Libya

TRIPOLI, May 30 (Xinhua) -- UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Libya Yacoub El Hillo on Friday called for an investigation into the killing of 30 migrants in western Libya.

"I am shocked by the horrific reports about Wednesday's shooting at a smuggling warehouse in Mezda killing 30 migrants and injuring 11 others," El Hillo said in a statement.

The attack, which occured at the town of Mezda, some 180 km southwest of the capital Tripoli, was reportedly a revenge by the family of a Libyan smuggler who has been murdered by migrants.

24 May 2020; MEMO: Libya’s internationally-recognised government retook parts of southern Tripoli on Friday from the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) of Khalifa Haftar, whose 13-month campaign to seize the capital is under ever-greater pressure.

Fighters for the Government of National Accord (GNA) said they had advanced into several districts and overrun a military camp. The LNA said it had already pulled out of those areas in what it said was a humanitarian gesture for Ramadan.

24 May 2020; MEMO: Militias loyal to Libya’s renegade commander Khalifa Haftar Sunday hit the capital Tripoli with a rocket attack, Anadolu Agency reports.

The attack targeted Mitiga International Airport, according to a statement by the press center of the Libyan army-led Operation Volcano of Rage.

The statement gave no information on injuries or deaths.

According to the United Nations, since the beginning of this year, seven health centers in the country have been struck 12 times.

22 May 2020; MEMO: Libya’s Grand Mufti Sadiq Al-Ghariani thanked Qatar and Turkey for their support of the Libyan people’s stability.

22 May 2020; MEMO: The Libyan government announced on Thursday that it aims to extend security control over the entire country, to manage the political process with those who “believe in a democratic civil state”.

This came in a tweet published by the Libyan Foreign Ministry Spokesman Muhammad Al-Qiblawi, reposted by the ministry’s official Twitter account, without further details.

21 May 2020; MEMO: The Permanent Representative of Libya to the United Nations (UN), Taher Al-Sunni, said his country will sue the UAE in the international courts for providing military support to renegade General Khalifa Haftar, despite the arms embargo imposed on Libya, Anadolu reported.

18 May 2020; MEMO: Libya’s internationally-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) has captured a strategic airbase from the rival forces of Brigadier General Khalifa Haftar today, in its latest strides to repel the offensive on Tripoli.

The Libyan government’s military spokesman Mohamed Qanunu confirmed the capture of the airbase in a Twitter post today.

TRIPOLI, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Sunday said it started a 3-day distribution of emergency supplies to 2,500 displaced Libyans in the capital Tripoli.

"The assistance includes hygiene items, blankets, mattresses, kitchen sets, and other needed items to help families cope with the challenges of displacement amid the COVID-19 pandemic," the IOM tweeted.

TRIPOLI, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Serraj on Saturday said he hoped to cooperate with NATO, the U.S.-led military alliance, to achieve stability and security in Libya.

Serraj made the remarks during a telephone call with the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, said a statement of the UN-backed government.

It said the prime minister stressed firm stance and willingness to "defeat the aggression with all means possible," and expressed hope for working with NATO.

TRIPOLI, May 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A withering bombardment shook Tripoli as the eastern-based forces of Khalifa Haftar fought overnight for new territory in the southern suburbs after losing ground recently around the city.

Adding to the misery of Tripoli residents, the main water supplier to northwest Libya said armed men in the south had stormed one of its facilities, reducing supply.

“My father said we should be ready to leave at any moment … the fighting last night was heavier than at any time before,” said a resident of Abu Salim district, near a frontline.