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Libya

November 25, 2024

Tripoli 4:06 am

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Forces opposed to Libya's unity government ride a truck in the Zueitina oil terminal, Sept. 14, 2016.

Analysis

After Libya's Central Bank turmoil, can its oil sector recover?

Although largely resolved, Libya’s Central Bank crisis highlighted the vulnerability of the country’s oil sector, which depends on political and security stability.

Jonathan Fenton-Harvey

By Jonathan Fenton-Harvey

In Exmouth, reporting on North Africa and Gulf politics

ENI headquarter in San Donato Milanese, near Milan, Italy, Oct. 27, 2017.

After decade halt, Eni, BP resume hydrocarbon exploration in Libya

Onshore drilling had been suspended for a decade, since the beginning of the Libyan civil war between rival factions in the country’s east and west.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday hosts Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during the Egyptian leader's first-ever Turkey visit, in Ankara, on Sept. 4, 2024.

Analysis

With reconstruction in mind, can Turkey-Egypt thaw offer lifeline for Libya?

The complex interplay of regional and international interests and entrenched divisions within Libya itself suggest that progress may be slow and difficult to achieve.

Mohamed Eljarh

By Mohamed Eljarh

Members of the Libyan Army, under the command of the internationally recognized Government of National Unity, fire live ammunition during a drill in the western town of Tarhuna , on March 6, 2023.

Analysis

Libyan Central Bank standoff fuels conflict fears as Turkey, Russia send weapons

For the sixth time since 2021, the European Union’s naval air mission was blocked from inspecting the cargo of a Turkish-flagged vessel suspected of ferrying weapons to Libya.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

In London, reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

At Africa summit, China elevates ties with Libya, invests $14M in Egypt

China's Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang (C) delivers his speech.

Libya factions agree to appoint new central bank chief to end crisis: UN

A bank teller counts money as a customer looks on at a bank in Libya's western coastal city of Misrata on Aug. 25, 2024.

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Interview

From Turkey, exiled Libyan Central Bank governor decries 'coup d'etat'

Police officers stand guard outside Libya's Central Bank headquarters in Tripoli on Aug. 27, 2024.

Sadiq al-Kabir

Sadiq al-Kabir

Governor of the Central Bank of Libya

New Mideast threats mean uncertainty for oil, trade, stability in August

A picture taken on October 13, 2021 shows Kuwait's largest oil refinery at the Al-Ahmadi complex, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of the capital Kuwait City. - A fire broke out on October 18, 2021 in Al-Ahmadi refinery, with no interruptions to site operations or petrol exports.

Jonathan Fenton-Harvey

In Exmouth, reporting on North Africa and Gulf politics

Islam Alatrash

In Misrata, reporting on Libyan migration

Mohamed Eljarh

Intel: White House sympathizes with France in Libya row with Turkey

White House National Security adviser Robert O’Brien on Wednesday expressed sympathy for France’s account of events in a Mediterranean naval standoff with Turkey last month over a Libyan arms smuggling allegation.

Putin, Mohamed bin Zayed seek to reclaim common ground on Libya

The Russian and UAE leaders spoke Wednesday about the path ahead in Libya, seeking to minimize differences and recharge the political process.

Intel: Trump, Erdogan chat as Libya heats up

US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan chatted by phone today as regional tensions threaten to escalate the already volatile situation in Libya.

Members of the "Tripoli Brigade", a militia loyal to the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), sit in the back of a pickup truck as they parade through the Martyrs' Square at the centre of the GNA-held Libyan capital Tripoli on July 10, 2020. (Photo by Mahmud TURKIA / AFP) (Photo by MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: Eastern Libya invites Egypt to intervene against Turkey-backed offensive

Eastern Libya’s parliament passed a motion approving a possible military intervention by neighboring Egypt to stop an offensive by Libya’s Tripoli-based government in the west.

Prime Minister of Libya's UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez al-Sarraj (R) meets with Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu at the GNA's presidential headquarters in the capital Tripoli on June 17, 2020. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Is proxy war turning to conventional confrontation in Libya?

Albeit late, Turkey seems to have finally understood the importance of diplomacy in Libya.

US threatens sanctions in bid to restore oil sharing in Libya

The US government raised the specter of sanctions on unspecified parties involved in Libya’s civil war yesterday after Libya’s oil authority accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of obstructing efforts to restore petroleum revenue sharing between the country’s warring sides.

Why Turkey is trying to improve its profile in the Maghreb

In parallel with its military activities in Libya and rising profile in Africa, Ankara moves to strengthen its geostrategic and geo-economic ties with Maghreb countries.

BERLIN, GERMANY - JANUARY 19: French President Emmanuel Macron (R) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) are pictured during a family picture at the Chancellery on January 19, 2020 in Berlin, Germany. Leaders of nations and organizations linked to the current conflict are meeting to discuss measures towards reaching a consensus between the warring sides and ending hostilities. (Photo by Emmanuele Contini/Getty Images)

Why is France a useful adversary for Turkey?

Although France has the means to hamper Turkey, both in the European Union and Africa, its current strategy often plays into Turkey’s hands, as evidenced by its recent failure to squeeze Turkey through a NATO probe.

This picture taken on June 11, 2020 shows a view of a mural depicting Mohsen al-Kania a commander of forces loyal Libya's eastern strongman Khalifa Haftar drawn on the wall of a detention facility formerly controlled by them, which fell into the control of security forces affiliated with the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA)'s Interior Ministry in the town of Tarhuna, about 65 kilometres southeast of the capital Tripoli. (Photo by Mahmud TURKIA / AFP) (Photo by MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP via Getty Images)

Russian FM says Hifter's forces ready for cease-fire in Libya

Sergey Lavrov said the Tripoli government wants to keep fighting as the war rages on with heavy foreign involvement from Russia, Turkey, Egypt and others.

People wave flags of Libya (R) and Turkey (L) during a demonstration in the Martyrs' Square in the centre of the Libyan capital Tripoli, currently held by the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), on June 21, 2020. - The GNA on June 21 denounced Egypt's warning of military intervention in Libya, labelling it a "declaration of war", after the Egyptian President warned that if pro-GNA forces advanced on the strategic city of Sirte -- some 450 kilometres (280 miles) east of Tripoli -- it could pro

Turkey entrenches further into Libya as rivals strike back

Ankara is set to deepen its military intervention on the side of Libya’s Government of National Accord as it asserts dominance in the gas-rich eastern Mediterranean and drums up domestic support for the ruling party.

A car advances past a damaged facility in the Salaheddin district south of the Libyan capital Tripoli, on June 21, 2020, as some residents return to the area after it has been demined. - Since 2015, a power struggle has pitted the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) against strongman Khalifa Haftar, who claims legitimacy from an eastern-based elected parliament, and had been trying unsuccessfully to seize the capital since April 2019, until a pro-GNA counter-offensive at the beginning of June

Intel: US pushes Hifter’s Libyan militias to disband

US officials pushed strongman Khalifa Hifter’s Libyan National Army (LNA) to demobilize in a virtual meeting on Wednesday.

Pipes are pictured at Libya's El Sharara oilfield December 3, 2014. Deep in Libya's southern Sahara, men in army uniforms guard a pipeline at the El Sharara oilfield. Hundreds of kilometers to the north, rival fighters turn off the pumps to stop the oil flowing. The standoff over El Sharara illustrates the complex challenge United Nations mediators face in holding together a country heading towards a civil war between factions allied with rival cities scrambling for control. U.N. envoys plan to bring the Li

Intel: Russian mercenaries enter key oil field, Libya oil company says

A convoy of Russian mercenaries entered Libya’s Sharara oil field and met with the facility’s security forces yesterday, the country’s National Oil Corporation said.