in hospital after suffering a stroke. His health deteriorated day after day and the doctors told us he should be treated in Tunisia, but we could find no way to transfer him there," said Ahmed Drughi, a Tripoli resident.
"In the end we had to use contacts to find him a place on a medical plane flying out of Misrata," 200 kilometres (120 miles) east of the capital.
Even in peacetime, Libya's health services were understaffed and under-equipped, and tens of thousands of Libyans travelled abroad for treatment, mostly to neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt.
In Benghazi, two out of three of the city's main hospitals have shut.
Al-Jala hospital closed several weeks ago, as the army and an Islamist militia tussle to control it. Al-Houari hospital has been closed for months, after being flooded by sewage because of construction errors.
Only Benghazi Medical Centre remains operational, but its capacity has been limited to 300 beds, compared with 1,200 in normal times.
"The centre is hit by a lack of doctors and carers, particularly after the departure of the foreigners," said spokesman Moataz al-Majbari.
Many patients have had to be transferred elsewhere and have wound up in poorly-equipped clinics in neighbouring towns.
Source : Sapa-AFP /lk
Date : 01 Aug 2014 09:33
Libya has warned of a "total collapse" of its health care system as the chaos plaguing the country threatens to send into flight many of the Filipino and Indian staff on whom its hospitals depend.
Fighting between rival militias in Tripoli over the past three weeks and bloody clashes between Islamists and army special forces in the eastern city of Benghazi have prompted several countries to evacuate their nationals and diplomatic staff.
Now, 3,000 health workers from the Philippines, making up 60 percent of Libya's hospital staff, could leave -- along with workers from India, who account for another 20 percent.
Libyan hospitals, meanwhile, are flooded with a wave of admissions, victims of the fighting which has shaken the capital and Benghazi.
In Tripoli, at least 102 people have been killed and 452 wounded in the clashes that began on July 13, the health ministry said Wednesday.
It said 77 people have been killed and 289 wounded in Benghazi's violence.
Manila already urged its citizens in Libya to leave on July 20 after a kidnapped Filipino worker was found beheaded.
Of the estimated 13,000 Filipinos in Libya, only around 700 heeded the warning and left. The rest refused to abandon their jobs despite the dangers.
But Manila said Thursday it would charter ferries to evacuate its nationals, a day after a Filipina nurse was kidnapped and gang raped in Tripoli.
Hundreds of Filipino doctors and nurses in Tripoli's Medical Centre walked out in protest at the savage attack on their colleague, unleashing anarchy in the hospital.
Families were forced to transfer sick relatives to private clinics, a hospital official said.
"Hospitals could be paralysed" in the event of the mass-departure of Philippine nationals, health ministry spokesman Ammar Mohamed said, while authorities warned of a possible "total collapse" of the health care system.
A medical official said the ministry was trying to persuade the Filipinos to stay.
Complicating the situation further are the difficulties faced by Libyan staff as they struggle to keep work hours.
Mohamed said Libyan doctors and carers have been struggling to reach their workplace from home because of fighting around the capital and fuel shortages.
Faced with the deteriorating situation at home, Health Minister Nureddin Doghman has instructed Tripoli's missions in Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan, Turkey, Italy, Greece and Germany to organise the transport and care for Libyans needing treatment, to be paid for by Tripoli.
But the closure of Libya's airports in Tripoli and Benghazi because of the unrest has made medical transfers even more difficult.
"My brother spent several days in hospital after suffering a stroke. His health deteriorated day after day and the doctors told us he should be treated in Tunisia, but we could find no way to transfer him there," said Ahmed Drughi, a Tripoli resident.
"In the end we had to use contacts to find him a place on a medical plane flying out of Misrata," 200 kilometres (120 miles) east of the capital.
Even in peacetime, Libya's health services were understaffed and under-equipped, and tens of thousands of Libyans travelled abroad for treatment, mostly to neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt.
In Benghazi, two out of three of the city's main hospitals have shut.
Al-Jala hospital closed several weeks ago, as the army and an Islamist militia tussle to control it. Al-Houari hospital has been closed for months, after being flooded by sewage because of construction errors.
Only Benghazi Medical Centre remains operational, but its capacity has been limited to 300 beds, compared with 1,200 in normal times.
"The centre is hit by a lack of doctors and carers, particularly after the departure of the foreigners," said spokesman Moataz al-Majbari.
Many patients have had to be transferred elsewhere and have wound up in poorly-equipped clinics in neighbouring towns.
Source : Sapa-AFP /lk
Date : 01 Aug 2014 09:33
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
LIBYA ISLAMIC MILITIAS DECLARE CONTROL OF BENGHAZI
By OMAR ALMOSMARI and MAGGIE MICHAEL
Associated Press
Islamic hard-line militias, including the group accused by the United States in a 2012 attack that killed the ambassador and three other Americans, claimed control of Libya's second largest city, Benghazi, after overrunning army barracks and seizing heavy weapons.
The sweep in the eastern city is part of a new backlash by hard-liners against their rivals ahead of the sitting of a new parliament. In the capital Tripoli, escalating battles Thursday between militias prompted multiple foreign governments to scramble to get out their citizens as thousands of Libyans fled across the border into Tunisia.
The weeks-long surge of violence renewed fears that Libya, which has been in chaos since the 2011 civil war that ousted longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi, is plunging deeper into civil strife.
With a crippled central government and weak army and police, the country's numerous rival militias have held sway in Libya for the past three years. Though they battled each other frequently, a balance of fear among them prevented any from going too far and forced them to divide areas of power. But now, there militias led by Islamist and extremist commanders appear to be trying to gain a more decisive upper hand.
The Health Ministry said in a statement Thursday that the death toll in Tripoli since the violence intensified in the past month reached 214, with more than 981 people wounded.
Militias allied to Islamist politicians have been fighting for weeks to wrest control of Tripoli's airport from rival militias, destroying much of the airport in the process. On Thursday, witnesses said that random rocket fire hit houses and vehicles in western Tripoli, sending residents fleeing. Shelling hit a funeral in a southern district, killing four children and three women from a single family, security officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.
Thursday evening, thousands of residents marched into Tripoli's central Martyrs Square in a protest denouncing militias. They raised banners reading, "Libya only" and "Enough bloodshed."
Tripoli residents said fuel and gasoline shortages were worsening, and food prices had leaped. "All of this is caused by political parties that are fighting for power," said Abdelfattah Alghanai, a man shopping for vegetables.
By noon on Thursday, more than 10,000 Libyans fled by land across the border into neighboring Tunisia over the previous 12 hours, Tunisia's state news agency reported. They joined thousands of other Libyans who have already streamed into Tunisia in recent days. Spain announced it was pulling its ambassador and most embassy staff out of Tripoli, a step already taken by the United States. China has chartered a Greek vessel to evacuate hundreds of Chinese citizens, and the Philippines is working to get out some 13,000 Filipino workers inside Libya.
The militias' moves in both Tripoli and Benghazi reflect an attempt to "rearrange the equilibrium," said Frederic Wehrey, an analyst from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
It was prompted by two factors, he said. One was June parliament elections, in which Islamist political factions are believed to have lost their dominance over parliament. There is also a strong element of regional divisions in the fighting: The militia fighting to capture the airport is from the western city of Misrata, allied to Islamist politicians, while the militias defending it are from the western town of Zintan.
The other factor was an offensive launched earlier this year by a renegade general, Khalifa Hifter, who vowed to crush Islamic hard-line factions. Numerous units in the weak and fragmented army pledged loyalty to him, as did some militias, and his forces have been attacking hard-line militias in Benghazi.
Islamic militias in Benghazi responded in June by forming an umbrella group called Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries, made up of multiple armed factions led by Islamic extremist commanders.
Among the factions is Ansar al-Shariah, the group accused by the United States of leading a Sept. 11, 2012 attack on a diplomatic facility in the city that killed the ambassador and three other Americans.
For weeks, the coalition has been battling back. The past week, the coalition's fighters overran five major army barracks, most importantly including the barracks of the Special Forces, the strongest government force in the city, which backs Hifter.
The extent of the militias' control over Benghazi was not clear. Military officials denied militia control, and it appeared the fighters had withdrawn from some of the barracks after looting them. Hifter loyalists continue to control Benghazi's airport, but appeared to have been driven out of the city.
On Thursday, the city's streets were nearly empty, with residents staying indoors and no sign of checkpoints by either militiamen or security forces. The main police headquarters was still smoldering after it was hit by militia shelling a day earlier, and smoke rose from the barracks of the Special Forces.
"We are the only force on the ground in Benghazi," a commander of one of the coalition's factions told The Associated Press on Thursday. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press. He said the coalition's fighters had driven all army forces and fighters loyal to Hifter out the city.
Ansar al-Shariah's commander, Mohammed al-Zahawi, proclaimed victory in a video released by his group late Wednesday. Speaking in front of a tank inside the Special Forces base, he urged Hifter's allies to abandon him, accusing him of trying to "loot the fortunes of Libya" and put the country under the influence of the West.
Another militia commander, Wissam bin Hamid, was also shown in the camp in the video, proclaiming in front of his masked fighters, "We will not stop until we establish the rule of God."
On its Twitter account, Ansar al-Shariah posted photos said to show its fighters taking large amount of weapons and ammunitions from the bases, including rockets, hundreds of brand new assault rifles, and shoulder-fired anti-tank rockets. Militiamen drove bulldozers and other vehicles from inside the barracks, videos showed. The photos and videos conformed with the AP's reporting from the city.
The new parliament is supposed to convene by Monday, but it is unclear where it would do so, with both Tripoli and Benghazi in turmoil. There has been talk of holding it in the eastern city of Tobrouk, a power base for Hifter. All candidates in the election had to run as independents, so the political leanings of the winners are not certain, but it is widely believed Islamist politicians lost their earlier dominance.
Ashur Shway, a former interior minister and now a professor at Benghazi University, said Islamic militias were trying to prevent parliament from meeting. "The bottom line is that those who lost elections want to make gains on the ground," he said.
----
Michael reported from Cairo. AP correspondent Derek Gatopoulos in Athens and Bouazza Ben Bouazza in Tunis, Tunisia, contributed to this report.
Source : Sapa-AP /mjs
Date : 31 Jul 2014 22:34
By OMAR ALMOSMARI and MAGGIE MICHAEL
Associated Press
Islamic hard-line militias, including the group accused by the United States in a 2012 attack that killed the ambassador and three other Americans, claimed control of Libya's second largest city, Benghazi, after overrunning army barracks and seizing heavy weapons.
The sweep in the eastern city is part of a new backlash by hard-liners against their rivals ahead of the sitting of a new parliament. In the capital Tripoli, escalating battles Thursday between militias prompted multiple foreign governments to scramble to get out their citizens as thousands of Libyans fled across the border into Tunisia.
The weeks-long surge of violence renewed fears that Libya, which has been in chaos since the 2011 civil war that ousted longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi, is plunging deeper into civil strife.
With a crippled central government and weak army and police, the country's numerous rival militias have held sway in Libya for the past three years. Though they battled each other frequently, a balance of fear among them prevented any from going too far and forced them to divide areas of power. But now, there militias led by Islamist and extremist commanders appear to be trying to gain a more decisive upper hand.
The Health Ministry said in a statement Thursday that the death toll in Tripoli since the violence intensified in the past month reached 214, with more than 981 people wounded.
Militias allied to Islamist politicians have been fighting for weeks to wrest control of Tripoli's airport from rival militias, destroying much of the airport in the process. On Thursday, witnesses said that random rocket fire hit houses and vehicles in western Tripoli, sending residents fleeing. Shelling hit a funeral in a southern district, killing four children and three women from a single family, security officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.
Thursday evening, thousands of residents marched into Tripoli's central Martyrs Square in a protest denouncing militias. They raised banners reading, "Libya only" and "Enough bloodshed."
Tripoli residents said fuel and gasoline shortages were worsening, and food prices had leaped. "All of this is caused by political parties that are fighting for power," said Abdelfattah Alghanai, a man shopping for vegetables.
By noon on Thursday, more than 10,000 Libyans fled by land across the border into neighboring Tunisia over the previous 12 hours, Tunisia's state news agency reported. They joined thousands of other Libyans who have already streamed into Tunisia in recent days. Spain announced it was pulling its ambassador and most embassy staff out of Tripoli, a step already taken by the United States. China has chartered a Greek vessel to evacuate hundreds of Chinese citizens, and the Philippines is working to get out some 13,000 Filipino workers inside Libya.
The militias' moves in both Tripoli and Benghazi reflect an attempt to "rearrange the equilibrium," said Frederic Wehrey, an analyst from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
It was prompted by two factors, he said. One was June parliament elections, in which Islamist political factions are believed to have lost their dominance over parliament. There is also a strong element of regional divisions in the fighting: The militia fighting to capture the airport is from the western city of Misrata, allied to Islamist politicians, while the militias defending it are from the western town of Zintan.
The other factor was an offensive launched earlier this year by a renegade general, Khalifa Hifter, who vowed to crush Islamic hard-line factions. Numerous units in the weak and fragmented army pledged loyalty to him, as did some militias, and his forces have been attacking hard-line militias in Benghazi.
Islamic militias in Benghazi responded in June by forming an umbrella group called Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries, made up of multiple armed factions led by Islamic extremist commanders.
Among the factions is Ansar al-Shariah, the group accused by the United States of leading a Sept. 11, 2012 attack on a diplomatic facility in the city that killed the ambassador and three other Americans.
For weeks, the coalition has been battling back. The past week, the coalition's fighters overran five major army barracks, most importantly including the barracks of the Special Forces, the strongest government force in the city, which backs Hifter.
The extent of the militias' control over Benghazi was not clear. Military officials denied militia control, and it appeared the fighters had withdrawn from some of the barracks after looting them. Hifter loyalists continue to control Benghazi's airport, but appeared to have been driven out of the city.
On Thursday, the city's streets were nearly empty, with residents staying indoors and no sign of checkpoints by either militiamen or security forces. The main police headquarters was still smoldering after it was hit by militia shelling a day earlier, and smoke rose from the barracks of the Special Forces.
"We are the only force on the ground in Benghazi," a commander of one of the coalition's factions told The Associated Press on Thursday. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press. He said the coalition's fighters had driven all army forces and fighters loyal to Hifter out the city.
Ansar al-Shariah's commander, Mohammed al-Zahawi, proclaimed victory in a video released by his group late Wednesday. Speaking in front of a tank inside the Special Forces base, he urged Hifter's allies to abandon him, accusing him of trying to "loot the fortunes of Libya" and put the country under the influence of the West.
Another militia commander, Wissam bin Hamid, was also shown in the camp in the video, proclaiming in front of his masked fighters, "We will not stop until we establish the rule of God."
On its Twitter account, Ansar al-Shariah posted photos said to show its fighters taking large amount of weapons and ammunitions from the bases, including rockets, hundreds of brand new assault rifles, and shoulder-fired anti-tank rockets. Militiamen drove bulldozers and other vehicles from inside the barracks, videos showed. The photos and videos conformed with the AP's reporting from the city.
The new parliament is supposed to convene by Monday, but it is unclear where it would do so, with both Tripoli and Benghazi in turmoil. There has been talk of holding it in the eastern city of Tobrouk, a power base for Hifter. All candidates in the election had to run as independents, so the political leanings of the winners are not certain, but it is widely believed Islamist politicians lost their earlier dominance.
Ashur Shway, a former interior minister and now a professor at Benghazi University, said Islamic militias were trying to prevent parliament from meeting. "The bottom line is that those who lost elections want to make gains on the ground," he said.
----
Michael reported from Cairo. AP correspondent Derek Gatopoulos in Athens and Bouazza Ben Bouazza in Tunis, Tunisia, contributed to this report.
Source : Sapa-AP /mjs
Date : 31 Jul 2014 22:34
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
PHILIPPINES ADMITS MASSIVE LIBYA EVACUATION PLAN A 'CHALLENGE'
A Philippine plan to evacuate all 13,000 of its workers in strife-torn Libya is a "challenge", with many reluctant to leave despite the dangers, the Filipino foreign ministry said Friday.
The ministry announced a "mandatory" evacuation of all 13,000 of its nationals living in Libya last month after the beheading of a Filipino construction worker abducted by unknown suspects.
That killing was followed by the gang rape of a Filipina nurse in the capital Tripoli on Wednesday.
"Our target is 100 percent" evacuation, foreign department spokesman Charles Jose told AFP on Friday.
Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario left for Tunisia to arrange the evacuations on Thursday.
He announced the government would charter ships to pick up Filipinos from Libyan ports, or transport them by land if the sea vessels failed to gain passage.
But many Filipinos in Libya fear losing their jobs, del Rosario has said.
Jose added that only a fraction had fled since the government's initial warning for Filipinos to leave Libya was issued two months ago.
"We've had that advisory (for Filipinos to leave Libya) for two months, but less than a thousand have come home. Can you just imagine the challenge we're facing?" Jose said.
The Philippines previously launched a mass evacuation of its workers in Libya in 2011, when most of the 30,000 Filipinos there left during the violent chaos leading to the toppling of the late dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
Jose said about 4,500 returned to the Philippines in repatriation flights paid for by the government at that time.
Others were evacuated by their employers and international aid organisations.
However, about 1,600 Filipinos, mostly doctors and nurses, remained in Libya throughout the 2011 upheaval, according to government data.
Their numbers later increased after the Philippines lifted its travel ban for workers to go to Libya in March 2012.
That ban was re-imposed on May 30 this year, when the government also strongly advised all Filipinos already in the country to leave, using their own resources, as security conditions deteriorated.
The mandatory evacuation announced last month puts the onus on bringing them home on the Philippine government.
Jose said del Rosario had arrived in Tunisia on Friday but had yet to update the foreign office in Manila about the chartered vessels.
About 10 million Filipinos work around the world, earning more money in a wide range of skilled and unskilled sectors than they could in their impoverished homeland.
Source : Sapa-AFP /lk
Date : 01 Aug 2014 14:33
A Philippine plan to evacuate all 13,000 of its workers in strife-torn Libya is a "challenge", with many reluctant to leave despite the dangers, the Filipino foreign ministry said Friday.
The ministry announced a "mandatory" evacuation of all 13,000 of its nationals living in Libya last month after the beheading of a Filipino construction worker abducted by unknown suspects.
That killing was followed by the gang rape of a Filipina nurse in the capital Tripoli on Wednesday.
"Our target is 100 percent" evacuation, foreign department spokesman Charles Jose told AFP on Friday.
Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario left for Tunisia to arrange the evacuations on Thursday.
He announced the government would charter ships to pick up Filipinos from Libyan ports, or transport them by land if the sea vessels failed to gain passage.
But many Filipinos in Libya fear losing their jobs, del Rosario has said.
Jose added that only a fraction had fled since the government's initial warning for Filipinos to leave Libya was issued two months ago.
"We've had that advisory (for Filipinos to leave Libya) for two months, but less than a thousand have come home. Can you just imagine the challenge we're facing?" Jose said.
The Philippines previously launched a mass evacuation of its workers in Libya in 2011, when most of the 30,000 Filipinos there left during the violent chaos leading to the toppling of the late dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
Jose said about 4,500 returned to the Philippines in repatriation flights paid for by the government at that time.
Others were evacuated by their employers and international aid organisations.
However, about 1,600 Filipinos, mostly doctors and nurses, remained in Libya throughout the 2011 upheaval, according to government data.
Their numbers later increased after the Philippines lifted its travel ban for workers to go to Libya in March 2012.
That ban was re-imposed on May 30 this year, when the government also strongly advised all Filipinos already in the country to leave, using their own resources, as security conditions deteriorated.
The mandatory evacuation announced last month puts the onus on bringing them home on the Philippine government.
Jose said del Rosario had arrived in Tunisia on Friday but had yet to update the foreign office in Manila about the chartered vessels.
About 10 million Filipinos work around the world, earning more money in a wide range of skilled and unskilled sectors than they could in their impoverished homeland.
Source : Sapa-AFP /lk
Date : 01 Aug 2014 14:33
MickeyD
RIP
HUNDREDS OF CHINESE EVACUATED FROM LIBYA: XINHUA
More than 400 Chinese nationals were evacuated from Libya on Saturday, state media said, after hundreds of their compatriots fled the country as the violence there escalated.
Libya is descending into a civil war spiral that is "much worse" than the unrest that toppled dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, residents fleeing the country told AFP.
Vehicles carrying 411 Chinese workers evacuated from Libya's capital Tripoli crossed the border into Tunisia early Saturday, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
A further 97 Chinese workers were expected to arrive at the border crossing later Saturday, it cited Chinese diplomats as saying.
The Chinese embassy organised the evacuation of more than 700 Chinese nationals out of the Libya late last week, Xinhua added.
An AFP photographer on Saturday saw Chinese nationals evacuated from Libya arriving aboard the Greek navy frigate Salamis at the port of Piraeus in Athens.
China issued warnings to its nationals in Libya last Monday, urging them to leave the country "as soon as possible," citing the deteriorating security situation.
Libya has suffered chronic insecurity since the overthrow of Kadhafi, with the new government unable to check militias that helped to remove him and facing a growing threat from Islamist groups.
Fighting between rival militias in Tripoli has forced the closure of the city's international airport, while Islamist groups are battling army special forces in the eastern city of Benghazi.
In the past week, many countries have ordered their citizens to leave and, in some cases, have evacuated them.
Source : Sapa-AFP /dm
Date : 02 Aug 2014 12:43
More than 400 Chinese nationals were evacuated from Libya on Saturday, state media said, after hundreds of their compatriots fled the country as the violence there escalated.
Libya is descending into a civil war spiral that is "much worse" than the unrest that toppled dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, residents fleeing the country told AFP.
Vehicles carrying 411 Chinese workers evacuated from Libya's capital Tripoli crossed the border into Tunisia early Saturday, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
A further 97 Chinese workers were expected to arrive at the border crossing later Saturday, it cited Chinese diplomats as saying.
The Chinese embassy organised the evacuation of more than 700 Chinese nationals out of the Libya late last week, Xinhua added.
An AFP photographer on Saturday saw Chinese nationals evacuated from Libya arriving aboard the Greek navy frigate Salamis at the port of Piraeus in Athens.
China issued warnings to its nationals in Libya last Monday, urging them to leave the country "as soon as possible," citing the deteriorating security situation.
Libya has suffered chronic insecurity since the overthrow of Kadhafi, with the new government unable to check militias that helped to remove him and facing a growing threat from Islamist groups.
Fighting between rival militias in Tripoli has forced the closure of the city's international airport, while Islamist groups are battling army special forces in the eastern city of Benghazi.
In the past week, many countries have ordered their citizens to leave and, in some cases, have evacuated them.
Source : Sapa-AFP /dm
Date : 02 Aug 2014 12:43
Grant
Honorary Master
Hundreds flee as Libya fighting continues
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middl...-as-libya-battles-rage-20148212372799214.html
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middl...-as-libya-battles-rage-20148212372799214.html
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
BRITISH, OTHER EVACUEES FROM LIBYA LAND IN MALTA
A total of 110 British and other European nationals, including pregnant women and babies, arrived in Malta on Monday after being evacuated from strife-torn Libya by Britain's Royal Navy, British officials said.
The evacuees, mostly British but including some Germans and Irish nationals, arrived in the capital Valletta on board the HMS Enterprise in a voyage organised by the British government, they said.
The group included four pregnant women, 30 children, 12 infants and one elderly person, British officials said. They were greeted at the quay by relatives and the British High Commissioner to Malta, Robert Luke.
The Europeans were now due to take commercial flights out of the Mediterranean island country.
The ship is the second carrying people fleeing the chaos in Libya to dock in the Maltese capital in almost as many days. A catamaran with some 250 employees of the Korean car-maker Hyundai -- mostly Indians and Filipinos -- arrived in Valletta on Saturday.
Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 04 Aug 2014 11:05
A total of 110 British and other European nationals, including pregnant women and babies, arrived in Malta on Monday after being evacuated from strife-torn Libya by Britain's Royal Navy, British officials said.
The evacuees, mostly British but including some Germans and Irish nationals, arrived in the capital Valletta on board the HMS Enterprise in a voyage organised by the British government, they said.
The group included four pregnant women, 30 children, 12 infants and one elderly person, British officials said. They were greeted at the quay by relatives and the British High Commissioner to Malta, Robert Luke.
The Europeans were now due to take commercial flights out of the Mediterranean island country.
The ship is the second carrying people fleeing the chaos in Libya to dock in the Maltese capital in almost as many days. A catamaran with some 250 employees of the Korean car-maker Hyundai -- mostly Indians and Filipinos -- arrived in Valletta on Saturday.
Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 04 Aug 2014 11:05
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
PHILIPPINE WORKERS 'WOULD RATHER TAKE CHANCES IN LIBYA'
More than 11,000 Filipinos in Libya have ignored appeals to evacuate, with many apparently choosing to take their chances in the war-torn country rather than risk unemployment at home, a foreign department spokesman said Monday.
Only 200 were at the Philippine embassy in Tripoli even as the government prepares to send a chartered ship to ferry Filipinos out of Libya, spokesman Charles Jose said.
Originally there were 13,000 Filipinos working in Libya but after the government called on them to return, due to the worsening security situation, only "a little more than 1,000" had fled or were waiting to leave, he said.
"So we have 11,000-plus OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) who have not arranged to leave," Jose said.
"We are hearing that a lot of them would rather take the chance of surviving the war rather than (risking) the uncertainty of not having work here," he told reporters.
He added that while some might be willing to risk the danger, others, especially those working in the medical field, might be under pressure to stay.
Jose also said Libyan authorities were asking medical workers to stay because their departure would paralyse the health service which is heavily reliant on Filipino personnel.
"It is still their decision whether they would like to come back or stay behind," he said.
A ferry capable of carrying about 1,500 people would arrive in Libya by Friday to evacuate Filipinos and would return to Malta by Sunday from where they would be flown out, Jose said.
The Philippines has been calling for its nationals to return from Libya, warning that the situation there could deteriorate to the point where they cannot be repatriated.
These calls have grown louder after a Filipino construction worker was abducted and then beheaded by unknown suspects last month and a Filipina nurse was gang raped in Tripoli on Wednesday.
The Philippines previously launched a mass evacuation of its workers in Libya in 2011, when most of the 30,000 Filipinos there left during the violent chaos leading to the toppling of late dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
About 10 million Filipinos work around the world, earning more money in a wide range of skilled and unskilled sectors than they could in their impoverished homeland.
Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 04 Aug 2014 11:35
More than 11,000 Filipinos in Libya have ignored appeals to evacuate, with many apparently choosing to take their chances in the war-torn country rather than risk unemployment at home, a foreign department spokesman said Monday.
Only 200 were at the Philippine embassy in Tripoli even as the government prepares to send a chartered ship to ferry Filipinos out of Libya, spokesman Charles Jose said.
Originally there were 13,000 Filipinos working in Libya but after the government called on them to return, due to the worsening security situation, only "a little more than 1,000" had fled or were waiting to leave, he said.
"So we have 11,000-plus OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) who have not arranged to leave," Jose said.
"We are hearing that a lot of them would rather take the chance of surviving the war rather than (risking) the uncertainty of not having work here," he told reporters.
He added that while some might be willing to risk the danger, others, especially those working in the medical field, might be under pressure to stay.
Jose also said Libyan authorities were asking medical workers to stay because their departure would paralyse the health service which is heavily reliant on Filipino personnel.
"It is still their decision whether they would like to come back or stay behind," he said.
A ferry capable of carrying about 1,500 people would arrive in Libya by Friday to evacuate Filipinos and would return to Malta by Sunday from where they would be flown out, Jose said.
The Philippines has been calling for its nationals to return from Libya, warning that the situation there could deteriorate to the point where they cannot be repatriated.
These calls have grown louder after a Filipino construction worker was abducted and then beheaded by unknown suspects last month and a Filipina nurse was gang raped in Tripoli on Wednesday.
The Philippines previously launched a mass evacuation of its workers in Libya in 2011, when most of the 30,000 Filipinos there left during the violent chaos leading to the toppling of late dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
About 10 million Filipinos work around the world, earning more money in a wide range of skilled and unskilled sectors than they could in their impoverished homeland.
Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 04 Aug 2014 11:35
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
LIBYAN PARLIAMENT MEETS FOR FIRST OFFICIAL SESSION
Libyan members of parliament convened on Monday for the first official session since the parliamentary elections in June, with the country facing the worst violence since an armed uprising toppled dictator Moamer Gaddafi three years ago.
"We will prove to the world that Libya is not a failed state, but will rise very soon to become a model state with the help of her sons," the session's head, lawmaker Abu Bakr Baira said at the beginning of the session.
Around 170 lawmakers met in the eastern port city of Tobruk, where a consultative, emergency session was held on Saturday to discuss the violence that has gripped Libya for more than two weeks.
Members of the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference attended the inaugural session. After stopping for a short break, lawmakers are expected to convene again to take the oath.
Libya's new parliament has 200 seats, but only 188 members were elected, since the government did not organize elections in some areas plagued by unrest.
The House of Representatives takes over from the previous assembly, the General Congress, which was elected in 2012. The Congress was dominated by Islamist groups including the Muslim Brotherhood.
The sessions were moved to Tobruk because of the fighting in both the capital Tripoli and the flashpoint eastern city of Benghazi.
Rival militias have been fighting for two weeks for control of the main airport in Tripoli.
At least 200 people have been killed in the violence.
Libya's rulers have struggled to impose order since Gaddafi's ouster in 2011, with the country paralyzed by political infighting and the proliferation of militias.
Source : Sapa-dpa /kd
Date : 04 Aug 2014 13:07
Libyan members of parliament convened on Monday for the first official session since the parliamentary elections in June, with the country facing the worst violence since an armed uprising toppled dictator Moamer Gaddafi three years ago.
"We will prove to the world that Libya is not a failed state, but will rise very soon to become a model state with the help of her sons," the session's head, lawmaker Abu Bakr Baira said at the beginning of the session.
Around 170 lawmakers met in the eastern port city of Tobruk, where a consultative, emergency session was held on Saturday to discuss the violence that has gripped Libya for more than two weeks.
Members of the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference attended the inaugural session. After stopping for a short break, lawmakers are expected to convene again to take the oath.
Libya's new parliament has 200 seats, but only 188 members were elected, since the government did not organize elections in some areas plagued by unrest.
The House of Representatives takes over from the previous assembly, the General Congress, which was elected in 2012. The Congress was dominated by Islamist groups including the Muslim Brotherhood.
The sessions were moved to Tobruk because of the fighting in both the capital Tripoli and the flashpoint eastern city of Benghazi.
Rival militias have been fighting for two weeks for control of the main airport in Tripoli.
At least 200 people have been killed in the violence.
Libya's rulers have struggled to impose order since Gaddafi's ouster in 2011, with the country paralyzed by political infighting and the proliferation of militias.
Source : Sapa-dpa /kd
Date : 04 Aug 2014 13:07
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
UP TO 10,000 EGYPTIANS STRANDED AT LIBYA-TUNISIA BORDER
Up to 10,000 Egyptians fleeing the fighting in Libya are still stranded at the border with Tunisia, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri said Monday on a visit to Tunis.
"So far we have evacuated around 2,500... we don't have exact statistics but between 5,000 and 10,000 people" are still waiting to leave, he said at a news conference after meeting Tunisia Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa.
Shoukri did not specify how long it will take to repatriate all the Egyptians, though Cairo promised on Saturday to take home about 2,000 people a day by air and if necessary by sea.
The Egyptians are stuck on the Libyan side of the border with Tunisia after the government there said it would only let in people other than Tunisians and Libyans if they could prove arrangements were in place to get them home.
On Friday, hundreds of Egyptians tried to storm the Ras Jedir border crossing into Tunisia, prompting Libyan border guards to fire warning shots.
Tunisia said it would not be opening a camp to accommodate Arab and Asian workers fleeing Libya as it did in 2011 during the civil war which led to the overthrow of long-time dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
This time Tunis asked each state to organise the repatriation of its citizens, only letting them enter the country as and when transport became available.
Since mid-July, Libya has seen deadly clashes between rival militias in Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi.
Tripoli airport has been closed since gunmen, mostly Islamists, attacked it on July 13 in a bid to wrest control from the Zintan brigade of former rebels who have held it since the 2011 revolt.
Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 04 Aug 2014 16:21
Up to 10,000 Egyptians fleeing the fighting in Libya are still stranded at the border with Tunisia, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri said Monday on a visit to Tunis.
"So far we have evacuated around 2,500... we don't have exact statistics but between 5,000 and 10,000 people" are still waiting to leave, he said at a news conference after meeting Tunisia Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa.
Shoukri did not specify how long it will take to repatriate all the Egyptians, though Cairo promised on Saturday to take home about 2,000 people a day by air and if necessary by sea.
The Egyptians are stuck on the Libyan side of the border with Tunisia after the government there said it would only let in people other than Tunisians and Libyans if they could prove arrangements were in place to get them home.
On Friday, hundreds of Egyptians tried to storm the Ras Jedir border crossing into Tunisia, prompting Libyan border guards to fire warning shots.
Tunisia said it would not be opening a camp to accommodate Arab and Asian workers fleeing Libya as it did in 2011 during the civil war which led to the overthrow of long-time dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
This time Tunis asked each state to organise the repatriation of its citizens, only letting them enter the country as and when transport became available.
Since mid-July, Libya has seen deadly clashes between rival militias in Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi.
Tripoli airport has been closed since gunmen, mostly Islamists, attacked it on July 13 in a bid to wrest control from the Zintan brigade of former rebels who have held it since the 2011 revolt.
Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 04 Aug 2014 16:21
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
NEW PARLIAMENT ELECTS EAST LIBYA JURIST AS SPEAKER
Libya's new parliament has elected Aguila Salah Issa, a jurist from the eastern town of Al-Qobba, as its speaker at a session held far from the clashes rocking Tripoli.
Libyan television showed Issa, an independent who held several judicial posts in the regime of Moamer Kadhafi who was ousted in a 2011 revolt, beating off eight challengers on Monday.
The political newcomer defeated Abu Bakr Biira, who had presided over parliament's inaugural session, in a runoff.
The anti-Islamist parliament, elected on June 25, travelled all the way to Tobruk, 1,500 kilometres (1,000 miles) from Tripoli, to take the oath.
MPs said more than 160 of the 188 elected members were present in Tobruk -- a figure that reflects the crushing election victory of nationalists over Islamists who dominated the former parliament.
Tobruk has been largely spared the deadly violence that has been rocking Tripoli and Libya's second city Benghazi since last month.
State television broadcast footage of the session, showing MPs being sworn in at a ceremony attended by representatives of the Arab League, the United Nations and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Islamist MPs and their allies from the western city of Misrata boycotted the Tobruk ceremony held at a heavily-guarded hotel, branding it "anti-constitutional".
But world powers congratulated the new parliament and voiced hope that lawmakers would be able to restore stability to Libya and press ahead with democratic reform.
Source : Sapa-AFP /lk
Date : 05 Aug 2014 08:58
Libya's new parliament has elected Aguila Salah Issa, a jurist from the eastern town of Al-Qobba, as its speaker at a session held far from the clashes rocking Tripoli.
Libyan television showed Issa, an independent who held several judicial posts in the regime of Moamer Kadhafi who was ousted in a 2011 revolt, beating off eight challengers on Monday.
The political newcomer defeated Abu Bakr Biira, who had presided over parliament's inaugural session, in a runoff.
The anti-Islamist parliament, elected on June 25, travelled all the way to Tobruk, 1,500 kilometres (1,000 miles) from Tripoli, to take the oath.
MPs said more than 160 of the 188 elected members were present in Tobruk -- a figure that reflects the crushing election victory of nationalists over Islamists who dominated the former parliament.
Tobruk has been largely spared the deadly violence that has been rocking Tripoli and Libya's second city Benghazi since last month.
State television broadcast footage of the session, showing MPs being sworn in at a ceremony attended by representatives of the Arab League, the United Nations and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Islamist MPs and their allies from the western city of Misrata boycotted the Tobruk ceremony held at a heavily-guarded hotel, branding it "anti-constitutional".
But world powers congratulated the new parliament and voiced hope that lawmakers would be able to restore stability to Libya and press ahead with democratic reform.
Source : Sapa-AFP /lk
Date : 05 Aug 2014 08:58
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
PHILIPPINES SENDING SHIP FOR WORKERS TRAPPED IN LIBYA
The Philippines said Tuesday it would send a ship to pick up at least 700 of its nationals trapped in strife-torn Libya as it presses on with efforts to rescue thousands of workers.
Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said it would pick up Filipinos from Misrata and Benghazi and hopefully Sirte, adding that others could still flee across the land border to Tunisia.
"We have 400 from Misrata, we have 300 from Benghazi and we have something like a couple of hundred from Sirte but the boat cannot go into Sirte because it's a shallow harbour so we need a small vessel to bring the people back out to the boat," he said.
He said the ship, chartered for about $1.8 million which can carry 1,500 passengers, would reach Libya at the end of the week
"We are counting on getting as many people as possible," so they can be brought to safety in Malta, he said.
An estimated 13,000 Filipinos were working in Libya when fighting between militia groups prompted the government in July to call for their "mandatory evacuation".
Despite repeated calls to leave, about 11,000 Filipinos are estimated to still be in Libya even as the violence shut down the airport and endangered road travel out of the country.
Del Rosario said the land route between Tripoli and Tunisia was now safe and would be used to evacuate people from the Libyan capital.
Some companies employing Filipinos were also evacuating them on their own, he said.
Philippine officials have said Filipinos were delaying their evacuation because they were more worried about not finding jobs at home.
About 10 million Filipinos work around the world, earning more money in a wide range of skilled and unskilled sectors than they could in their impoverished homeland.
Source : Sapa-AFP /lk
Date : 05 Aug 2014 14:37
The Philippines said Tuesday it would send a ship to pick up at least 700 of its nationals trapped in strife-torn Libya as it presses on with efforts to rescue thousands of workers.
Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said it would pick up Filipinos from Misrata and Benghazi and hopefully Sirte, adding that others could still flee across the land border to Tunisia.
"We have 400 from Misrata, we have 300 from Benghazi and we have something like a couple of hundred from Sirte but the boat cannot go into Sirte because it's a shallow harbour so we need a small vessel to bring the people back out to the boat," he said.
He said the ship, chartered for about $1.8 million which can carry 1,500 passengers, would reach Libya at the end of the week
"We are counting on getting as many people as possible," so they can be brought to safety in Malta, he said.
An estimated 13,000 Filipinos were working in Libya when fighting between militia groups prompted the government in July to call for their "mandatory evacuation".
Despite repeated calls to leave, about 11,000 Filipinos are estimated to still be in Libya even as the violence shut down the airport and endangered road travel out of the country.
Del Rosario said the land route between Tripoli and Tunisia was now safe and would be used to evacuate people from the Libyan capital.
Some companies employing Filipinos were also evacuating them on their own, he said.
Philippine officials have said Filipinos were delaying their evacuation because they were more worried about not finding jobs at home.
About 10 million Filipinos work around the world, earning more money in a wide range of skilled and unskilled sectors than they could in their impoverished homeland.
Source : Sapa-AFP /lk
Date : 05 Aug 2014 14:37
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
BRITAIN CARRIES OUT SECOND EVACUATION FROM LIBYA
British Royal Navy ship the HMS Enterprise arrived in Malta on Wednesday carrying 93 people evacuated from strife-torn Libya, its second such mission this week, British officials said.
The ship, which had been carrying out routine survey work in the Mediterranean Sea, left Tripoli on Tuesday and arrived in Malta early Wednesday, where passengers were met by staff from the British High Commission in the capital Valletta.
It was the second "assisted departure" carried out by the British government amid the deteriorating security situation.
Since mid-July, Libya has seen deadly clashes between rival militias in Tripoli and in the eastern city of Benghazi.
Tripoli airport has been closed since gunmen, mostly Islamists, attacked it on July 13 in a bid to wrest control from the Zintan brigade of former rebels who have held it since the 2011 revolt.
A total of 110 British and other European nationals, including pregnant women and babies, arrived in Malta on Monday after being evacuated by HMS Enterprise.
Britain has temporarily suspended its embassy operations in the troubled north African country, the Foreign Office said.
Source : Sapa-AFP /lk
Date : 06 Aug 2014 13:16
British Royal Navy ship the HMS Enterprise arrived in Malta on Wednesday carrying 93 people evacuated from strife-torn Libya, its second such mission this week, British officials said.
The ship, which had been carrying out routine survey work in the Mediterranean Sea, left Tripoli on Tuesday and arrived in Malta early Wednesday, where passengers were met by staff from the British High Commission in the capital Valletta.
It was the second "assisted departure" carried out by the British government amid the deteriorating security situation.
Since mid-July, Libya has seen deadly clashes between rival militias in Tripoli and in the eastern city of Benghazi.
Tripoli airport has been closed since gunmen, mostly Islamists, attacked it on July 13 in a bid to wrest control from the Zintan brigade of former rebels who have held it since the 2011 revolt.
A total of 110 British and other European nationals, including pregnant women and babies, arrived in Malta on Monday after being evacuated by HMS Enterprise.
Britain has temporarily suspended its embassy operations in the troubled north African country, the Foreign Office said.
Source : Sapa-AFP /lk
Date : 06 Aug 2014 13:16
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
18 SUDANESE KILLED IN LIBYA UNREST: OFFICIAL MEDIA
Eighteen Sudanese have been killed by a rocket strike in the Libyan capital, but Khartoum says the situation does not yet warrant an evacuation of its nationals, official media reported.
A briefing to cabinet on Tuesday said "18 Sudanese nationals were killed in one incident due to fall of a random rocket on the area of their residence on the outskirts of Tripoli", the state SUNA news agency said late Tuesday, quoting cabinet spokesman Omer Mohammed Salih.
SUNA did not say when the deaths occurred.
Since mid-July, Libya has seen clashes between rival militias in Tripoli, where fighting broke out again on Monday, and in the eastern city of Benghazi.
Violence in those cities has killed more than 220 people, wounded around 1,000, and prompted an exodus of foreign nationals from the oil-rich North African nation.
Tripoli airport has been closed since gunmen, mostly Islamists, attacked it on July 13 in a bid to wrest control from the Zintan brigade of former rebels who have held it since 2011.
The foreigners' exodus gathered pace at the weekend when Britain and Greece sent ships to evacuate nationals.
On Tuesday, the Philippines said it would send a ship to pick up at least 700 of its citizens trapped in Libya.
Sudan's Foreign Minister Ali Karti said that although Sudanese have been killed, "the situation in Libya did not yet reach the critical stage that necessitates evacuation of the Sudanese there", SUNA reported on Monday.
Khartoum's embassy in Tripoli "did not receive any call from a Sudanese national demanding his evacuation from Libya to Sudan", but the government is ready to intervene and get them out if asked, cabinet spokesman Salih said.
Libya has been a popular destination for Sudanese migrant workers seeking better opportunities outside their impoverished nation.
Source : Sapa-AFP /lk
Date : 06 Aug 2014 11:06
Eighteen Sudanese have been killed by a rocket strike in the Libyan capital, but Khartoum says the situation does not yet warrant an evacuation of its nationals, official media reported.
A briefing to cabinet on Tuesday said "18 Sudanese nationals were killed in one incident due to fall of a random rocket on the area of their residence on the outskirts of Tripoli", the state SUNA news agency said late Tuesday, quoting cabinet spokesman Omer Mohammed Salih.
SUNA did not say when the deaths occurred.
Since mid-July, Libya has seen clashes between rival militias in Tripoli, where fighting broke out again on Monday, and in the eastern city of Benghazi.
Violence in those cities has killed more than 220 people, wounded around 1,000, and prompted an exodus of foreign nationals from the oil-rich North African nation.
Tripoli airport has been closed since gunmen, mostly Islamists, attacked it on July 13 in a bid to wrest control from the Zintan brigade of former rebels who have held it since 2011.
The foreigners' exodus gathered pace at the weekend when Britain and Greece sent ships to evacuate nationals.
On Tuesday, the Philippines said it would send a ship to pick up at least 700 of its citizens trapped in Libya.
Sudan's Foreign Minister Ali Karti said that although Sudanese have been killed, "the situation in Libya did not yet reach the critical stage that necessitates evacuation of the Sudanese there", SUNA reported on Monday.
Khartoum's embassy in Tripoli "did not receive any call from a Sudanese national demanding his evacuation from Libya to Sudan", but the government is ready to intervene and get them out if asked, cabinet spokesman Salih said.
Libya has been a popular destination for Sudanese migrant workers seeking better opportunities outside their impoverished nation.
Source : Sapa-AFP /lk
Date : 06 Aug 2014 11:06
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
LIBYA MPS CALL FOR FOREIGN INTERVENTION TO AID CIVILIANS
A majority of Libyan MPs voted Wednesday to call for foreign intervention to protect civilians amid chaos in the North African country as rival militias engage in fierce clashes, a deputy said.
Parliament, meeting in Tobruk in the east, adopted "by 111 of the 124 deputies present a resolution calling on the international community to intervene quickly to protect civilians in Libya, including Tripoli and Benghazi", Abu Bakr Biira told AFP.
"The international community must intervene immediately to ensure that civilians are protected," he added, quoting from the resolution.
He did not elaborate on what the parliament expects from such foreign intervention.
The parliament, elected on June 25, has been meeting in Tobruk between Benghazi and the border with Egypt, because of the violence plaguing both of Libya's main cities.
Since mid-July, the country has been rocked by deadly inter-militia fighting for control of key facilities including Tripoli's international airport.
Benghazi in the east, Libya's second city, has also seen battles between Islamists and the forces of a renegade general.
Since the fall of long-time dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, the interim authorities have failed to establish order and security in a country prone to anarchy and deadly violence.
They have been unable to restrain a large number of militias formed by ex-rebels who fought Kadhafi and who still hold sway across Libya.
On Tuesday, hooded gunmen shot dead Tripoli police chief Colonel Mohamed al-Suissi in the eastern suburbs and abducted two of his bodyguards before later freeing them.
Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 13 Aug 2014 15:19
A majority of Libyan MPs voted Wednesday to call for foreign intervention to protect civilians amid chaos in the North African country as rival militias engage in fierce clashes, a deputy said.
Parliament, meeting in Tobruk in the east, adopted "by 111 of the 124 deputies present a resolution calling on the international community to intervene quickly to protect civilians in Libya, including Tripoli and Benghazi", Abu Bakr Biira told AFP.
"The international community must intervene immediately to ensure that civilians are protected," he added, quoting from the resolution.
He did not elaborate on what the parliament expects from such foreign intervention.
The parliament, elected on June 25, has been meeting in Tobruk between Benghazi and the border with Egypt, because of the violence plaguing both of Libya's main cities.
Since mid-July, the country has been rocked by deadly inter-militia fighting for control of key facilities including Tripoli's international airport.
Benghazi in the east, Libya's second city, has also seen battles between Islamists and the forces of a renegade general.
Since the fall of long-time dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, the interim authorities have failed to establish order and security in a country prone to anarchy and deadly violence.
They have been unable to restrain a large number of militias formed by ex-rebels who fought Kadhafi and who still hold sway across Libya.
On Tuesday, hooded gunmen shot dead Tripoli police chief Colonel Mohamed al-Suissi in the eastern suburbs and abducted two of his bodyguards before later freeing them.
Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 13 Aug 2014 15:19
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
EGYPT WORKS TO AVOID INTERVENTION IN LAWLESS LIBYA
Egypt warned Monday that a spillover of lawlessness from Libya could prompt foreign intervention, saying this should be avoided as diplomats discussed the spiralling violence in the North African country.
Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri spoke at the opening session of the meeting with the foreign ministers of Libya's neighbouring countries, two days after Cairo denied Islamist militia accusations that it had conducted an air strike against Islamists in Tripoli.
The Cairo meeting of foreign ministers came after Islamist militias said they had seized the airport in the Libyan capital.
"We have felt the effects of the escalating Libyan situation on the security of neighbouring countries through the presence of extremist and terrorist elements which extended to other countries through arms dealing and trafficking," Shoukri said.
"This affects the sovereignty of neighbouring countries and threatens their stability. This could affect the interests of other countries outside the region and could lead to forms of intervention in Libyan affairs, which should be avoided."
An Egyptian proposal to disarm competing Libyan militias "simultaneously and without discrimination" will be discussed at the meeting of foreign ministers of Libya's six neighbours, Shoukri said.
Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdelaziz told journalists after meeting Shoukri that political coordination between the two countries was required as "the escalating security situation in Libya has a negative effect on Egypt's national security".
Abdelaziz added that his country awaited a UN Security Council resolution that would send a "strong message" to end the fighting in Libya.
"There should be an effective dialogue in addition to international involvement in the long run to reconstruct the country's institutions," he said.
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya on August 17 condemned the deadly clashes between Islamist and nationalist militias that have surged following the ouster in 2011 of dictator Moamer Kadhafi, and "urged both parties to lay down their arms and observe a ceasefire".
Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 25 Aug 2014 12:00
Egypt warned Monday that a spillover of lawlessness from Libya could prompt foreign intervention, saying this should be avoided as diplomats discussed the spiralling violence in the North African country.
Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri spoke at the opening session of the meeting with the foreign ministers of Libya's neighbouring countries, two days after Cairo denied Islamist militia accusations that it had conducted an air strike against Islamists in Tripoli.
The Cairo meeting of foreign ministers came after Islamist militias said they had seized the airport in the Libyan capital.
"We have felt the effects of the escalating Libyan situation on the security of neighbouring countries through the presence of extremist and terrorist elements which extended to other countries through arms dealing and trafficking," Shoukri said.
"This affects the sovereignty of neighbouring countries and threatens their stability. This could affect the interests of other countries outside the region and could lead to forms of intervention in Libyan affairs, which should be avoided."
An Egyptian proposal to disarm competing Libyan militias "simultaneously and without discrimination" will be discussed at the meeting of foreign ministers of Libya's six neighbours, Shoukri said.
Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdelaziz told journalists after meeting Shoukri that political coordination between the two countries was required as "the escalating security situation in Libya has a negative effect on Egypt's national security".
Abdelaziz added that his country awaited a UN Security Council resolution that would send a "strong message" to end the fighting in Libya.
"There should be an effective dialogue in addition to international involvement in the long run to reconstruct the country's institutions," he said.
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya on August 17 condemned the deadly clashes between Islamist and nationalist militias that have surged following the ouster in 2011 of dictator Moamer Kadhafi, and "urged both parties to lay down their arms and observe a ceasefire".
Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 25 Aug 2014 12:00
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
US SAYS UAE BOMBED LIBYA ISLAMISTS AS TURMOIL DEEPENS
UAE warplanes secretly bombed Islamist militia targets in Libya, apparently catching Washington off guard, as turmoil in the North African country deepened with the Islamists naming a rival premier.
American officials said on Monday that the United Arab Emirates' jets launched two attacks in seven days on the Islamists in Tripoli using bases in Egypt.
The strikes signalled a step toward direct action by regional Arab states that previously have fought proxy wars in Libya, Syria and Iraq in a struggle for power and influence.
The bombing raids were first reported by The New York Times, and Islamist forces in Libya had also alleged the strikes had taken place.
"The UAE carried out those strikes," one American official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Asked about the account, a senior US official said "the report is accurate".
The United States did not take part or provide any assistance in the bombing raids, said the two officials, who could not confirm that Egypt and the UAE had left Washington totally in the dark about the attacks.
The first strikes took place on Monday last week focusing on targets in Tripoli held by the militias, including a small weapons depot, according to the Times. Six people were killed in the bombing.
A second round was conducted south of the city early Saturday targeting rocket launchers, military vehicles and a warehouse, the newspaper said.
Those strikes may have been a bid to prevent the capture of the airport, but the Islamist militia forces eventually prevailed and seized it despite the air attacks.
The UAE -- which has spent billions on US-manufactured warplanes and other advanced weaponry -- provided the military aircraft, aerial refuelling planes and aviation crews to bomb Libya, while Cairo offered access to its air bases, the paper said.
Neither the UAE nor Egypt has publicly acknowledged any role in the air strikes.
Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Emirates view Islamist militants in the region as a serious threat and have forged cooperation against what they see as a common danger.
News of the raids came after Libya's Islamist-dominated General National Congress on Monday threw down the gauntlet to Libya's interim government by naming a prime minister-designate to form a rival administration.
The GNC, officially replaced earlier this month by a freshly elected parliament, selected pro-Islamist Omar al-Hassi to form a "salvation government", a spokesman said.
"The GNC dismissed (interim premier) Abdullah al-Thani as head of government and gave Omar al-Hassi a week to form a salvation government," spokesman Omar Ahmidan said at a news conference in Tripoli, where GNC members met.
At the same time, Libya's new army chief declared "war on terrorists" after the elected parliament, holed up 1,600 kilometres (1,000 miles) from Tripoli in the eastern city of Tobruk, selected him to tackle the unrest sweeping the nation.
"Allow me to declare, from this moment on, war on obscurantists, terrorists and takfiris (extremists)," said Abdel Razzak Nadhuri, promoted to general on taking up his new role.
The GNC meeting, for its part, gave its backing to "legitimate moves aimed at liberating the country," Ahmidan said, referring to the weekend capture of Tripoli airport by the Fajr Libya (Libya Dawn) Islamist coalition.
The airport seizure came after weeks of fierce battles between Islamists and the nationalist militia of Zintan in the west, who had controlled it since the overthrow in 2011 of long-time dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
The GNC, whose re-emergence plunges Libya's rocky political transition into fresh crisis, met following a request from Islamists, who accused parliament in Tobruk of complicity in last week's air raids.
Thani rejected the GNC's decisions.
"The meeting was illegal, its decisions are illegal and the only legislative body is parliament," he said in a televised news conference from Tobruk.
Thani said Islamist militants had ransacked and set fire to his house in Tripoli.
"The homes of many Libyans have suffered the same fate," he said, blaming Fajr Libya fighters.
All of Tripoli is unsafe and the government headquarters building has been threatened, he added.
Telling of "threats, thefts and looting" in the capital, Thani said "no public service can operate in these conditions".
Libya's parliament, elected in June, and Thani's government decamped to Tobruk after the army proved unable to restore law and order to Tripoli and Benghazi, the country's two largest cities.
Fajr Libya is a coalition of Islamist militias, mainly from Misrata, east of Tripoli. Ansar al-Sharia controls around 80 percent of the eastern city of Benghazi.
Source : Sapa-AFP /tk
Date : 26 Aug 2014 10:47
UAE warplanes secretly bombed Islamist militia targets in Libya, apparently catching Washington off guard, as turmoil in the North African country deepened with the Islamists naming a rival premier.
American officials said on Monday that the United Arab Emirates' jets launched two attacks in seven days on the Islamists in Tripoli using bases in Egypt.
The strikes signalled a step toward direct action by regional Arab states that previously have fought proxy wars in Libya, Syria and Iraq in a struggle for power and influence.
The bombing raids were first reported by The New York Times, and Islamist forces in Libya had also alleged the strikes had taken place.
"The UAE carried out those strikes," one American official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Asked about the account, a senior US official said "the report is accurate".
The United States did not take part or provide any assistance in the bombing raids, said the two officials, who could not confirm that Egypt and the UAE had left Washington totally in the dark about the attacks.
The first strikes took place on Monday last week focusing on targets in Tripoli held by the militias, including a small weapons depot, according to the Times. Six people were killed in the bombing.
A second round was conducted south of the city early Saturday targeting rocket launchers, military vehicles and a warehouse, the newspaper said.
Those strikes may have been a bid to prevent the capture of the airport, but the Islamist militia forces eventually prevailed and seized it despite the air attacks.
The UAE -- which has spent billions on US-manufactured warplanes and other advanced weaponry -- provided the military aircraft, aerial refuelling planes and aviation crews to bomb Libya, while Cairo offered access to its air bases, the paper said.
Neither the UAE nor Egypt has publicly acknowledged any role in the air strikes.
Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Emirates view Islamist militants in the region as a serious threat and have forged cooperation against what they see as a common danger.
News of the raids came after Libya's Islamist-dominated General National Congress on Monday threw down the gauntlet to Libya's interim government by naming a prime minister-designate to form a rival administration.
The GNC, officially replaced earlier this month by a freshly elected parliament, selected pro-Islamist Omar al-Hassi to form a "salvation government", a spokesman said.
"The GNC dismissed (interim premier) Abdullah al-Thani as head of government and gave Omar al-Hassi a week to form a salvation government," spokesman Omar Ahmidan said at a news conference in Tripoli, where GNC members met.
At the same time, Libya's new army chief declared "war on terrorists" after the elected parliament, holed up 1,600 kilometres (1,000 miles) from Tripoli in the eastern city of Tobruk, selected him to tackle the unrest sweeping the nation.
"Allow me to declare, from this moment on, war on obscurantists, terrorists and takfiris (extremists)," said Abdel Razzak Nadhuri, promoted to general on taking up his new role.
The GNC meeting, for its part, gave its backing to "legitimate moves aimed at liberating the country," Ahmidan said, referring to the weekend capture of Tripoli airport by the Fajr Libya (Libya Dawn) Islamist coalition.
The airport seizure came after weeks of fierce battles between Islamists and the nationalist militia of Zintan in the west, who had controlled it since the overthrow in 2011 of long-time dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
The GNC, whose re-emergence plunges Libya's rocky political transition into fresh crisis, met following a request from Islamists, who accused parliament in Tobruk of complicity in last week's air raids.
Thani rejected the GNC's decisions.
"The meeting was illegal, its decisions are illegal and the only legislative body is parliament," he said in a televised news conference from Tobruk.
Thani said Islamist militants had ransacked and set fire to his house in Tripoli.
"The homes of many Libyans have suffered the same fate," he said, blaming Fajr Libya fighters.
All of Tripoli is unsafe and the government headquarters building has been threatened, he added.
Telling of "threats, thefts and looting" in the capital, Thani said "no public service can operate in these conditions".
Libya's parliament, elected in June, and Thani's government decamped to Tobruk after the army proved unable to restore law and order to Tripoli and Benghazi, the country's two largest cities.
Fajr Libya is a coalition of Islamist militias, mainly from Misrata, east of Tripoli. Ansar al-Sharia controls around 80 percent of the eastern city of Benghazi.
Source : Sapa-AFP /tk
Date : 26 Aug 2014 10:47
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
LIBYA DAWN ISLAMISTS 'REJECT ANSAR AL-SHARIA TERROR'
Islamist militias have distanced themselves from jihadists seeking Islamic law in Libya, saying they support a democratic transition, but they are also challenging the legitimacy of the newly elected parliament.
Fajr Libya (Libya Dawn) militiamen, who seized Tripoli airport from nationalist Zintan fighters on Saturday, said in a statement published by the LANA news agency Tuesday that they "respect the Constitution and the peaceful transfer of power".
However, the Libya Dawn coalition is also behind the convening of outgoing transitional political body the General National Congress (GNC), which on Monday nominated a pro-Islamist to form a rival government to the elected parliament sitting in Tobruk in the country's far east.
In its statement, Fajr Libya accused the parliament elected on June 25 of violating consitutional legitimacy by calling for foreign intervention to solve the chaos gripping the violence-wracked North African nation.
The Islamist coalition also spurned a call by the Benghazi-based Islamist Ansar al-Sharia group to join it.
"Proclaim that your struggle is for sharia and not democratic legitimacy, so the world unites under the same banner to bolster the forces of good against the forces of evil," Ansar al-Sharia had urged Fajr Libya on Monday.
The response on Tuesday by the Islamists in the west was to the point.
"Fajr Libya announces its rejection of terrorism and extremism, and stresses that it does not belong to a terrorist organisation," its statement said.
It "extends a hand to everyone who wants to rebuild Libya, respecting democracy and constitutional legality".
Fajr Libya said it could help the security forces to re-establish law and order in Tripoli and also "ensure the security of foreign nationals" in the capital.
The mounting security problems in Libya have prompted thousands of people to flee and numerous countries to close their embassies and urge their citizens to leave.
Parliament has branded both Islamist groups, Fajr Libya in the west and Ansar al-Sharia in the east, as "terrorist" organisations, and said it will use the army to eradicate them.
Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 26 Aug 2014 13:03
Islamist militias have distanced themselves from jihadists seeking Islamic law in Libya, saying they support a democratic transition, but they are also challenging the legitimacy of the newly elected parliament.
Fajr Libya (Libya Dawn) militiamen, who seized Tripoli airport from nationalist Zintan fighters on Saturday, said in a statement published by the LANA news agency Tuesday that they "respect the Constitution and the peaceful transfer of power".
However, the Libya Dawn coalition is also behind the convening of outgoing transitional political body the General National Congress (GNC), which on Monday nominated a pro-Islamist to form a rival government to the elected parliament sitting in Tobruk in the country's far east.
In its statement, Fajr Libya accused the parliament elected on June 25 of violating consitutional legitimacy by calling for foreign intervention to solve the chaos gripping the violence-wracked North African nation.
The Islamist coalition also spurned a call by the Benghazi-based Islamist Ansar al-Sharia group to join it.
"Proclaim that your struggle is for sharia and not democratic legitimacy, so the world unites under the same banner to bolster the forces of good against the forces of evil," Ansar al-Sharia had urged Fajr Libya on Monday.
The response on Tuesday by the Islamists in the west was to the point.
"Fajr Libya announces its rejection of terrorism and extremism, and stresses that it does not belong to a terrorist organisation," its statement said.
It "extends a hand to everyone who wants to rebuild Libya, respecting democracy and constitutional legality".
Fajr Libya said it could help the security forces to re-establish law and order in Tripoli and also "ensure the security of foreign nationals" in the capital.
The mounting security problems in Libya have prompted thousands of people to flee and numerous countries to close their embassies and urge their citizens to leave.
Parliament has branded both Islamist groups, Fajr Libya in the west and Ansar al-Sharia in the east, as "terrorist" organisations, and said it will use the army to eradicate them.
Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 26 Aug 2014 13:03