Fighting rages in Libya

VIOLENCE IN LIBYA SINCE KADHAFI OVERTHROW

Key events during the turbulent period since Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi was toppled in October 2011:

-- 2011 --

- October 20: Kadhafi is captured and killed while trying to flee Sirte, his home town and the last major city to fall nine months after NATO-backed rebels rose up against his regime.

- October 23: The former rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) declares Libya's "total liberation" and says more than 30,000 people were killed in the conflict.

-- 2012 --

- The new authorities struggle to control a plethora of rival ex-rebel militias. Tribal clashes leave hundreds dead in Kufra in February, Sebha in the south in March, and Zintan in the west in June.

- July 7: Libyans vote for the first time to elect a national assembly, named the General National Congress (GNC).

A coalition of small liberal parties emerges victorious, while the Muslim Brotherhood comes second.

- August 8: The NTC hands power to the new assembly, led by Mohamed al-Megaryef.

- September 11: Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans killed in an attack on the US consulate in Libya's second city Benghazi.

-- 2013 --

- The security and political crisis deepen.

- Libyan oil exports plunge in late July after protesting guards force the closure of shipping terminals. In early July, 2014 the authorities say they have regained control of two oil terminals that had been blocked by rebels.

-- 2014 --

- March 2: Protesters storm the GNC, attack lawmakers and go on the rampage.

- March 11: Congress selects Abdullah al-Thani as prime minister. He retains the post after the supreme court rules on June 9 that the election of premier Ahmed Miitig to replace him violated the constitution.

- May 16: Forces loyal to rogue general Khalifa Haftar launch an offensive against powerful Islamist groups in Benghazi.

- June 25: Libyans vote in a parliamentary election to replace the GNC, accused of fuelling unrest amid a crippling battle for power between Islamists and nationalists.

- July 13: Tripoli's airport shuts as Islamist fighters vie to wrest control of the hub from the nationalist Zintan militia.

Foreigners flee the country en masse.

- July 28: A huge fire breaks out at an oil depot on the outskirts of Tripoli. Smoke rises from the site for many days.

- August 4: Boycotted by Islamists, the new parliament holds its first session in the eastern city of Tobruk.

- August 13: Libyan MPs vote to call for foreign intervention to protect civilians.

- August 18: Unidentified aircraft attack militia positions.

- August 23: Islamists say they have seized Tripoli airport and accuse the United Arab Emirates and Egypt of involvement in two air raids against their forces in the past week.

- August 25: US officials say United Arab Emirates warplanes secretly bombed Islamist militia targets.

Responding to a request from Islamists, the GNC resumes operations and names a rival premier to Thani, who denounces the move as "illegal".


Source : Sapa-AFP /lk
Date : 26 Aug 2014 16:33
 
winner said:
Another job well done USA
Click to expand...

If anything, the violence and strife across the Middle East has proved that this would have happened anyway whether or not the USA (or anyone else) got involved...
The entire Middle East is one big roiling crap hole of war and suffering thanks to rampant radical religious nutjobs.
 
eehellfire said:
Where are @adielk @falcon786 @mineer @hiro_za and the rest?
There are innocent civilians dying and I don't see them rushing to decry the actions in Libya

EDIT: and @daveza
Click to expand...

Remember, it ain't a problem if adherents of the religion of peace are killing each other. Only if someone else kills them is there an outcry.
 
Garyvdh said:
If anything, the violence and strife across the Middle East has proved that this would have happened anyway whether or not the USA (or anyone else) got involved...
The entire Middle East is one big roiling crap hole of war and suffering thanks to rampant radical religious nutjobs.
Click to expand...

Actually, no, it's thanks to the USA.
 
Garyvdh said:
If anything, the violence and strife across the Middle East has proved that this would have happened anyway whether or not the USA (or anyone else) got involved...
The entire Middle East is one big roiling crap hole of war and suffering thanks to rampant radical religious nutjobs.
Click to expand...
IS Libya better now without Gadaffi?
 
LIBYA MILITIAS TAKE CONTROL OF TRIPOLI GOVT OFFICES

Libya's toothless outgoing government admitted Monday it had lost control of government offices in Tripoli to armed militias.

The interim government led by prime minister Abdullah al-Thani, which resigned last week and has taken refuge in the east of the country, said armed groups were preventing government workers from entering their offices.

"Ministry and state offices in Tripoli have been occupied by armed militias who are preventing government workers from entering and are threatening their superiors," the government said in a statement released overnight.

It said the interim government was in contact with officials and "trying to ensure the continuity of services from afar."

Libya has been sliding into chaos since Moamer Kadhafi was overthrown and killed three years ago, with interim authorities confronting powerful militias which fought to oust the veteran dictator.

The interim government announced last week it had tendered its resignation to the elected parliament, days after a rival Islamist administration was created.

The parliament is also operating out of Libya's east for security reasons.

A rival body, the General National Congress, last week named pro-Islamist figure Omar al-Hassi to form a "salvation government".

Interim authorities have been steadily losing ground to the militias and the Fajr Libya (Libya Dawn) mainly Islamist alliance, which has seized Tripoli airport after weeks of fierce fighting with nationalist rivals.

On Sunday, Islamist militiamen moved into the US embassy compound in Tripoli that was evacuated in late July, with videos showing cheering men diving from an upstairs balcony into the facility's swimming pool.


Source : Sapa-AFP /mr
Date : 01 Sep 2014 12:13
 
TRIPOLI UNDER MILITIA CONTROL AS LIBYA CHAOS DEEPENS

Libya's toothless outgoing government admitted Monday from its safe refuge in the east of the country that it has in effect lost control of Tripoli to armed militias.

The interim government led by prime minister Abdullah al-Thani, which resigned last week, said armed groups, mostly Islamist militias, were in control of ministries and blocking access to government workers.

"Ministry and state offices in Tripoli have been occupied by armed militias who are preventing government workers from entering and are threatening their superiors," the government said in a statement.

It said the interim government was in contact with officials and "trying to ensure the continuity of services from afar."

Libya has been sliding into chaos since Moamer Kadhafi was overthrown and killed three years ago, with interim authorities confronting powerful militias which fought to oust the veteran dictator.

The interim government announced last week it had tendered its resignation to the elected parliament, days after a rival Islamist administration was created.

The parliament and government are operating out of Libya's east for security reasons.

A rival body, the General National Congress, last week named pro-Islamist figure Omar al-Hassi to form a "salvation government".

Interim authorities have been steadily losing ground to the militias and the Fajr Libya (Libya Dawn) mainly Islamist alliance, which seized Tripoli airport on August 22 after weeks of fierce fighting with nationalist rivals.

On Sunday, Islamist militiamen moved into the US embassy compound in Tripoli that was evacuated in late July, with videos showing cheering men diving from an upstairs balcony into the facility's swimming pool.

Fajr Libya members said they had gone in to secure the complex of several villas in southern Tripoli, not far from the airport, to prevent it from being looted.

US Ambassador Deborah Jones, now posted in Malta, said on Twitter that there was no indication the complex had been damaged.

An AFP photographer who visited the complex spotted no damage apart from some shrapnel scars on an exterior barbed wire-topped wall.

"We have called on diplomatic missions to return to Tripoli, and, until that happens, we're here to secure the locations," said a militiaman posted at the US embassy.

Several foreign missions have fled in the face of growing insecurity in the capital.

On August 25, Thani, the prime minister, accused Fajr Libya militiamen, who hail mostly from the city of Misrata, east of the capital, of having ransacked and set ablaze his residence in southern Tripoli where the airport is also located.

A political transition has been stymied by the political deadlock pitting Fajr Libya against the internally-exiled authorities, which are operating from Tobruk, 1,500 kilometres (more than 900 miles) from the capital.

Fajr Libya rejects the legitimacy of the elected parliament because it allegedly supported air raids last month -- which US officials said were carried out by the United Arab Emirates -- against its fighters deployed at the airport before they defeated nationalist militia rivals.

Parliament has in turned branded Fajr Libya as terrorists, putting them in the same boat as the Ansar al-Sharia jihadists who control most of second city Benghazi.

The insecurity, as well as a lack of investment in upgrading rundown schools, have led to the start of the academic year, due on Sunday, being postponed in Benghazi, Misrata and Tripoli.


Source : Sapa-AFP /mr
Date : 01 Sep 2014 14:18
 
UN SAY 250,000 DISPLACED BY FIGHTING IN LIBYA

A quarter of a million people have fled because of recent fighting and serious human rights violations in Libya, the UN human rights office said on Thursday in Geneva.

At least 100,000 Libyans have become refugees in their own country, while 150,000 people - including many migrant workers - have left Libya, according to the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

In recent months Libya has experienced its worst violence since dictator Moamer Gaddafi was toppled in 2011.

Rival militias have been battling each other, mainly in Tripoli and Benghazi.

There is evidence that armed groups have resorted to indiscriminate shelling in those two cities, leaving at least 214 people dead, said the UN report, which covers the period between mid-May and late August.

"Indiscriminate attacks constitute war crimes, as are attacks on civilians or civilian objects, such as airports," it said.

It added that civilians had been abducted and tortured.

The fighting has also effectively wiped out Libya's justice system, the UN said.

"The courts in Tripoli effectively stopped functioning during the reporting period," it said.

The justice ministry came under rebel control last month, while courts in Benghazi, Sirte and Derna have been suspended since March.

Since Gaddafi's overthrow, Libya's rulers have struggled to re-establish security, and the country has been paralyzed by political infighting and the proliferation of militias and weapons.

Two rival parliaments, the Islamist-led National Congress and the recently-elected House of Representatives, are vying to set up government control over the oil-rich country.


Source : Sapa-dpa /kd
Date : 04 Sep 2014 16:04
 
LIBYA FIGHTERS COMMITTING GRAVE RIGHTS VIOLATIONS: UN

Grave human rights violations have been committed during clashes in the Libyan cities of Tripoli and Benghazi, with disastrous consequences for civilians, a UN report said on Friday.

The warning came from the UN mission in Tripoli (UNSMIL) and UN rights office only days after Libya's outgoing government admitted from its safe refuge in the east that it has effectively lost control of the capital to armed militias.

The report accused the combatants of "indiscriminate shelling and attacks on civilian objects, the shelling of hospitals, the abduction of civilians, torture and unlawful killings", including of women and children.

"Dozens of civilians were reportedly abducted in Tripoli and Benghazi solely for their actual or suspected tribal, family or religious affiliation, and have remained missing since the time of their abduction," it said.

The United Nations agencies appealed to all parties to prioritise the protection of civilians.

"All armed groups must desist from violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, in particular all acts that may amount to war crimes, including indiscriminate shelling, enforced disappearances, murder, abductions, torture and other ill-treatment, and destruction of property," it said.

Tripoli has witnessed heavy fighting in recent weeks between militias, mostly Islamists and nationalists, for control of the city's international airport.

The eastern city of Benghazi has also been rocked by almost daily clashes between forces of a rogue former general, Khalifa Haftar, and Ansar al-Sharia jihadists.

"All armed groups must remove from active duty and hand over to the justice system those among their members suspected of having committed abuses," said the report, which covered the period from mid-May to the end of August.

"Political or military leaders can be held criminally responsible not only if they order crimes, but also if they are in a position to stop them and do not do so."

The United Nations estimates that the fighting has displaced at least 100,000 people, and another 150,000 have fled the country, including many migrant workers.

Its report said the latter had been "particularly exposed" by the violence and were facing difficulties crossing borders, along with refugees and asylum-seekers.

Combatants were continuing to harass and attack journalists, including imposing restrictions of movement, confiscation of equipment, abductions and assassinations, it added.

The two agencies urged all sides to "cease all armed hostilities and engage in an inclusive political dialogue to build a state based on the respect of human rights, democracy and the rule of law".

On Monday, the interim government led by prime minister Abdullah al-Thani, which resigned last week, said armed groups were in control of ministries and blocking access to government workers.

Libya has been sliding into chaos since Moamer Kadhafi was overthrown and killed three years ago, with interim authorities confronting powerful militias which fought to oust the dictator.


Source : Sapa-AFP /mr
Date : 05 Sep 2014 15:39
 
RIGHTS GROUP SAYS MILITIAS COMMITTED "WAR CRIMES"

An international rights group has accused warring militias in Libya of committing violations that amount to "war crimes" during a battle the past month for control over the capital's airport.

Human Rights Watch says in its Monday report that commanders of the militias from the coastal city of Misrata and mountain town of Zintan, along with their allies, risk "being first in line for possible sanctions and international prosecution."

The group's report pointed to attacks on civilian neighborhoods during the five-weeks of fighting that caused thousands to flee. The battle ended with the Islamist-allied Misrata militias seizing control of the airport and much of the capital. HRW accused the militias of further violations since the battle, including reprisals against civilians who back their rivals.


Source : Sapa-AP /ar
Date : 08 Sep 2014 14:08
 
SHELLING SEEN OUTSIDE TRIPOLI AFTER ISLAMIST MILITIA LEADER KILLED

Three people were killed Wednesday in shelling outside the Libyan capital after Islamist militias fighting in the area announced the death of one of their commanders, local news site al-Wasat reported.

The Libyan Revolutionaries Operations Room said Mohammed al-Kilani, a member of the former interim parliament, had been killed in clashes that have pitted the Islamists against local fighters in Warshefana.

Libya's new parliament, which is meeting in Tobruk in the country's far east, has declared Warshefana a disaster area.

Bernardino Leon, the UN envoy to Libya, told the Security Council Monday that the area was suffering "an unrelenting campaign of indiscriminate shelling, ... causing untold suffering on the part of the civilian population."

"Tens of thousands of civilians are now known to have fled their homes," Leon said. "Many have also lost their lives as a result of the shelling, including women and children."

The Islamist and allied militias are trying to capture the area after last month seizing control last month of Tripoli, where they reinstalled the General National Congress, the former interim parliament.

Libya's second city, Benghazi, in the east, is also seeing continued clashes between more radical Islamist militias and forces loyal to retired general Khalifa Haftar.

Haftar launched an assault against the Islamists in May, but his forces have now been pushed out of most of the city.

Leon, who has repeatedly said the Tobruk-based parliament is Libya's legitimate legislature, nevertheless stressed that dialogue and "flexibility" were the only way to resolve the country's conflict.

"The small window of opportunity before us for a peaceful resolution to the current crisis should not be missed," he told the Security Council.

Internet links - [UN envoy Leon statement briefing to Security Council](http://dpaq.de/6H6Zw)

Source : Sapa-dpa /jje
Date : 17 Sep 2014 10:15
 
LIBYA ARMY CHIEF CALLS FOR JIHAD AMID CLASHES WITH ISLAMISTS

Libyan army chief General Abdel-Razzaq al-Nazouri Thursday called for "jihad" against "outlaws" amid clashes between Islamist militias and their rivals, including some army units.

In a move apparently aimed at the Islamist militias and allied forces who have captured Tripoli and most of Libya's second largest city Benghazi, al-Nazouri called on all members of the army to join their units immediately.

The army chief, appointed in August by the country's new parliament, called on "Libya's youth" to "join the jihad against the Kharijites and outlaws" - in a reference to a notoriously extreme early Islamic sect.

Months of clashes have pitted Islamist militias and local allies, including forces from the powerful western town of Misrata, against rivals in Tripoli, Benghazi and other areas.

The House of Representatives, meeting in the small eastern port town of Tobruk for security reasons, has swung behind the anti-Islamist forces, declaring the main Islamist militias to be terrorist organizations.

The Islamists in Tripoli have retaliated by reinstalling the former interim parliament, the General National Congress, whose term of office expired in February.

Libyan authorities have failed to build up coherent security forces since the downfall of Moamer Gaddafi, relying instead on a plethora of militias that sprang up during the 2011 revolt against the long-time ruler.

But those militias have now become polarized along political and regional lines, raising the prospect of nationwide civil strife.


Source : Sapa-dpa /gm
Date : 18 Sep 2014 12:11
 
7 TROOPS KILLED, DOZENS WOUNDED IN LIBYA'S BENGHAZI: ARMY

Seven Libyan soldiers were killed and more than 60 wounded Thursday in car bombings and clashes with Islamists around the airport in the restive eastern city of Benghazi, military sources said.

Two car bombs targeted an army convoy, killing three soldiers, while four others died in fighting with Islamists who control most of the city, they said. bra/ila/hc/al


Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 02 Oct 2014 14:44
 
75 KILLED IN FIVE DAYS OF FIGHTING IN LIBYA'S BENGHAZI

Nine people were killed Sunday in new violence in Benghazi where pro-government forces have launched an offensive against Islamist militias, raising the toll to 75 dead in five days, medics said.

In the latest violence a woman was killed in a bomb attack that targeted the vacant house of former general Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the offensive launched Wednesday, a military source said.

The woman was walking past the house with her daughter, who was wounded in the bombing, said the Benghazi Medical Centre, adding that it had also received the bodies of eight other people including two soldiers.

Fierce fighting raged in several parts of Libya's second city between pro-government forces led by Haftar and Islamist militias, an AFP correspondent and witnesses said.

Air raids carried out by units of the air force loyal to Haftar pounded Islamist positions.

On Saturday the United States joined Britain, France, Germany and Italy in calling for an "immediate" end to long-running violence there between government forces and militias.

Since a 2011 revolution that toppled Libya's longtime leader Moamer Kadhafi, interim authorities have failed to establish a regular army and had to rely on state-backed militias.

The European powers and the United States said they were "concerned" by the operations carried out by Haftar, although he has the backing of army units while civilians too have taken up arms.

"We consider that Libya's security challenges and the fight against terrorist organisations can only be sustainably addressed by regular armed forces under the control of a central authority which is accountable to a democratic and inclusive parliament," a joint statement said.


Source : Sapa-AFP /gm
Date : 19 Oct 2014 22:31
 
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