Libya has unity gov't try under UN plan...

[francoHFW]

Libya’s Rivals Nominate Unity Cabinet Under U.N. Plan

Generalissimo Ghadafi is still dead. TY, Pres. Obama.

 

[waltky]

Libyan gov't. still in disarray...

Libyan parliament rejects UN-backed unity government
Jan 25,`16 -- Libya's internationally recognized parliament on Monday rejected a U.N.-sponsored unity government with rival authorities based in Tripoli, dealing a blow to months of efforts aimed at bridging a political divide that has undermined the fight against Islamic militants.

House of Representatives member Abu Bakr Beira said 89 out of 104 members who attended Monday's session rejected the Cabinet formed by the U.N.-sponsored unity presidential council. He said the council would be dissolved if it failed to meet a 10-day deadline to form a new, smaller Cabinet. Another parliamentarian earlier said 90 out of 140 lawmakers rejected the deal. The parliament endorsed the political agreement underpinning the new government, but objected to an article that would dismiss Gen. Khalifa Hifter, a divisive figure who was appointed military chief by the internationally-recognized government. That left the fate of the peace deal uncertain, as the U.N. has said repeatedly that there will be no changes.

The voting caps months of negotiations between supporters of the deal from Libya's two rival parliaments. "Our indication is, they voted in favor of the agreement with some conditions," the spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general, Stephane Dujarric, told reporters Monday. He said details were still coming in and that "we need to let the process play out." U.N. envoy Martin Kobler, who brokered the plan, said in a statement that he welcomed what he called an endorsement in principle of the political agreement, and he noted the reservation on the article on Hifter. "We will continue consultations with all parties to find consensual solution to all outstanding issues," Kobler said. The international community has been pushing the rivals to unite against the rising threat of Islamic militants, including an increasingly powerful Islamic State affiliate that has seized the central city of Sirte and launched attacks across the country.

Libya has fallen into chaos since the 2011 toppling and killing of longtime dictator, Moammar Gadhafi. Since 2014, an internationally recognized government has convened in the far east of the vast, oil-rich country. An Islamist-dominated parliament backed by various militias sits in the capital. Hifter, who served as army chief under Gadhafi before defecting, rose to new prominence after declaring a coup against the Tripoli-based government in 2014 and launching "Operation Dignity," a military campaign against Islamic militants in the east. He describes all Islamists as terrorists, including those in Tripoli.

News from The Associated Press

See also:

Libya lost $68B from attacks on oil, industry chief says
Jan 25,`16 -- Libya will fall further into chaos if its factions don't quickly form a unity government, the head of the state oil company warned Monday, noting the country has already lost some $68 billion in oil sales amid political infighting.

Mustafa Sanalla, who is in London to attend a conference and get support from investors, made his comments just after the internationally recognized parliament in the divided country rejected a plan to move toward a unified government. The vote underscored the turmoil that continues to wrack Libya. Sanalla argued that without a single government, there will be "neither security nor stability." "This vacuum will permit the other terrorist group and extremist groups to step in," he told The Associated Press. The appeal came a week after representatives of Libya's rival factions announced they would attempt to create a government of unity to stabilize a country engulfed in chaos since the 2011 death of dictator Moammar Gadhafi. The United Nations is trying to broker a single government featuring the country's two factions - the Islamist one in the capital, Tripoli, and the internationally backed one in the eastern part of the country.

With each side backed by its own fighters, the Libyans allied with the Islamic State group have gained strength, claiming responsibility for a series of deadly attacks and attacking oil terminals and fields, the sole source of Libya's wealth. "This problem in Libya, it is not so sophisticated," Sanalla said after the first day of the conference at Chatham House. "We have two factions in Libya. They are not looking (out) for the interests of Libya, unfortunately." Aside from the obvious turmoil a dysfunctional government provides, the troubles also mean extremists are gaining strength. Islamic State militants have been attacking Libyan oil facilities since the start of the year. Sanalla said the group doesn't want to hold the facilities, but disable them. His $68 billion estimate of lost production and exports since 2013 does not include damage and losses from the fire at the big port of Ras Lanuf last week or to any other facilities.

Instead of blaming Islamic State alone, he levelled his most harsh criticisms at the Petroleum Facilities Guard, the force that is meant to protect oil facilities. Describing the 27,000 member force as more of a hindrance than an asset to keeping such sites secure, he suggested that while they may not be directly allied to Islamic State, they share the same goal: keeping the country destabilized. He demanded that the guards be incorporated into a professional and unified structure Islamic State will "attack and destroy more facilities." He suggested that with their ouster, production would be doubled within days. Production levels are now a far cry from the 1.61 million barrels a day before the rebellion in 2011.

The guards are led by a militia commander, Ibrahim Jedran, who is a strong advocate for a semi-autonomous region in eastern Libya and who in 2014 tried to unilaterally sell oil against the will of the central government at a time before it split into two factions. The issues with Libya's stability also have broader consequences. Libya is separated from Italy by a single body of water, the Mediterranean Sea, and with the continent already facing its worst migrant crisis in a generation, policymakers would greatly welcome a stable government that could stanch the flow at key ports that serve as a jumping-off point to Europe. Sanalla said the country will move toward prosperity or descend into chaos. "Libya is at the junction of the road," he said.

News from The Associated Press

 

[francoHFW]

They're working on it...STILL beats the hell out of a terrorist dictatorship...not many deaths, kinda like Chicago.

 

[waltky]

Ex-Qaddafi officials purged...

Qaddafi-era officials shot after release from prison
Tue, Jun 14, 2016 - EXECUTED: The bodies of the former officials, who were arrested between 2011 and 2014, were found in various parts of Tripoli, a prosecutor told the media

Gunmen have killed 12 Libyans after their release from jail for taking part in acts of repression during the 2011 revolt against former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, officials said on Sunday. A Tripoli court ordered the conditional release of the former regime officials on Thursday last week, and on Friday their bullet-riddled bodies were found in the capital, the prosecution said on its Facebook page. An investigation into the murders has begun, it added. The victims had been imprisoned on charges of committing abuses during the NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed Qaddafi. They were freed on condition that they report to the prosecutor every two weeks.

The UN special envoy to Libya Martin Kobler condemned the murders and called for a prompt and “transparent” investigation. Kobler tweeted that he was “shocked and dismayed by the reports of murder of so many detainees released by a Tripoli court.” The Government of National Accord also denounced what it called a “despicable crime.” A statement on its Facebook page called on security and judiciary authorities to find the assailants and bring them to justice. Seddiq es-Sour, of the prosecutor’s office, told Libyan television the bodies were found in various parts of the capital and confirmed that all were former prisoners.

Soldiers from forces aligned with Libya’s new unity government are pictured during an advance on the Islamic State stronghold of Sirte​

He said they had been arrested between 2011 and 2014. The identities of the victims were not immediately released. Earlier this month, es-Sour had said the supreme court had ordered the release of six Qaddafi regime officials pending an appeal, for reasons linked to their health and age. Dozens of people are on trial in Libya for their role in the violent suppression of the revolt, including two sons of Qaddafi and former government officials. In July last year, several people were sentenced to death, including Saif al-Islam, Qaddafi’s son and one-time heir apparent.

Separately, a suicide bomber on Sunday killed three people at a field hospital for forces fighting Islamic State militants in their Libyan coastal stronghold of Sirte, a security source said, and medical staff appealed for help in treating the wounded. The bomber also wounded seven others and caused extensive damage to the hospital, about 50km from the front line, the source said. Two other attempted suicide bombings just outside the center of Sirte did not cause casualties, he said.

Qaddafi-era officials shot after release from prison - Taipei Times