Western war on Libya

[angelburst29]

Air strikes hit the Libyan capital late on Saturday as eastern forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar pursued a three-week campaign to take Tripoli and also confirmed for the first time they had dispatched a warship to an oil port.

April 27, 2019 - Air strike hits Tripoli as eastern Libyan forces send warship to oil port

FILE PHOTO - An oil tank is seen inside Ras Lanuf port Oil and Gas Company in Ras Lanuf, Libya July 10, 2018. Picture taken July 10, 2018. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori

The Libyan National Army (LNA) force of Haftar, which is allied to a parallel government, has repeatedly flown air strikes since starting an offensive three weeks ago to take the capital held by the internationally recognized government.

The air strikes came before the LNA had sent a warship to the eastern Ras Lanuf oil port, after days of unconfirmed rumors of a foreign navy ship having been sighted.

LNA spokesman Ahmed Mismari told reporters his forces had sent the Alkarama patrol vessel to Ras Lanuf in Libya’s key Oil Crescent region as part of a “training mission” to visit the operations room and to secure oil facilities.

The LNA last year had received the patrol vessel, which was previously owned by a firm with a postal address in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to U.N. report monitoring violations of an arms embargo on Libya.

A port engineer said the navy ship’s berthing had not affected oil exports which were going normally. It was not immediately clear whether the ship had left.

Libya's NOC says revenue up but fighting poses serious production risk

Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Saturday that revenues rose to more than $1.5 billion in March, up 20 percent from the previous month, but that fighting between rival factions posed a serious threat to production.

Exclusive: Libya's U.N.-backed government readies new war funding but hopes vital business to continue

Libyan Minister of Economy Ali Abdulaziz Issawi speaks during an interview with Reuters in Tripoli, Libya April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Hani Amara

Libya's U.N.-recognized government has budgeted up to 2 billion dinars ($1.43 billion) to cover costs of a three-week-old war for control of the capital, such as treatment for the wounded, to be funded without new borrowing, the economy minister said.

Ali Abdulaziz Issawi suggested the government hoped for business to continue more or less as usual despite the assault on Tripoli, in the country’s northwest, by forces tied to a parallel administration based in the eastern city of Benghazi.

Once Africa’s third largest producer of oil, Libya has been riven by factional conflict since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, with the country now broadly split between eastern-based forces under Khalifa Haftar and the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli, in the west, under Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj.

Still, with Haftar’s Libyan National Army forces unable so far to pierce defenses in Tripoli’s southern suburbs, normal life and business activities continue in much of the capital and western coastal towns.

Issawi, in an interview with Reuters in his Tripoli office, also said Libya’s commercial ports and wheat imports were still functioning normally, although some roads have been blocked. (Article continues.)

 

[angelburst29]

The Muslim Brotherhood is the parent cell for all global Sunni terrorism is the centerpiece for this globalist agenda, hence the very important reference to ISIS. It was the pivotal apparatus behind the Obama Doctrine crafted by Mrs. Clinton and by proxy her husband, the former president Bill Clinton per Walid Shoebat.com by first toppling Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi under the auspice of preventing a state-sanctioned genocide.

This is an interesting development by the White House ...

U.S. working to designate Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group: White House April 30, 2019

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders talks to reporters at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 29, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

President Donald Trump is working to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a foreign terrorist organization, the White House said on Tuesday, which would bring sanctions against Egypt’s oldest Islamist movement.

“The president has consulted with his national security team and leaders in the region who share his concern and this designation is working its way through the internal process,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in an email.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi asked Trump to make the designation, which Egypt has already done, in a private meeting during a visit to Washington on April 9, a senior U.S. official said, confirming a report in the New York Times on Tuesday.

After the meeting, Trump praised Sisi as a “great president” while a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers raised concerns about Sisi’s record on human rights, efforts to keep him in office for many years and planned Russian arms purchases.

Sisi, who ousted President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013 and was elected president the following year, has overseen a crackdown on Islamists as well as liberal opposition in Egypt.

The proposal to declare the group a terrorist organization set off a debate within Trump’s national security team, the senior U.S. official said.

White House national security adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo support the designation but officials at the Pentagon and elsewhere have been opposed and want more limited action, the senior official said.

The Brotherhood, which estimates its membership at up to 1 million people, came to power in Egypt’s first modern free election in 2012, a year after long-serving autocrat Hosni Mubarak was toppled in a popular uprising. But the movement is now banned and thousands of its supporters and much of its leadership have been jailed.

Istanbul-based Yehya Hamed, who served as investment minister in the Mursi government, said Trump is “trying to fight with the wind,” pointing to the prominent role of Islamist political parties in Tunisia and Morocco.

“What Trump is doing is bringing more instability to the region,” Hamed said.

Daniel Benjamin, former State Department coordinator for counterterrorism who now teaches at Dartmouth College, called the move mystifying. He said the State Department had considered the designation in 2017 but came to the conclusion there was no basis for doing so.

Benjamin said domestic political consideration could be at play with Trump facing re-election in 2020. “There is no question that there has been an effort to meet the appetites of Trump’s very Islamophobic base,” he said.

The Egyptian government blamed the Muslim Brotherhood organization for a 2013 suicide bombing at a police station that killed 16 people. The Brotherhood condemned that attack and denies using violence.

Some conservative and anti-Muslim activists have argued for years that the Brotherhood, which was founded in Egypt in 1928 and sought to establish a worldwide Islamic caliphate by peaceful means, has been a breeding ground for terrorists.

Giving the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist designation could complicate Washington’s relationship with NATO ally Turkey. The organization has close ties with President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Party and many of its members fled to Turkey after the group’s activities were banned in Egypt.

Turkey is under threat of U.S. sanctions if it pursues plans to purchase Russian S-400 missile defense systems, which are not compatible with NATO systems. Washington says Turkey’s purchase of the S-400s would compromise the security of F-35 fighter jets, which are built by Lockheed Martin Corp and use stealth technology.

The U.S. administration debated the terrorist designation for the Muslim Brotherhood shortly after Trump took office in January 2017.

Some branches of the Brotherhood have engaged in anti-government violence and provoked violent government reactions. Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaeda, was once a member of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.

Other offshoots in Turkey and Tunisia have forsworn violence and come to power by democratic means.

Turkey's AK Party: U.S. move against Muslim Brotherhood would damage democracy in Middle East
The spokesman for Turkey's ruling AK Party said on Tuesday that if the United States designated the Muslim Brotherhood a foreign terrorist organization, it would hamper democratization efforts in the Middle East and serve militant groups like Islamic State.

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood says it will continue 'peaceful' work regardless of Trump moves
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said on Tuesday it would continue to work in line with "our moderate and peaceful thinking" regardless of moves by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to designate it a foreign terrorist organization.

Egypt hands life sentences to senior Muslim Brotherhood figure and son
An Egyptian court handed life sentences to Hassan Malik, a leader of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, as well as his son Hamza and five others on Tuesday after convicting them of terrorism offences.


~~~
Russia, Turkey call for ceasefire in Libya: Kremlin
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan, in a phone call on Tuesday, called for a ceasefire in Libya and renewal of a political process under the aegis of the United Nations, the Kremlin said in a statement.

April 30, 2019 - Libya's rival governments move to financial war with frontline stuck

With the frontlines around Libya's contested capital Tripoli stalemated, the two rival factions are bringing oil and money supplies into the firing line of their battle for power.

April 29, 2019 - Guards repel assault on Libya's biggest oilfield as Tripoli battle rages

An armed group attacked Libya's largest oilfield on Monday, but was repelled after clashes with its protection force, while fighting escalated in eastern commander Khalifa Haftar's effort to capture the capital Tripoli.

 

[angelburst29]

The United Arab Emirates said on Thursday that "extremist militias" were controlling the Libyan capital which its ally Khalifa Haftar is fighting to capture from forces allied to Libya's internationally recognized government.

Haftar's ally UAE says 'extremist militias' control Libyan capital

The UAE, along with Egypt, support Haftar who they see as a bulwark against Islamist militants in North Africa. A 2017 U.N. report said the Gulf Arab state has provided his eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) with military and logistical support.

Haftar’s offensive launched more than three weeks ago to seize Tripoli has all but wrecked U.N.-backed efforts for a peace deal between the rival factions to end eight years of conflict.

“Priority in Libya (is) to counter extremism/terrorism and support stability in long drawn out crisis,” UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said in a Twitter post.

“Abu Dhabi agreement offered opportunity to support the U.N.-led process. Meanwhile extremist militias continue to control capital and derail search for political solution.”


As assault grinds on, Tripoli lawmakers reject offensive by UAE ally

Police officers are seen outside a building of parliament headquarters during the first session of lawmakers allied to Libya's internationally recognized government in Tripoli, Libya, May 2, 2019. REUTERS/Hani Amara

Lawmakers loyal to Libya's U.N.-backed government on Thursday denounced an attack on Tripoli by an ally of the United Arab Emirates and defended their record in fighting terrorism, after the Gulf state said "extremist militias" ruled the capital.

The lawmakers spoke at a meeting deliberately staged in the beleaguered city to challenge the official parliament based in Libya’s east, a body aligned to UAE ally Khalifa Haftar, in a move that further cements divisions in the oil-producing nation.

Haftar is fighting to capture Tripoli from forces allied to Libya’s internationally recognized government, and an official of the Gulf state said on Thursday the priority in Libya was to counter “extremism/terrorism”.

The UAE, along with Egypt, sees Haftar as a bulwark against Islamist militants in North Africa. A 2017 U.N. report said the Gulf state has provided his Libyan National Army (LNA), which is allied to a parallel administration in the east, with military and logistical support.

The campaign is the biggest military confrontation in Libya since the 2011 toppling of leader Muammar Gaddafi. Fighting picked up in Tripoli’s southern districts late on Wednesday, with shelling audible in city center, although it was less intense than at the start of the week.

Several lawmakers met in the capital to show opposition to Haftar’s assault, which since its launch more than three weeks ago has all but wrecked U.N.-backed efforts for a peace deal between the rival factions to end eight years of conflict.

“We are here for the rejection of the offensive,” lawmaker Hamouda Siyala told Reuters.

Some parliamentarians appeared to be incensed by the UAE’s allegation, although they did not mention the Gulf state.

“Which terrorism are you speaking about?” asked another lawmaker, Aisha Shalabi, whose speech was interrupted by attendees shouting “Allahu Akbar”.

“(We) fought it in Sirte ... if you speak about militias, they are our sons who toppled Gaddafi,” she said, referring to a city where Islamic State was driven out by Libyan militias.

Slideshow (3 Images)
As assault grinds on, Tripoli lawmakers reject offensive by UAE ally

 

[angelburst29]

U.S. working to designate Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group: White House April 30, 2019

Explainer: Who is targeting the Muslim Brotherhood?

FILE PHOTO: A poster of Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi reads, "No substitute for the legitimacy" is seen near members of the Muslim Brotherhood after night clashes with anti-Mursi around Cairo University and Nahdet Misr Square in Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt July 3, 2013. REUTERS/Staff/File Photo

U.S. President Donald Trump is working to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization, a move that would bring sanctions against one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements.

The Brotherhood, founded more than 90 years ago in Egypt, has survived repeated crackdowns at home and has a network of groups across the Middle East, some directly linked to the Egyptian organization and others more loosely affiliated.

The Brotherhood’s opponents, including several autocratic Arab states, say it is a dangerous terrorist group which must be crushed. The movement says it publicly renounced violence decades ago and pursues an Islamist vision using peaceful means.

After the Egyptian uprising which overthrew President Hosni Mubarak in 2011, the Brotherhood won the country’s first free presidential elections. It was toppled by the military following widespread protests and was outlawed soon after.

Many of its leaders, including former President Mohamed Mursi and Supreme Guide - or spiritual leader - Mohamed Badie, have been sentenced to death after mass trials of thousands of Muslim Brothers. Egypt’s allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have also cracked down on the group.

HOW DOES IT OPERATE?
The Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna, a school teacher and preacher who called for a religious revival and the establishment of a caliphate under sharia law.

Banna’s Brotherhood rejected the secularisation sweeping through the Middle East, and argued that Arab nationalism was not the way to challenge Western colonial control in the region.

His organization was built on cell structures, with lengthy inductions and education for new members. Those largely clandestine processes make assessing its capabilities hard.

Its expansion across the Middle East also means it is identified with a variety of organizations, from armed groups to charities.

WHERE IS IT PRESENT?
Many political parties and campaign groups in the Middle East and further afield trace their roots to the Brotherhood. Not all use the Brotherhood’s name or make their links explicit.

Thousands of Egyptians fleeing Gamal Abdel Nasser’s clampdown in the 1950s and 1960s brought Brotherhood ideas to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, which welcomed them at the time as a counter-balance to Nasser’s revolutionary nationalism.

From North Africa to Yemen, prominent Islamist political groups have also been inspired by the Brotherhood.

In Syria the movement helped foment an armed uprising in 1982 in Hama city that was crushed by a forceful armed campaign.

The militant group Hamas, which won the last Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006, was founded as the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union.

In Jordan, a close U.S. ally, the Brotherhood is part of a political opposition grouping which won seats in 2016 elections.

The Islamist-rooted AK Party of Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan supported Mursi’s short-lived Egyptian government, and many Egyptian Brotherhood supporters have found refuge in Turkey. Qatar also hosts prominent Brotherhood figures.

WHY IS IT BANNED IN SAUDI ARABIA AND THE UAE?
The United Arab Emirates’ outspoken opposition to the Brotherhood since 2011 has been a big cause of the UAE rift with Qatar - seen in the Gulf as a supporter of the group.

Like Saudi Arabia, the UAE’s conservative Sunni ruling family views the Brotherhood as an ideological competitor and sees its promotion of political activism, including support for elections, as a direct threat to its dynastic system of rule.

Saudi Arabia formally designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization in 2014 and banned it in the kingdom.

In the 1950s, Saudi Arabia gave shelter to thousands of Brotherhood activists facing jail and repression in Egypt, Syria and elsewhere. The Brotherhood soon gained influence in the kingdom, contributing to the politicization of Saudi Islam.

The break in ties happened after Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait and Saudi involvement in a 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. The group openly criticized the U.S. military presence in the kingdom and its affiliates sought radical political reforms.

The authorities crushed the campaign but blamed the movement for sowing dissent, and in 2002 the interior minister said the Brotherhood was the “source of all evils in the kingdom.”

WHY IS TRUMP ACTING NOW?
Some other countries have already declared the Brotherhood terrorists. Syria made Brotherhood membership a capital offence in 1980 and Russia banned the Brotherhood in 2003.

More recently Egypt banned the group after Mursi’s overthrow. Soon afterwards Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates declared it a terrorist organization.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi asked Trump to designate the group when he visited the White House three weeks ago, a U.S. official said. That would bring Trump into step with close Arab allies who he sees as central to countering Iran.

Egypt’s ally in Libya, eastern commander Khalifa Haftar, in 2014 branded the Brotherhood an “international spy network”.

WHAT HAVE OTHERS SAID?
A 2015 British government review said the group was not “linked to terrorist related activity in and against the UK”. In the Middle East, it saw a “complex and situational relationship, in a region where political violence was and is common.”

It said the group historically had “engaged politically where possible. But they have also selectively used violence and sometimes terror in pursuit of their institutional goals”.

Stalemate persists in Tripoli after overnight fighting, more civilians flee
Fighting raged in the battle for the Libyan capital Tripoli on Friday, with neither faction able to secure gains as an offensive by eastern commander Khalifa Haftar entered its fifth week, killing almost 400 people and displacing 50,000.

Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA), which is allied to a parallel administration based in Benghazi, has in the past week brought up more troops and heavy guns to the frontline.

But it has been unable to breach the defenses in the city’s southern suburbs of forces loyal to the internationally recognized government in Tripoli.

Libya has been in a state of chaos since Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in 2011 after 40 years in power by insurgents backed by NATO air power.

The battle for Tripoli has all but wrecked U.N.-backed efforts for a peace deal between the rival factions, and has disrupted the oil industry of a country that is one of Africa’s largest producers.

 

[Voyageur]

There is a interesting video that these two Moriarty's have up whereby they discuss what they see in in the countryside, cities, history and artifacts; nice departure from the usual problems in Libya. There is a little back and forth on the geopolitical issues (mentions Trump re Yemen, or more so that son-inlaw of his.

One place discussed is an old court - said to be the 'court' of Medusa, apparently, and also said to be as big as a football field. Depicted is one of these Medusa heads (they said there were at least 30 others). Had a brief look around for further information on what that all means and it remains open.

Anyway, thought to put it here for a different take on the country.

Libya's Legacy - Moriartys Share Their Travels in Beautiful Libya

Submitted by JoanneM on Wed, 05/01/2019 - 7:03pm


In a change from their normal intelligence format, Moriarty's share their photos, knowledge and experiences in the beautiful, ancient land of Libya.

This should like the video:

http://libyanwarthetruth.com/sites/default/files/libyas_legacy_with_jimmy_and_joanne_moriarty_360p.mp4

 

[angelburst29]

Fighting in southern Tripoli kills 187, more than 1,000 wounded: spokesman

Recent fighting in southern Tripoli in Libya has killed 187 people and wounded 1,157, a spokesman for the ministry of health said on Saturday.

Story on 710 Libya govt fighters killed is incorrect and is withdrawn
The story on 710 Libya govt fighters killed is incorrect and is withdrawn. The figure refers to those killed in fighting in 2014 between rival factions in the country and not to the number of people killed in the current conflict in Tripoli. A corrected story will follow.

Nine soldiers killed in south Libya attack on Haftar camp: hospital
Nine soldiers were killed on Saturday in an attack claimed by Islamic State on a training camp belonging to the eastern Libyan forces of Khalifa Haftar, hospital authorities said.

 

[Tuatha de Danaan]

Really humbling and educational. I love the copper pots.

 

[Ca.]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1124769628113313793

https://twitter.com/x/status/1122547067786792960

https://twitter.com/x/status/1124439697219047427

- Yemen/Libya map :

 

[angelburst29]

Libya’s Haftar urges troops to ‘wipe out’ military opposition

May 6, 2019 - Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar, who launched an offensive against Tripoli last month, urged his troops to inflict “an even harder” lesson on forces loyal to the country’s internationally recognized government.

“Officers and soldiers of our armed forces and affiliates, I greet you during these glorious days and call on you to inflict on the enemy, with your force and determination, an even harder and bigger lesson than before,” he wrote in a message to his troops.

“We know you can do it... (and) uproot it (the opposing forces) from our beloved country,” Haftar’s message added, read out by the self-styled Libyan National Army’s spokesman General Ahmad Al-Mesmari late on Sunday.

Haftar’s LNA began its offensive against the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) on April 4.

Forces loyal to the GNA have since launched a counter-offensive, leading to a stalemate on the ground on the southern outskirts of the capital.

Haftar’s message also urged his men that “in the event of retreat by the enemy, troops should pursue it with speed and force, prevent it from fleeing and wipe it out.” “Air forces should follow up” the action of troops on the ground, he added.
“Respect the lives of citizens and their goods. Carry out the orders of this letter and those of your superiors,” the message went on.

The strongman’s message came just a few hours after the UN mission in Libya (UNSMIL) called for “an extendable one-week humanitarian truce starting at four in the morning” on Monday, to mark the beginning of Ramadan.

Daesh attack on Haftar camp in south Libya kills 9 soldiers May 5, 2019
Daesh attack on Haftar camp in south Libya kills 9 soldiers

The attack took place in the Southern city of Sebha. (File/AFP)

Nine soldiers were killed on Saturday in an attack claimed by Islamic State on a training camp belonging to the eastern Libyan forces of Khalifa Haftar, hospital authorities said.

The attack took place in the city of Sebha, located in part of the oil-producing south that is targeted by armed groups looking to exploit a security void.

Haftar has concentrated his forces in the northwest, where they have been embroiled for the past month in a battle for the capital Tripoli with fighters allied to the divided country’s internationally recognized government.

Clashes raged in Tripoli’s southern outskirts throughout the night with the rival forces firing at each other with artillery guns, residents said. No more details were immediately available.

Daesh claimed the Sebha attack. Its fighters had killed or wounded 16 and freed inmates from a prison, the jihadist group said in a statement posted online.

A military source said a jail inside the attacked Jabril Baba camp had been stormed but gave no details. Sebha hospital put the number of dead at nine, a statement on its website said.

Hamed Al-Khaiyali, head of the local municipality, earlier told Reuters one soldier had been beheaded and 7 others "slaughtered" or shot. Pictures posted online showed bodies fully covered by blankets.

A source in Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) blamed Daesh and Chadian fighters for the attack, the latter a term used by the LNA for tribesmen opposing Haftar.

 

[Ca.]

Disfo, courtesy's of the BBC.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1124969367865896960

Libyan National Army Shot Down Mirage F.1 Of GNA Air Force, Captured Pilot (Photos)

On May 7, the Libyan National Army (LNA) shot down a Mirage F.1 fighter jet of forces loyal to the Government...

southfront.org

https://twitter.com/x/status/1125718263860740096

https://twitter.com/x/status/1125731246074732545

https://twitter.com/x/status/1125404146528661505

https://twitter.com/x/status/1125328753327050752

USAF Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk FORTE10 returning to Sigonella from #Libya

https://twitter.com/GDarkconrad/status/1125524723004211200

Manu Gómez‏ hr.15 hours ago

Libyan National Army LNA HD Footage Heavy Clashes with GNA Force Tripoli
Published on May 6, 2019

 

[Ca.]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1129415912354963456

Flashback Published on Dec 1, 2016

https://twitter.com/x/status/1129774310808313857

https://twitter.com/x/status/1129815072589660160

Video

https://twitter.com/x/status/1129793771829321728

https://twitter.com/x/status/1129136789367730177

ISIS Fighters Attack LNA Forces Near Oil-Rich Town Of Zillah

ISIS fighters attacked a checkpoint of the Libyan National Army (LNA) near the entrance of the oil-rich town of Zillah...

southfront.org

Side Note:
El Al Israel Airlines to launch nonstop flight to Las Vegas – Israel Hayom
El Al Israel Airlines to launch nonstop flight to Las Vegas Israel Hayom
Israel's national carrier will operate a flight between Ben-Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv and McCarran International Airport starting on June 14 2019

 

[angelburst29]

Forces loyal to Libya's U.N.-backed government receive military hardware
A coalition of forces allied with Libya's U.N.-backed government of national accord (GNA) said it had received a shipment of armored vehicles and arms on Saturday as it tries to stop Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) from taking the capital, Tripoli.

“The GNA is fostering its forces defending Tripoli with armored vehicles, ammunition and quality weapons,” the pro-GNA coalition said on one of its Facebook page, without giving further details about the origin of the military equipment.

Pictures and videos posted by the coalition on its Facebook pages showed what appeared to be dozens of Turkish-made BMC Kirpi armored vehicles in Tripoli port.

Earlier this month, a Tripoli government spokesman said his administration was talking to its ally Turkey to obtain “anything that is needed to stop the assault,” including military and civilian help.


Libyan gunmen halt water pipeline to besieged Tripoli

Gunmen have cut off the main water pipeline to Libya’s besieged capital, Tripoli, spelling more misery for residents already reeling from weeks of fighting.

The United Nations said the water blockage was a possible war crime as Libya’s internationally recognized government accused forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar, which have been trying to capture Tripoli, of being behind the blockage.

The group on Sunday raided a station of the Great Man-Made River Project, a pipe network supplying ground water from the Sahara, the company said. The gunmen forced employees to turn off the pipes at the installation 400 km (250 miles) south of Tripoli.

The eastern forces of Haftar’s Libya National Army (LNA) launched an assault on Tripoli in early April and are bogged down in southern suburbs by fighters loyal to the U.N.-backed government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj.

In past attacks on the pipeline, which was one of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s few development projects, it has taken up to two days for households to notice water shortages in the coastal city of 2.5 million people.

The Tripoli government blamed a group that also cut the water supplies in 2017, saying its commander, Khalifa Ehnaish, belonged to Haftar’s forces.

The LNA denied that. Ehnaish could not be reached. “Considering this was a closure of the valves in an LNA-controlled area, the complicity of Ehnaish with the LNA in orchestrating this cannot be discounted,” said Emad Badi, a non-resident scholar with the Middle East Institute.


Water supplies restored to besieged Libyan capital
Water supplies to the 2.5 million residents of Tripoli were restored two days after they were cut off by gunmen, officials said on Tuesday, allowing the besieged capital to escape shortages that could have caused a humanitarian crisis.

 

[angelburst29]

May 24, 2019 - While the offensive of the Libyan National Army (LNA) under the command of Field Marshal Halifa Haftar in Tripoli against the armed groups controlled by the Government of National Unity (PNU) is well underway, more and more international and regional players intervene in the Libyan crisis. Initially, the intervention would seem to be aimed at exerting political pressure on the warring parties to stop the hostilities and then grew into open military support, which only aggravates the process of resolving the long-term conflict.

Turkish Weapons to Libya’s Government of National Unity (PNU): Key Obstruction for Haftar’s Offensive on Tripoli
Thus, on Friday, May 18, the cargo ship Amazon delivered several dozen Turkish-made Kirpi II and Vuran armored personnel carriers to the seaport of Tripoli. It is noteworthy that this occurred two weeks after the Turkish President Erdogan announced his intention to make maximum efforts to “break the plot against the Libyan people” and “comprehensive support of the legitimate government in Tripoli”.

According to the tracking information, the ship under the flag of Moldova left the city of Samsun in the north of Turkey and before the departure to Libya stopped at Izmir, where the Kirpi factory is located. Apart from the armed vehicles, various small arms, including Bulgarian machine guns MG-M1 along with a large batch of ammunition were on board, the locals report. Moreover, Turkey could supply several Stinger MANPADS, anti-tank missiles and heavy weapons to PNU units connected to Muslim Brothers.

The reports on the shipment of anti-aircraft complexes to the PNU units can be confirmed by the latest statements of M. Ganun, a representative of “Volcano of Rage” operation. It was initiated to repeal Haftar’s attacks and air raids.

It worth noting that lethal weapons supplies to Libya have been completely banned since 2011 based on UN Security Council resolutions, imposing an arms embargo even on the ‘official’ government in Tripoli. Though Ankara has not yet commented on these reports underpinned by photos and videos, it indicates that Turkey has provided military support to the Libyan armed groups in violation of UN restrictions.

So far, the majority of foreign players involved in the Libyan conflict, including Haftar’s allies, preferred not to go beyond “legal support”. The actions of Turkey could provoke them to provide more support to the LNA. The development of the Libyan crisis in this scenario threatens to transform the local confrontation to a real mediated war.

Also, the overt intervention of Turkey can cast a shadow on the primary recipient of military aid – the PNU. I hardly think Sarajj, who still retains presidential ambitions, is interested in international criticism and accusation because of violations of fundamental UN resolutions on Libya.

 

[Voyageur]

The United Nations said the water blockage was a possible war crime as Libya’s internationally recognized government accused forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar, which have been trying to capture Tripoli, of being behind the blockage.

Yeah, a wee bit of priming there by the good o'l UN. So, about the water tap story (among other issues), fwiw JoanneM had this to say this week:

BREAKING Turkey Smuggles Weapons to Terrorists in Libya via Tunisia Using Netherland Ship and Red Cross Containers

05/22/2019 - 9:11pm

TOP URGENT
Turkey continues to smuggle weapons and money to terrorist mercenaries in Libya via Tunisia. This is a continuing problem, causing death and destruction in Libya. Turkey loads the ship in Turkey and sometimes they fly weapons out of Ankara. These ships are camouflaged as ships from other countries. They have previously used Iran and are currently using one marked from the Netherlands. On the ship, they have disguised the weapons in containers marked "Red Cross". They use the Tunisian port of Zarzis, near the Libyan border.

This is an exact repeat of the dirty game that was played by NATO et.al. in 2011.

Second breaking story: THERE WAS NO WATER SHUT OFF TO TRIPOLI (see UN report below).

This comes directly from the people on the ground in Libya. The story is propaganda being put out by the terrorist militias. They are losing their criminal hold on Libya and are playing dirty games as usual. Expect more of their lies in the days to come as they get more and more desperate.
The UN and the world community have demanded that all outside interference into Libya be stopped. Obviously, Qatar and Turkey never got the memo! In reality, they do not care about killing and destroying innocent lives.

Pay no attention to the lies being reported about civil wars in Libya. All Libyan tribes are backing the Libyan National Army, they are not fighting each other, they are fighting terrorism. The terrorist militias are crying about civilians being hurt, this after 8 years of the them HURTING civilians. The only protection the innocents can hope for is from the Libyan National Army. This is a fight for the sovereignty of their country, a fight to cleanse their country of the terrorist virus left behind by NATO and the New World Order Khazarian mafia Zionists.

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[angelburst29]

Yeah, a wee bit of priming there by the good o'l UN. So, about the water tap story (among other issues), fwiw JoanneM had this to say this week:

BREAKING Turkey Smuggles Weapons to Terrorists in Libya via Tunisia Using Netherland Ship and Red Cross Containers 05/22/2019 - 9:11pm

Turkey does seem to be operating a nice side-business in supplying terrorist with weapons ...
Turkey sends weapons to Syrian rebels facing Russian-backed assault: Syrian sources

Libya's Haftar rules out Tripoli ceasefire, dismisses U.N.-led talks: newspaper

Libyan eastern commander Khalifa Haftar has ruled out a ceasefire in the battle for Tripoli and accused the United Nations of seeking to partition Libya, according to an interview published by French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche.