First Independent Mena Newspaper
Mortar shells fired by IS militants killed five people and wounded scores as people gathered at Kish Square in Benghazi to celebrate the Libyan National Army (LNA) and distance themselves from the unity government. A medical source at Jalaa Hospital told media five bodies including a woman and a child were brought to the hospital. […]
An unidentified warplane struck an IS convoy early Sunday near the town of Bani Walid. The air-strike took place in the early hours of Sunday and did not involve their forces, according to the Tripoli authorities. A military official linked to Tripoli-based Administration pointed out that the raid took place outside the city of Sirte, […]
Libyan National Army Tuesday announced it liberated the last jihadist-held area of Benghazi after two years of fighting. “We have totally liberated the area of Lithi,” said Fadel al-Hassi, of Libya’s Special Forces. Lithi neighborhood had been a stronghold of militant groups including the Islamic State. Loyalists led by the Libyan Army Chief Commander Khalifa […]
Libya’s presidential council formed under the Libya Political Agreement (LPA) signed in Morocco in December has requested that the deadline to name a new cabinet be extended for a week, claiming it “needs more time” to discuss the formation. Prime Minister Fayez Al Sarraj was asked to reduce his 32-member cabinet that he presented to […]
The Libyan military under the command of renegade General Khalifa Haftar has rejected possible European Union sanctions that could target the general as “meaningless”. The military is loyal to the internationally recognized government but Haftar’s role in ending the Libyan war has been subjected to controversy as he is considered to be a stumbling block […]
The Tobruk and Tripoli governments have oriented their guns towards extremist groups in territories under their respective control although the rivalry between them continues. Forces of the internationally recognized Tobruk government are fighting Majlis al-Shura, an umbrella for armed groups including Ansar al-Sharia, in the eastern city of Benghazi while Tripoli is battling it […]
Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni of the Tobruk-based government is in Moscow and has called on Russia to support the lifting of the arms embargo on the country as he held the West responsible for the situation in Libya. A U.N-led dialogue for a transitional unity government is about to resume in Morocco but renegade General Khalifa […]
Renegade army general Khalifa Haftar has been proposed by the president of the Libyan House of Representative Aguila Saleh as the top army commander and the parliamentarians have supported it. Haftar has his own forces and was fighting against the Islamists in the East before forming a coalition with the Libyan army last year. Authorities […]
Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni of the Tobruk based government has claimed that the United States and Britain are against Libyans as they refuse to arm forces loyal to his government. He claimed that militants of the rival government based in Tripoli are receiving arms worldwide despite an arms embargo on the North African country. Pressure […]
The Libyan parliament in Tobruk has come under attack after a suicide bomber in a car detonated his bomb at the entrance of the al-Salam Hotel where the parliamentarians are based and have their sessions. There are no casualties. This is the first time the parliament is targeted in a bomb attack since it left […]