News & Events

Violent militia clashes erupted in Zawia. The initial clashes on 23 April were between the most powerful militias in the city headed by Hassan Buzriba and Mohamed Bahrun. An initial ceasefire on 24 April was negotiated by the local 103 Battalion. However, the ceasefire did not hold.

“There has been a new dynamic in Libya,” Abdoulaye Bathily said, urging authorities to meet the people’s expectation that they will be able to choose new leaders via the ballot box, and deliver on all their commitments.

Ankara and Cairo will cooperate more closely regarding Libya, where they back opposing sides, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday, marking another step in the rapprochement between the two regional powers.

U.N.-backed human rights experts said Monday there is evidence that crimes against humanity have been committed against Libyans and migrants in chaos-stricken Libya, including women being forced into sexual slavery.

If Libya’s legislative bodies are unable to agree on electoral laws in a timely manner “we will look at what alternative we will find”, says the U.N. Special Envoy to Libya.

The new UN envoy to Libya had hoped to usher in long-delayed elections, but his initiative is facing pushback from the eastern-based parliament and a lukewarm reception by its rivals in Tripoli.

Libya’s High Council of State voted on Thursday for a constitutional amendment intended to provide a basis for elections, but experts say the changes fail to address disagreements standing in the way of a long-delayed national vote.

A new push to convince chaos-stricken Libya’s rival factions to hold presidential and legislative elections this year was announced by the top United Nations diplomat in the country on Monday, but any optimism was dampened by a lack of details and continued disputes.