By Martin Chulov
Diplomatic efforts intensify to avert Cairo’s entry into Libya’s nine-year civil war amid wider tensions. Read More
Archive - June 2020
By Michael E. O’Hanlon & Federica Saini Fasanotti
There has been mildly encouraging news out of Libya in recent months, almost nine years after the overthrow of Gadhafi led to chaos rather than an improvement in governance and stability. Read More
By Gulsen Topcu
Sirte, al-Jufra has become dangerous place due to criminal provisions, Russian mercenaries, says army spokesman. Read More
As Libya’s putschist Khalifa Haftar grows weaker and weaker, his sponsors have threatened to intervene in the conflict if cities like Sirte and Jufra are attacked by the UN-backed government. Read More
By Jen Alic
After pushing General Haftar from Tripoli and key surrounding areas, Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) thought it was game over for the general, but now it finds itself describing the latest Egyptian move on this venue a “declaration of war.” Read More
On June 25, 2020, Arab Center Washington DC (ACW) hosted a virtual briefing titled “The Way Forward in Libya: Assessing Regional and International Initiatives.” Read More
By Kersten Knipp
The Egyptian president has threatened to intervene militarily in Libya. Then there would be a third foreign power in the country alongside Russian mercenaries and Turkey. There is a lot at stake. Read More
By Roger Boyes
The Libyan civil war is spreading its toxins across Europe. It is drawing in mercenaries from Syria and from Russia. Local militia commanders sit on stockpiles of guns. Read More
By Sondos Asem & Ragip Soylu
Despite Sisi’s recent bellicose statements, chances of open war between the rivals are slim. But could eastern Mediterranean deals pave the way for an agreement? Read More
Egypt’s President Sisi is threatening military action in support of the warlord Khalifa Haftar as the Tripoli-based GNA seeks to take the key coastal city of Sirte. Read More
By Tawfiq Rabahi
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi went to the border with Libya on Saturday to boost his army’s morale before sending them to fight against a foreign enemy. The visit was given a lot of media coverage. Read More
By Emily Estelle
Egypt is preparing for a military intervention to prevent Turkish-backed forces from advancing into eastern Libya. Read More
By Brian Katz & Joseph Bermudez Jr.
New imagery analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) of Russian operations in Libya indicates the breadth and depth of Russian involvement, as well as its limits in altering the conflict’s trajectory, as seen in recent setbacks for Moscow’s primary partner, General Khalifa Haftar and the Libyan National Army (LNA). Read More
By Kali Robinson
The conflict in oil-rich Libya has become a proxy war, fueled by rival foreign powers such as Russia and Turkey. Read More
By Yezid Sayigh
The Egyptian military may intervene in neighboring Libya, but it likely wants to avoid a major confrontation. Read More
By Bel Trew & Rajaai Bourhan
Libya has morphed into the world’s newest proxy conflict and at its heart is a labyrinth of mercenary recruitment stretching across Russia, Syria and Turkey.
By Alessia Melcangi & Giuseppe Dentice
The new Turkish assertiveness in Libya and Libya National Army (LNA) General Khalifa Haftar’s strategic retreat from the Western part of the country have created a new equilibrium in the conflict. Read More
By Thomas Trask & Jonathan Ruhe
The United States must appoint a Special Envoy for the Eastern Mediterranean to devise a negotiated solution to the Libya conflict. Read More
By Mersiha Gadzo
Turkey, Russia, Egypt and UAE are all recalibrating their plans after the retreat of LNA commander Haftar from Tripoli. Read More
By Fehim Tastekin
Libya’s coastal city of Sirte, a strategic gateway to major oil facilities, has emerged as a critical point of contention between Turkey and Russia, with France also scrambling to impede Turkey via NATO. Read More
Summary Executions, Torture, Desecration of Corpses
The Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF) should urgently investigate evidence that fighters affiliated with it apparently tortured, summarily executed, and desecrated corpses of opposing fighters, Human Rights Watch said today. Read More
By Arturo Varvelli & Tarek Megerisi
The tide of Libya’s war is turning against renegade general Khalifa Haftar. Italy should seize this opportunity to lead European countries to a harmonised Libya policy. Read More
By David Mack
The Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) is at a crucial juncture. They have momentum on the ground, but they risk losing the chance to restore a unified Libya if they acquiesce to an Egyptian proposal for what amounts to a ceasefire in place, backed by Russia. Read More
By Bel Trew & Rajaai Bourhan
Libya has morphed into the world’s newest proxy conflict and at its heart is a labyrinth of mercenary recruitment stretching across Russia, Syria and Turkey.
By Bel Trew
The 76-year-old lost upwards of $55 million after he paid for war machinery that were never delivered. Read More
By Dobrin Yotov
“Today we are facing – I’m not afraid to say – the” Syrianization “of Libya. We cannot imagine this situation continuing 200 kilometers off the coast of Europe! ” Read More
By Ranj Alaaldin & Emadeddin Badi
Interview of Dobrin Yotov with Tarek Megerisi for the program “Saturday 150” on the program “Horizon” Read More
By Jonathan Fenton-Harvey
Russia, under Vladimir Putin, has expanded its influence in Libya as a key supporter of Khalifa Haftar’s war. Yet Moscow often operates pragmatically and will surely adapt its strategy as Haftar is losing ground. Read More
By Nabih Bulos
One mine was hidden behind a garage door. Another, buried under rubble, was rigged to blow near a gas tank. A particularly diabolical explosive, activists claimed, was taped to an abandoned teddy bear. Read More
By The Associated Press
Two Libyan families presented their case against Libya’s east-based military commander Khalifa Hifter to an American court on Friday, in an unusual effort to hold him accountable for atrocities committed during the civil war. Read More
By Karim Mezran & Alessia Melcangi
Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the Presidential Palace in Cairo, Egypt April 14, 2019 in this handout picture courtesy of the Egyptian Presidency. Read More
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a “new era” in relations with the United States after a June 8 telephone call with US President Donald Trump. It will be anchored in Erdogan’s personal connection with Trump, and the top agenda item is Libya. Read More
By Ishaan Tharoor
The civil war in Libya is entering a potentially decisive new phase. A 14-month offensive led by renegade warlord Khalifa Hifter against the U.N.-recognized government in Tripoli, the Libyan capital in the country’s west, is in full-fledged retreat. Read More
By Wolfram Lacher
Having forfeited any real influence in Libya, Europe needs to look to the judicial use of sanctions. Curbing Russian influence and drawing support away from Haftar is essential if the unity of the country is to be preserved. Read More
By Ben Fishman
Directly engaging all parties is essential if Washington hopes to advance a national dialogue and prevent a Turkish-Russian accommodation that establishes their presence in Libya indefinitely. Read More
By Ferhat Polat
The relationship between Egypt and Haftar is not merely shaped by security priorities and arms deliveries, but it is part of a real political project aimed at eliminating political Islam. Read More