Libya

Italy arrests Libyan police head

Police in Italy have arrested the head of Libya's judicial police who directs Tripoli's Mitiga detention centre, Italian news reports said. Osama Najim, also known as Almasri, was arrested Sunday…

Read More Here

Head of Libya’s National Oil Corporation resigns

The head Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC), Farhat Bengdara, has resigned due to "health issues," and Masoud Sulaiman has been appointed as acting chief, the state oil company said. The…

Read More Here

UN Libya mission alarmed by reported torture footage in detention facility

The U.N. Libya mission expressed its alarm over what it said was footage circulating on social media featuring "brutal torture and ill-treatment" of detainees at the Gernada detention facility in…

Read More Here

ITA airways resumes flights to Libya’s Tripoli after 10-year gap

Italy's ITA Airways resumed direct flights to Libya's Tripoli on Sunday, the first airline from a major west European nation to do so after a 10-year hiatus due to civil…

Read More Here

Libya expels 600 Nigeriens

More than 600 people have been forcibly deported from Libya on a “dangerous and traumatising” journey across the Sahara, in what is thought to be one of the largest expulsions…

Read More Here

Libya: A New Hub for Russian Ambitions

In the aftermath of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad's ousting, Russia has redirected its military focus to Libya, conducting a series of flights to a desert airbase in eastern Libya. This…

Read More Here

Russia Shifts Military Focus from Syria to Libya, Sparking Mediterranean Security Concerns

In a move raising alarm in Europe, Russia is reportedly relocating military resources from its Syrian base at Tartus to Libya, a shift Italy’s defense minister has described as a…

Read More Here

UN launches fresh attempt to resolve Libya’s election impasse

The United Nations will convene a technical committee of Libyan experts in an attempt to resolve contentious issues and put the country on the path to long-awaited national elections, the…

Read More Here

More than 300 migrants detained in Libyan desert, military force says

Libyan soldiers said on Monday they had detained more than 300 migrants who were crossing the desert and trying to make it to the shores of the Mediterranean. Aerial photos…

Read More Here

Libya ties priority for Italy, EU says Meloni in Tripoli

Relations with Libya are a priority for Italy and the European Union, Premier Giorgia Meloni said Tuesday on her fourth visit to Tripoli since becoming Italy's first woman premier two…

Read More Here

Ita Airways to resume flights to Libya in 2025

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday said Ita Airways will resume direct flights between Italy and Libya starting in January 2025, addressing the Italy-Libya Business Forum in Tripoli."And I…

Read More Here

NOC, EU discuss cooperation in oil, gas and renewed energy

The Head of the European Union [EU) Delegation to Libya, Nicola Orlando, discussed with the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Oil Corporation (NOC), Farhat Bengdara, cooperation…

Read More Here

Libya central bank deal could resolve ‘all political issues’, says head of state

A deal backed by leaders on both sides of Libya’s political divide to appoint a new central bank governor has the potential “to resolve all the political issues” in the…

Read More Here

Libya oil exports still mostly shut, some ships loading from storage

Libyan oil exports remained largely halted, shipping data showed, but some tankers were being allowed to load crude from storage, with output still curtailed amid a political standoff over the…

Read More Here

Around 700,000 bpd of Libya oil output offline in political standoff

More than half of Libya's oil production, or around 700,000 barrels per day, was offline on Thursday, as a standoff between rival political factions over the central bank and oil…

Read More Here

What’s behind Libya’s oil shutdown?

Libya's latest oil shutdown has pushed up global energy prices. This explains the situation. HOW DID WE GET HERE? Since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi and thrust…

Read More Here

Libya’s oil blockade widens as factions vie to control central bank

Libya's oil blockade widened with eastern leaders demanding western authorities back down over the replacement of the central bank governor, a key position in a state where control over oil…

Read More Here

UN warns Libya faces economic collapse

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) issued a statement late on Monday expressing deep concern "over the deteriorating situation in Libya resulting from unilateral decisions." Disputes over control…

Read More Here

Libya’s eastern-based government to close all oilfields

The Libyan eastern-based government said on Monday that all oilfields are closing down, halting production and exports, but the country's Tripoli-based National Oil Corp, which controls oil resources, has not…

Read More Here

UN expresses concern at Libya armed mobilisation

The United Nations Libya mission said late on Thursday it was concerned about reports of forces mobilising in Tripoli and threats of force to resolve a crisis over control of…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Libya central bank reopens after kidnapped official freed

Libya's central bank (CBL) says it has resumed operations following the release of a bank official who had been abducted from his home. CBL confirmed the release of Musaab Muslamm,…

Read More Here

Libya’s Interior Ministry Issues Warning on Importing Predatory Animals

The Libyan Ministry of Interior of the Government of National Unity has issued a stern warning against importing predatory animals into Libya, cautioning that violators will face legal consequences. The…

Read More Here

India loosens restrictions on nationals wishing to travel to Libya

Indian authorities announced easing travel restrictions to Libya, after a travel ban was imposed on its citizens 8 years ago, explaining its new decision was taken after the "improved security…

Read More Here

Attempts to shut operations at the Sharara oil field in Libya

Libya's internationally recognised government condemned attempts to shut operations at the Sharara oil field, describing them as "political blackmail". In a statement, the government said it would not spare efforts…

Read More Here

Libyan court jails 12 officials over deadly floods in Derna

A Libyan court has jailed 12 officials in connection with the collapse of a series of dams in Derna last year that killed thousands of the city's residents, the Attorney…

Read More Here

UPDATED: UN rights chief says investigating mass grave on Libya-Tunisia border

The U.N. human rights chief said on Tuesday that his office was following up on reports of a mass grave in the desert along the Libya-Tunisia border, after the bodies…

Read More Here

Libya bound drone parts for weapons use seized at Gioia Tauro

Components for the assembly of war drones were seized in the Calabrian port of Gioia Tauro by the Reggio Calabria Provincial Command of the Guardia di Finanza in cooperation with…

Read More Here

Turkish warship conducts drills off Libya coast

The Turkish frigate TCG Gemlik recently carried out helicopter search and rescue drills in the waters off Libya coast, the National Defense Ministry announced on the weekend. "Our frigate TCG…

Read More Here

Russia denies reports of hundreds of Wagner Group fighters in Libya

The Libya Observer reports that the Russian Embassy in Libya has denied recent reports alleging that hundreds of Wagner fighters have arrived in Libya. It described the information as baseless…

Read More Here

Libya oil and gas minister resumes work after two-month suspension

Libya's oil and gas minister resumed work on Tuesday after a suspension for two months pending a legal investigation, the ministry said in a brief statement. Mohamed Oun, oil and…

Read More Here

Tripoli claims Greece is conducting illegal prospecting south of Crete

The interim government of Tripoli claims Greece is conducting illegal prospecting south of Crete in areas it says are under Libya’s jurisdiction. The issue was raised last week through a…

Read More Here

Three Libyan fighters killed in clashes with smugglers near border with Algeria

Three Libyan fighters of a military force based in Tripoli were killed in clashes with smugglers and drug dealers in the desert near the border with Algeria, the force said…

Read More Here

Secretary-General of the Arab League warns of political deadlock in the Libyan crisis

The Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, warned of the political deadlock in the Libyan crisis. Aboul Gheit stressed in a television interview that there are no indications…

Read More Here

491 dead and missing in central Med in 2024 – IOM

There have been 167 migrants dead and 324 missing in the central Mediterranean since the beginning of the year, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Libya reported in its…

Read More Here

Tunisia-Libya border crossing remains closed

Tunisia and Libya have kept a major border crossing at Ras Jdir closed due to armed clashes Libya's interior ministry said in a statement this week that "outlaws" had attacked…

Read More Here

Sixty migrants feared drowned crossing Mediterranean from Libya

ROME, March 14 (Reuters) - As many as 60 people are feared to have drowned on a vessel carrying migrants across the Central Mediterranean from Libya to Italy or Malta,…

Read More Here

Greece’s Crete and Gavdos islands see surge in migrant boats from Libya

ATHENS, (Reuters) - The Greek islands of Crete and Gavdos have seen a steep rise in migrant boats landing on their shores from Libya this year, U.N. data shows, piling…

Read More Here

Libyan leaders agree to form new unified government

Three key Libyan leaders said on Sunday they had agreed on the "necessity" of forming a new unified government that would supervise long-delayed elections. A political process to resolve more…

Read More Here

Italy impounds charity ship involved in at sea dispute with Libya

A German charity vessel was on Tuesday impounded by Italian authorities after it ran into a dispute with the Libyan coast guard over the rescue of as many as 100…

Read More Here

U.N. in Libya urges probe into Tripoli shooting deaths

TRIPOLI, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The United Nations mission in Libya has urged authorities to investigate the shooting deaths of 10 people in a Tripoli neighbourhood, with city security chiefs…

Read More Here

More than 80 survivors, but two dead in migrant rescues off Libya, charity says

More than 80 migrants were saved, but two died and three were missing following two sea rescue operations in the Mediterranean off the coast of Libya, the Doctors Without Borders…

Read More Here

Oil India looking at return to Libya

By Sethuraman N R Oil India is in talks with stakeholders to restart drilling in Libya, thirteen years after the company exited the country due to political instability, a top…

Read More Here

Libya’s September flood requires $1.8 bln in recovery funds, report says

(Reuters) - Libya's deadly flash flood in September constituted a climate and environmental catastrophe that requires $1.8 billion in reconstruction and recovery, an international report said on. Huge swathes of…

Read More Here

Production at Libya’s Sharara field restarts after protest

DUBAI, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Production at Libya's Sharara oilfield restarted on Sunday, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters, after protesters ended a sit-down that had…

Read More Here

Libya oil facility protesters’ shutdown deadline extended by 24 hours

TRIPOLI, (Reuters) - Protesters who have threatened to shut down two oil and gas facilities near the Libyan capital Tripoli have extended the deadline by 24 hours for talks with…

Read More Here

Protesters in Libya threaten to shut down oil and gas facilities

TRIPOLI, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Protesters have threatened to shut down two oil and gas facilities near the Libyan capital Tripoli, with one group that is campaigning against corruption issuing…

Read More Here

Libya’s NOC declares force majeure at Sharara oilfield

DUBAI, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Libya's National Oil Company (NOC) on Sunday declared force majeure at its Sharara oilfield on the back of protests. The force majeure is effective as…

Read More Here

Libya’s stock market resumes trading after more than 9 years of closure

Libya's Stock Market resumed trading on Monday at a hall in the capital Tripoli after more than nine years of closure because of the political and security situation. The prime…

Read More Here

Libyan Prime Minister says will not leave until elections are held

The Head of the Government of National Unity, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, has reaffirmed that “his government will not leave until elections are held and the Libyan people choose who will…

Read More Here

MSF reports horrific abuse of refugees and migrants in Libyan detention centres

Refugees, asylum seekers and migrants held inside detention centres in Tripoli, Libya, have been assaulted, sexually abused, beaten, killed and systematically deprived of the most basic humane conditions, including proper…

Read More Here

U.N. Libya envoy pushes for meeting on elections

TRIPOLI, (Reuters) - The United Nations' envoy to Libya asked the country's main powerbrokers to designate representatives for a meeting aimed at reaching an election settlement, part of an apparent…

Read More Here

Fighting in western Libya town leaves several dead

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Fighting in a Libyan hill town has killed eight people since Sunday, a member of the municipal council and another resident said, adding that forces aligned with…

Read More Here

In Libya’s devastated Derna, families still search for the missing

By Ayman Al-Warfali Flood swept away swathes of the city in September More than 4,000 bodies recovered so far Thousands still missing but identification is hard Reconstruction may become new…

Read More Here

Libya parliament speaker issues election law -spokesperson

TRIPOLI, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Libya's parliament speaker Aguila Saleh has issued laws for national presidential and parliamentary elections, the chamber's spokesperson said on Wednesday, but continued disputes over the…

Read More Here

Libya envoy urges unified Derna flood response

The United Nations' Libya envoy Abdoulaye Bathily said on Monday he was concerned about "unilateral and competing initiatives" by Libyan institutions to rebuild Derna, where a destructive flood killed thousands…

Read More Here

For Libya’s Haftar, flood aftermath tests strongman image

(Reuters) - After Derna's catastrophic floods, eastern Libyan military leader Khalifa Haftar flew in by helicopter and received salutes from his troops as he toured the city where thousands of…

Read More Here

Climate Change made Libya’s deadly rainfall up to 50 times more likely – study

By Riham Alkousaa BERLIN, (Reuters) - Climate Change made the heavy rainfall that led to deadly floods in Libya up to 50 times more likely, scientists said. The powerful Sept.…

Read More Here