Free Republic

Hundreds of Russian military contractors in Libya were evacuated on Monday after retreating from fighting on the capital's front lines, forces backing the unity government said. The claim comes after a series of setbacks for eastern-based military commander Khalifa Haftar's year-long offensive to seize Tripoli from the UN-supported Government of National Accord (GNA). "An Antonov 32 military cargo plane landed at Bani Walid airport to resume the evacuation of Wagner [Group] mercenaries who had fled southern Tripoli to an as-yet unconfirmed destination," pro-GNA forces wrote on Twitter. Pro-GNA forces said Monday some "1,500 to 1,600 mercenaries" had fled from the...

Shelling of Tripoli's airport hit fuel tanks and damaged passenger planes after forces loyal to Libya's renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar fired dozens of rockets into Tripoli. Six people were killed and dozens of others wounded in the attacks, the interior ministry said in a statement, which included as many as 80 rocket strikes.

Military strongman Khalifa Haftar's reluctance to sign up to a Turkish-Russian orchestrated ceasefire accord underlines the complexity of Libya's conflict and pressures exerted by key foreign players, analysts say. He left Moscow on Tuesday without signing a permanent truce aimed at ending nine months of fighting against the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Fayez al-Sarraj. His abrupt departure was a setback for an international diplomatic push, after Sarraj had signed up to halting Haftar's offensive to seize Tripoli from the GNA. For Emad Badi of the Washington-based Middle East Institute, there are two plausible explanations for Haftar...

Turkey is allied with Libya's UN-backed government, which is based in the capital, Tripoli. The move, which comes earlier than expected, marks an acceleration of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's plans. The Libyan government has been fighting an insurgency by forces under Gen Khalifa Haftar based in eastern Libya. The forces of the warlord - who is backed by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and others, including what is believed to be a force of Russian mercenaries - have been trying to capture the capital city. The Tripoli-based government receives aid from Turkey, Qatar and Italy. The bill will be debated...

State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement Saturday that the U.S. is "concerned" by a request for military support by the Government of National Accord (GNA). The U.S. is also concerned about the Libyan National Army's (LNA) "threat to use foreign-supplied air assets and mercenaries." Forces led by the LNA's Khalifa Haftar have been supported by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Russian mercenaries, according to the wire service, which cited diplomats and Tripoli officials. A U.S. official told Reuters that the presence of the Russian forces is "creating a bloodier conflict." "More civilian damage, damage to infrastructure...

American interests are under attack in Libya, whether we realize it or not. Adversaries and allies alike are attempting to install a dictator. In doing so, they’re undermining U.S. credibility and challenging American leadership of the international order. Hundreds—maybe thousands—of Russian mercenaries joined the battle for Tripoli, Libya’s capital, this fall, fighting alongside aspiring strongman Khalifa Haftar. Russia’s primary interest isn’t Libya, but the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. President Vladimir Putin interpreted

MOSCOW - As many as 35 Russian mercenaries are reported to have been killed in Libya while they were fighting for Khalifa Haftar, the military general most associated with the rule of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi, who launched an offensive earlier this year on the Libyan capital of Tripoli, home to the country’s internationally-recognized government, according to a Russian media. The mercenaries are thought to work for the Wagner Group, a military contractor run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman nicknamed Putin’s Chef because he holds lucrative Kremlin catering contracts. Asked by VOA about the reports of the fatalities in...

Libyan leader threatens EU with 800,000 more migrants, including “criminals and terrorists” JUL 18, 2019 11:00 AM BY CHRISTINE DOUGLASS-WILLIAMS “Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, head of the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), warned on Tuesday that 800,000 more migrants could be driven into Europe unless the assault on Tripoli by warlord Khalifa Haftar ends soon.” Since when did Tripoli’s internal problems with warlord Khalifa Haftar become the EU’s problem? It is astonishing how Islamic supremacist thugs are now giving orders to the EU. This is the fault of globalists who have surrendered their countries’ sovereignty. Al-Sarraj also warned:...

An airstrike on a migrant detention center in the Tajoura suburb of Libya's capital killed at least 44 people early Wednesday morning, according to the United Nations. More than 100 people were injured. The strike hit a hangar within the Tajoura Detention Center, obliterating what had been a shelter that was housing roughly 120 people. The death toll has grown as local health authorities report casualties. The U.N.-recognized government in the capital, Tripoli, has accused strongman Khalifa Haftar and his Libyan National Army of carrying out the attack. As NPR's Jane Arraf reports, the migrants' hangar is next to a...

European officials are hoping Donald Trump’s surprise expression of support for the Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar can be reversed amid division in Washington over US policy on the north African country. A clarification of US policy is considered necessary in order to build an international consensus condemning the attack on Tripoli that has claimed nearly 300 lives and injured more than 1,000, including migrants trapped in detention centres, since it began this month. Haftar is seen by Britain and the UN as the immediate aggressor in the conflict. Diplomats were surprised last week when an official White House readout of...

Reports say clashes between Gen Khalifa Haftar's rebels and pro-government groups are taking place in three suburbs to the south of the city. Tripoli is the base of the UN-backed, internationally recognised government. The UN's Libya envoy has insisted that a planned conference on possible new elections will still go ahead. In a televised address the head of the UN-backed government, Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, accused Gen Haftar of launching a coup. Mr al-Sarraj said his government had "extended our hands towards peace", but said Gen Haftar will now be met with "nothing but strength and firmness". Tripoli residents have...