Western war on Libya

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Re: Libya

The Libyan armed forces commander has arrived in Moscow on a visit, an official source told Sputnik on Monday.

Libyan Army Chief Arrives in Moscow
http://sputniknews.com/world/20160627/1042004662/libya-military-army-moscow.html

Gen. Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the armed forces loyal to Libya's Tobruk-based government, has arrived in Moscow on a visit, an official source told Sputnik on Monday.

According to the source, Haftar landed in the Russian capital on Sunday. The source did not provide information about the agenda of the visit.

Libya has been in a civil war since 2011, when Arab Spring protests led to a revolution and the overthrow of long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi. Two rival governments operate in Libya, with self-proclaimed authorities controlling the capital of Tripoli and adjacent western areas and an internationally recognized government, based in the eastern Libyan city of Tobruk.

On March 31, the long-anticipated UN-backed Government of National Accord in Libya started to perform its duties. The government has so far failed to restore the country's unity.

In recent months, the Libyan forces led by Haftar have been launching offensives against the Daesh terrorist group, which is outlawed in Russia. According to media reports, Libya's unity government opposes Haftar's operation against IS, fearing that it could escalate tensions in the region.

 

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Re: Libya

Spokesman for Libyan forces said that Daesh jihadist group militants in Libya's port city of Sirte are using civilians as human shields and their houses as bases.

Daesh Terrorists in Libya Use Civilians as Human Shields - Military
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160628/1042056078/daesh-syria-civilians.html

The Daesh jihadist group militants in Libya's port city of Sirte are using civilians as human shields and their houses as bases, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Ghasri, spokesman for Libyan forces loyal to government in Tripoli, said.

"They’ve made civilians into a human shield, keeping them from leaving the city and using their houses as bases," Ghasri was quoted as saying by The Times on Monday.

According to the spokesman, thousands of civilians were trapped in the Sirte areas seized by the Daesh.

"[Daesh militants] are also using residential roofs as sniper positions, preventing us from moving forward," Ghasri added.

 

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Re: Libya

The Libyan authorities accused the crew of the detained oil tanker of diesel fuel smuggling, a representative of the country's law enforcement told Sputnik Thursday.

Libya Accuses Detained Tanker's Crew of Diesel Fuel Smuggling
http://sputniknews.com/africa/20160630/1042255321/libya-tanker-crew.html

The Libyan authorities earlier said they had intercepted Beliz-flagged Temeteron oil tanker loaded with 5,227 metric tons of illicit diesel fuel some 11 miles off Abu Kamash district.

The law enforcement representative added the tanker belongs to a Greek company and the cargo was intended for a Maltese firm.

He announced the launch of the investigations against the crew, allegedly consisting of Russian captain Vladimir Tektashev, a representative of a Greek company and seven Ukrainian citizens.

It has been reported earlier that five Russians, as well as several Ukrainian and Greek nationals were on board of the detained tanker.

Earlier in the day, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the country's diplomats were attempting to promptly clarify the detention of the tanker.

 

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Re: Libya

Libya’s unity government sacks four ministers

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/07/01/473100/Libya-unity-government-ministers

Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) said Friday it had sacked four ministers from the recently-formed cabinet.

The GNA said in a statement on its website that the ministers of justice, economy and industry, finance, and national reconciliation were sacked on Thursday.

The four ministers are reportedly from eastern Libya.

"The dismissed ministers were absent from their work and refused to take up their duties in the Government of National Unity... for over 30 days," the statement said.
The development is considered a blow to the UN attempts for unification of Libya.

Since August 2014, when militants seized the capital, Tripoli, Libya has had two parliaments and two governments, with one, the General National Congress (GNC) run by militants in the capital, and the internationally-recognized administration in the eastern city of Tobruk.

On March 30, Prime Minister-designate Fayez al-Sarraj established the office of his unity government in Tripoli.

Sarraj had named a cabinet of 18 ministers in February with easterners gaining the most important portfolios.

Libya has been grappling with violence and political uncertainty since the oil-rich country’s former dictator Muammar Gaddafi was deposed in 2011. Armed groups and regional factions have been fighting for power ever since.

 

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Re: Libya

Libya troops retake Sirte area after clashes with terrorists

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/07/02/473209/Libya-Sirte-Misrata-Daesh

Forces loyal to the Libyan unity government have wrested control of a district south of the city of Sirte following heavy clashes with Takfiri Daesh terrorists, officials say.

Mohamed Gnaidy, intelligence chief for Misrata forces, told Reuters on Friday that the residential 700 neighborhood was under the control of his troops who are supporting the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA).

“Residential area 700 has been liberated and as of 6 p.m. the Ouagadougou [conference] center and the hospital are surrounded,” Gnaidy said, adding that airstrikes were carried out on the conference hall.

Misrata forces also hit a hideout of Daesh commanders, he noted without elaborating on how many casualties they suffered or how long it would take to dislodge remaining militants from Sirte.

The advance came after fierce clashes involving rockets, mortars and gun battles in the region.

According to local officials, three pro-government forces were killed and more than 30 others sustained injuries during Friday’s fighting to recapture the residential 700 district.

Libyan forces launched a military operation in May to retake Sirte, which fell to Daesh in February 2015. They managed to enter the city on June 9 and since then, they have liberated a number of residential districts.

Libya has been dominated by violence since a NATO military intervention followed the 2011 uprising that led to the toppling and killing of longtime dictator, Muammar Gaddafi.

The oil-rich state has had two rival administrations since mid-2014, when militants overran the capital and forced the parliament to flee to the country’s remote east.

The two governments achieved a consensus on forming a unity government, the GNA, last December after months of UN-brokered talks in Tunisia and Morocco to restore order to the country.

Daesh, which is mainly active in Syria and Iraq, has taken advantage of the political chaos in Libya to increase its presence there.

 

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Re: Libya

Blast Kills 4 People in Libyan City of Benghazi

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160703/1042354590/beghazi-blast-kills.html

An explosion killed four people in the Libyan city of Benghazi, media reported Sunday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A car bomb exploded in the north of the city, Sky News Arabia broadcaster reported.

The media noted that none of the terror groups had claimed responsibility for the attack.

Libya has been in a state of turmoil since 2011, when a civil war broke out in the country and long-standing leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown, and the country was contested by two rival governments — the internationally-recognized Council of Deputies based in Tobruk and the Tripoli-based General National Congress.

The internal conflict and instability prompted the advance of militant groups, particularly the Islamic State (Daesh), which is outlawed in Russia and many other countries.

 

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Re: Libya

The Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) has confirmed that Saif Islam, son of the country's long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi, remains in custody, the GNA statement said Sunday.

Libyan Government of National Accord Confirms Gaddafi's Son Remains in Jail
http://sputniknews.com/africa/20160710/1042737418/gaddafi-jail-son-government.html

On Tuesday, France24 broadcaster, citing Gaddafi son's attorney, reported that he was released from a prison in Libya in line with the amnesty issued by the Tobruk-based Council of Deputies. On Friday, authorities of the Libyan western city of Zintan refuted media reports, claiming that Islam was behind bars.

GNA stressed in a statement that Saif Islam had been considered guilty of perpetrating the crimes against humanity, and these crimes could not be a subject to amnesty. GNA also expressed dissatisfaction with the rumors on Islam's release and called these statements "irresponsible."

In July 2015, a court in the capital Tripoli in absentia found Saif Islam Gaddafi guilty of committing war crimes during the 2011 unrest and sentenced him and a number of then-high-ranking Libyan officials to death by firing squad.

In December 2015, Libya’s two rival governments — the internationally-recognized Council of Deputies in Tobruk and the Islamist-dominated General National Congress in Tripoli — agreed to create a Government of National Accord and end the political struggle.

 

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Re: Libya

Libyan forces discovered a mass grave and secret prison amid the ongoing battle against the ISIL terrorist group in Sirte, sources revealed

Libya Discovers Mass Grave, Secret Prison amid ISIL Fight
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950421001336

Seven bodies were found buried in the grave that was discovered in a farm west of the city, while three prisoners were saved when security forces came across a secret prison in another town after liberating it from the militants, Alaraby reported.

The prisoners, said to be held captive for several months, were found in dire humanitarian conditions, the anonymous source said.

Meanwhile, the battle to cleanse Sirte of ISIL militants has continued to progress with government forces closing in on the group's stronghold.

Last week, fighters allied to the Government of National Accord encircled ISIL in the Ouagadougou conference center, a huge building the group has made as its headquarters.

"Fighting is ongoing around the presidential palaces close to the port and at the Ouagadougou conference center," the spokesman for the anti-ISIL operation, Mohammad al-Ghasry said.

"Ground troops are working in conjunction with snipers, while artillery and the air force are bombarding the conference center and the neighboring district. We have almost taken back the whole of Sirte," he added.

ISIL overran the city, around 450 kilometers East of the capital Tripoli, in June last year.

 

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Re: Libya

Shelling, air strikes in Libya siege on Islamic State in Sirte

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-libya-security-idUSKCN0ZS1BD

Libyan forces allied with the U.N.-backed government have been shelling and carrying out air strikes on the center of Sirte city in a siege of Islamic State militants there, an official said on Tuesday.

Militants defending Islamic State's last stronghold in Libya have been keeping Libyan forces back with sniper fire and mortars in Sirte where they are now surrounded after a two month campaign to take the city.

The fall of Sirte would be a major blow to Islamic State, which took over the city a year ago in the chaos of a civil war between rival factions who once battled Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

"Our forces have...targeted militants with artillery and air force around Ouagadougou complex, Ghiza Asskariya district, and in the city center," said Rida Issa, spokesman for Misrata forces fighting in Sirte.

"They have targeted Islamic State members, vehicles, ammunition stores, and control rooms."

He said one Misrata fighter was killed and 20 others wounded in a mortar strike on their position in the Zaafran frontline, near the roundabout where Islamic State once crucified victims.

The bodies of around 13 Islamic State fighters were found, but Misrata forces were driven back by sniper fire.

Western powers are backing Prime Minister Fayaz Seraj's government that moved into Tripoli three months ago in an attempt to unify two rival governments and various armed factions. Seraj is working with a unified National Oil Corporation to restart the oil industry.

But while powerful brigades from Misrata city support Seraj for now and lead the fight to liberate Sirte, other hardliners to the east are still opposing him and his government has made little progress in extending its influence.

After a rapid success in driving Islamic State back from a coastal strip of territory it controlled, the battle for Sirte has slowed to street-by-street fighting as Misrata forces clear out residential areas.

Misrata commanders say a few hundreds militants are dug in around the Ouagadougou complex, the university and a city hospital. They are cautious of advancing rapidly after more than 200 fighters died in the campaign so far.

While forces from the city of Misrata are fighting Islamic State in Sirte, rival brigades allied to Gen. Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army are fighting to the east on another front in Benghazi and around another eastern town. Haftar's hardline backers reject Seraj's government.

 

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Re: Libya

UN Special Envoy Assesses Humanitarian Situation in Libya as 'Disastrous'

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160713/1042867612/un-libya-humanitarian-situation.html

Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya considers humanitarian situation in Libya to be "disastrous".

CAIRO (Sputnik) — The humanitarian situation in Libya is "disastrous," Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya Martin Kobler told Sputnik.

"Disastrous. The humanitarian situation is really not good. The medical situation, hospitals – 60 percent are not working. We have 435,000 internally displaced persons [IDPs] out of the population of six [billion]," Kobler said in an interview.

He recalled that the humanitarian aid was being given to the Libyan people in need by the international community and the UN agencies, but only 25 percent of the agreed humanitarian response plan was funded.

Kobler noted that control over the humanitarian situation in the country was "the task and obligation of the politicians… [who should] not only think about their personal interests."

Libya has been in a state of turmoil since 2011, when a civil war broke out in the country and long-standing leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown, and the country was contested by two rival governments — the internationally-recognized Council of Deputies based in Tobruk and the Tripoli-based General National Congress.

On March 31, the long-anticipated UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Libya started to perform its duties, with the conflict outcomes yet to be addressed. The government has so far failed to unite the country.

In May, the United States and Italy co-chaired a meeting of foreign ministers in Vienna to discuss supporting Libya’s new government with security and humanitarian assistance. The ministers agreed that the delivery of humanitarian aid through the GNA was the first priority for all parties to the conflict, and called on the UN-backed authority to distribute aid to the entire country as soon as possible.

Creation of United Army Against Daesh Main Task for Libya - UN Envoy

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160713/1042867483/united-army-against-daesh.html

Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya said that Libya's primary task must be the creation of a unified army to fight the Daesh militant group.

CAIRO (Sputnik) – Libya's primary task must be the creation of a unified army to fight the Daesh militant group, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya Martin Kobler told Sputnik.

"The first challenge right now is really to establish a united army for the fight against Daesh [Arabic acronym for IS]. This means what also here has to follow the Libyan political agreement. It says very clearly that the supreme commander of an Army is the Presidency Council – not the HOR [House of Representatives] or anybody else," Kobler said in an interview.

Libya has been in a state of turmoil since 2011, when a civil war broke out in the country and long-standing leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown. The country has been contested by two rival governments — the internationally-recognized Council of Deputies based in Tobruk and the Tripoli-based General National Congress — since mid-2014.

On March 31, the long-anticipated UN-backed Government of National Accord in Libya started to perform its duties, with the conflict outcomes yet to be addressed. The government has so far failed to unite the country.

The internal conflict and instability prompted the advance of militant groups, particularly Daesh, which is outlawed in Russia and many other countries.

In recent months, the Libyan forces led by Gen. Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the armed forces loyal to Libya's Tobruk-based government, have been launching offensives against Daesh. According to media reports, Libya's unity government opposes Haftar's operation against Daesh, fearing that it could escalate tensions in the region.

Russia Plays Important Role in Libyan Settlement - UN Envoy to Libya

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160713/1042868070/russia-libya-government-accord.html

Russia plays crutial role in Libyan political settlement, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya Martin Kobler told Sputnik.

CAIRO (Sputnik) — Moscow plays a highly constructive role in bringing about a political settlement for Libya, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya Martin Kobler told Sputnik.

"I really appreciate the constructive line of the Russian government… Russia is a very important member of the Security Council. The Security Council said Libyan political agreement is the roadmap ahead. You do not need other plans or alternatives, it is all there. And the Russian government is part of this resolution endorsing the Libyan political agreement and they are very helpful to bring the two parts of the country together again," Kobler said in an interview.

Russia has good relations with eastern Libya, he added, stressing that it is important to use the leverage Moscow has to keep eastern Libya's Torbuk-based Council of Deputies and forces under its control loyal to the political settlement with the government of National Accord.

Gen. Khalifa Haftar, who heads the armed forces loyal to the Council of Deputies, visited Russia in late June, where he discussed a number of issues, including weapons deliveries, with Russia's Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

Libya has been in a state of turmoil since 2011, when long-standing leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown after several months of civil war. The country was later contested by two rival governments — the internationally-recognized Council of Deputies and the Tripoli-based General National Congress.

On March 31, the long-anticipated UN-backed Government of National Accord in Libya started to perform its duties, with the conflict outcomes yet to be addressed. The government has so far failed to unite the country. The Daesh terorrist organization outlawed in many countries, including Russia, also maintains significant presence, especially in and round Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte.

 

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Re: Libya

20 Libya troops killed in clashes with Daesh terrorists in Sirtre

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/07/16/475386/Libya-Daesh-Sirte-Ouagadougou

At least 20 members of forces loyal to the Libyan unity government have lost their lives as they engaged in clashes with Takfiri Daesh terrorists in the northern city of Sirte.

The loyalists to the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) said in a statement that 105 of their troops were also injured in Friday’s fighting around the Ouagadougou conference hall complex, which serves as a command headquarters for Daesh militants in Sirte.

Friday’s confrontation was reportedly the fiercest in the coastal city in recent weeks.

Ahmed Hadia, a spokesman for the pro-government soldiers, said the latest skirmishes around Sirte’s conference center had been underway for two days, adding, “Our forces entered the complex and are fighting (but) they still cannot take the complex.”

Friday’s casualties “were a result of targeting by snipers and of mines” by the extremists, Haida said, noting that the militants had further tried unsuccessfully to counter attack with three car bombs.

Meanwhile, Daesh said on Twitter that two of its elements, a Libyan and an Egyptian, carried out bombings in southern Sirte targeting government forces.

Libyan forces launched a military operation in May to retake Sirte, which fell to Daesh in last year. They managed to enter the city on June 9 and, since then, they have liberated a number of residential districts.

The two-month battle for Sirte has left around 250 pro-government forces dead over 1,400 others wounded, according to medical sources at the unity forces’ command center.

Sirte’s recapture would be a major blow to Daesh, which has faced a series of setbacks in Syria and Iraq.

Libya has been dominated by violence since a NATO military intervention followed the 2011 uprising that led to the toppling and killing of longtime dictator, Muammar Gaddafi.

The oil-rich African state has had two rival administrations since mid-2014, when militants overran the capital and forced the parliament to flee to the country’s remote east.

The two governments achieved a consensus on forming a unity government, the GNA, last December after months of UN-brokered talks in Tunisia and Morocco to restore order to the country.

Daesh has taken advantage of the political chaos in Libya to increase its presence there.

 

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Re: Libya

ISIS in Libya ‘could relocate’ from Sirte

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2016/07/19/ISIS-in-Libya-could-relocate-from-Sirte-UN-warns-.html

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that ISIS fighters could set up new cells across Libya and north Africa as they are driven from their stronghold of Sirte.

Ban on Monday outlined the threat from foreign terrorist fighters (FTF) in Libya in a confidential report to the Security Council, obtained by Agence France-Presse.

"The recent pressure against ISIL (ISIS) in Libya could lead its members, including FTFs, to relocate and regroup in smaller and geographically dispersed cells throughout Libya and in neighboring countries," Ban said in the report.

The defeat of ISIS fighters in Sirte "appears to be a distinct possibility", leading many to flee south as well as west, to Tunisia.

"The future impact of scattered ISIL combatants on southern local armed groups may become an issue of concern," he said.

Libyan forces allied with the UN-backed government in Tripoli have been battling to take Sirte from ISIS fighters for the past two months.

The coastal city is considered one of ISIS's most important rear bases outside of Syria and Iraq.

There are between 2,000 and 5,000 ISIS fighters from Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Mali, Morocco and Mauritania deployed in Sirte, Tripoli and Derna, according to the report.

Dozens of foreign fighters from Tunisia have returned home from Libya "with the intent to conduct attacks," it added.

The ties extend further afield, with funds from Libya sent to Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, a jihadist group that operates in Egypt's Sinai peninsula, the report said.

Ban said Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which is active in Mali and across the Sahel region, continues to use Libya as a sanctuary and a base to buy arms and ammunition.

Mokhtar Belmokhtar, leader of the Al-Mourabitoun group active in the Sahel, is able to travel throughout Libya with relative ease while the head of Ansar Dine in northern Mali, Iyad Ag Ghaly, maintains a foothold in southern Libya, the report said.

 

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Re: Libya

France confirms troop presence in Libya after 3 soldiers killed on intel mission

https://www.rt.com/news/352254-france-libya-troops-killed/

Authorities have confirmed that French troops are fighting Islamist militia alongside government forces in Libya. The announcement comes after three French soldiers were killed during an intelligence-gathering mission in the North African country.

“At this moment we are carrying out dangerous intelligence operations [in Libya]. Three of our soldiers, who were involved in these operations, have been killed in a helicopter accident,” French President Francois Hollande said in a speech, as reported by Reuters.

France had previously acknowledged its warplanes were executing reconnaissance flights over Libya, but never admitted to deploying Special Forces personnel.

It is understood, that French military advisers and Special Forces have been helping Libyan troops fight Islamist militia in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi starting this spring, in cooperation with the UK and the United States. They have also been training Libyan soldiers.

The French defense minister on Wednesday deplored the deaths of the French troops, praising the “bravery and devotion of French military personnel who each day are carrying out dangerous missions against terrorists” in an official statement.

The news was first broken by AP news agency, which claimed that two French soldiers had died. Citing officials in Libya, the agency reported that Islamist militia downed a helicopter outside Benghazi, killing the Special Forces soldiers who were on board.

The aircraft belonged to Dignity Operation forces operating under Libyan General Khalifa Haftar, the head of armed forces based in Libya's east.

The officials, reportedly an air force officer who knew the helicopters' passengers and an employee of the Western missions in Libya, spoke on condition of anonymity. They claimed there were no survivors in the attack.

Islamists from the ‘Defending Benghazi Brigade’ militia, in opposition to Haftar, claimed the attack, specifying they had used an SA-7 shoulder-fired missile and heavy machine guns to bring down the aircraft. The downing came as clashes intensified between Haftar’s forces and Islamists, who advanced greatly in western Benghazi within the past few days, Libyan Express reports.

Libya turned into a battleground of competing groups which sought power after former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in 2011. At that time, France took a leading role in the NATO-led airstrikes against Libya, aimed at helping rebels oust Gaddafi. The power and security void that followed brought along the resurgence of militias and terror groups, like Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and Al-Qaeda affiliates.

In December 2015, a UN-brokered Government of National Accord and a presidency council were created in an attempt to return stability and peace to Libya amid the unending civil war. Led by Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj, it is considered the only legitimate power by the UN Security Council. Still there are a number of rival factions that oppose Sarraj’s government, each backed by different militias and tribes. These factions have been holding meetings in neighboring Tunisia over the weekend to seek ways to overcome the divide.

 

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Re: Libya

By confirming the death of its three servicemen in Libya, France has admitted the presence of its special forces on the ground in the country; earlier the Pentagon also confirmed its presence on the ground in Syria. Chris Nineham from the Stop the War Coalition says that the majority of such operations are carried out without any UN authorization.

Crash Sheds Light on Secret French, US, UK Military Meddling in Middle East
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160722/1043445055/nato-secret-wars.html

On Wednesday French government spokesman Stephane Le Foll confirmed the deaths of three French soldiers who were on an intelligence-gathering mission in Libya and died in a helicopter crash near Benghazi, thus admitting the presence of its special forces on the ground in the North African country.

"The special forces are there, of course, to help ensure that France is present everywhere in the fight against terrorists," Le Foll explained in an interview with the radio station France Info.

Reports suggest that following the Daesh takeover of Libya’s coastal city of Sirte in late 2015, the United Kingdom and Italy have also sent special forces to Libya.

The Government of National Accord (GNA), Libya's internationally-recognized ruling coalition, condemned the French intervention in a statement released on Wednesday evening, demanding an explanation from Paris and saying that it would not compromise on Libyan sovereignty.

The statement posted on the government’s Facebook page said that “nothing justifies an intervention without our knowledge and without it being coordinated with us.”

"The Presidential Council expresses its deep discontent at the French presence in eastern Libya without coordination with the Council, which was declared by the government of France," it stated.

The Benghazi Defense Brigades, the militant group that claimed responsibility for the downing of the helicopter, said 13 of its fighters were killed in what it described as French retaliatory airstrikes in western Benghazi. France denied that its warplanes over Libya were used for any missions but reconnaissance.

US and French special forces are reportedly operating in the country, but the reports have not been officially confirmed until now.

The Middle East Eye (MEE), an online news portal which covers the events in the Middle East, has obtained air traffic control recordings which suggest that British, French, Italian and US forces have been coordinating air strikes in support of Libyan General Khalifa Haftar, head of the armed forces based in Libya's east.

The commander, however, doesn't officially serve the UN-recognized government and is in no position to seek military aid from foreign powers.

The leaked tapes appear to confirm earlier reports suggesting the existence of an international operations center that is helping General Khalifa Haftar in his campaign to gain control of eastern Libya from groups he has declared to be “extremists.”

Earlier in May, the Pentagon confirmed that one service member, probably a special operations soldier, was hit by “indirect fire” such as a rocket or mortar strike while operating north of the Syrian city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of Daesh's self-proclaimed Islamic State.

Another soldier was also hit by indirect fire outside Irbil, a city in the Iraqi region of Kurdistan.

The announcement came as the first official recognition of a US service member being wounded in Syria. However, according to publicly available data from the Pentagon, there have been 14 service members wounded in Iraq and Syria since the start of the US-led mission there in 2014.

The problem with such clandestine interventions is that they often disregard the law and have no public oversight, Stop the War Coalition’s Chris Nineham told RT.

They are not backed by the UN, these interventions. They are not checked anywhere. They are just unilateral acts of military aggression,” he added.

Chris Nineham earlier also commented on the UK’s participation in the US-led coalition airstrikes in Syria when it was revealed after a freedom of information request by the campaign group Reprieve that around 20 British military personnel have been embedded within coalition forces in the country.

The coalition then claimed that Syria has consequently "turned out to be David Cameron’s secret war."

Chris Nineham reiterated these concerns, and condemned “the historical instinct to dominate the Middle East which Cameron, Michael Fallon and others plainly demonstrate,” according to a statement on the Coalition’s website.

Meanwhile Pentagon keeps reiterating that its service members were not “engaged in active combat” and were behind the lines operating in advisory roles when they came under fire.

 

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Re: Libya

Libyan rescue workers have in recent days recovered 87 dead bodies of drowned refugees that washed up on a western beach, media reports say.

Bodies of 87 refugees recovered off Libya coast: Media official
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/07/26/476960/Libya-coast-refugees

The bodies started washing up on the beach of Libya’s Sabratha city on Friday, AFP quoted a local media official as saying.

The official further said that 41 corpses were retrieved on Saturday alone and sent to a morgue for DNA testing before being buried.

The rest of the drowned refugees were found over the weekend.

Large numbers of refugees from the Middle East and North Africa have died over the past months while trying to reach Europe via the sea in search of a better life.

The coasts of Libya have turned to a jumping-off point for people seeking to reach Europe. The unsafe rubber boats which carry hundreds of refugees often capsize off Libya, especially its western coast.

Human traffickers have taken advantage of the chaos gripping Libya since the 2011 to boost their lucrative business.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 10,000 Europe-bound refugees, mostly sub-Saharan Africans, have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean since 2014.

Europe is facing an unprecedented influx of refugees, most of whom are fleeing conflict-ridden zones in Africa and the Middle East, particularly Syria.

Many blame support by some Western countries for militants operating in the Middle East as the main reason behind the departure of refugees from their home countries.

Saudi interior ministry in a statement announced that nearly half a dozen of the kingdom's soldiers and senior officers were killed in clashes with the Yemeni army and popular forces near the border with Yemen.

Interior Ministry: 5 Saudi Soldiers, 2 Officers Killed in Clashes with Yemeni Forces
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950505001000

Five Saudi soldiers have been killed in battle with the Yemeni forces in Najran province as two senior Saudi officers were also killed in tough battle in Jizan province," the Saudi interior ministry's statement said on Tuesday.

It said that the Saudi soldiers were killed in Khabash region of Najran province while the officers were killed in clashes with the Yemeni forces in Jizan's al-Rabou'a region.

The Yemeni forces' ballistic missile attack killed and wounded tens of Saudi forces in Najran province in the Southern parts of the kingdom.

Over 200 Saudi Troops Killed, Wounded in Yemen Missile Attack in Najran Province
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950505001040

"At least 200 Saudi troops have been killed or wounded after Yemen's Zalzal 3 ballistic missile hit their military positions in Najran province," Senior Ansarullah Commander Abdollah al-Zeidi told FNA on Tuesday.

He, meantime, said that the Yemeni army and popular forces have made considerable advances in Ta'iz and al-Jawf provinces as they thwarted the Takfiri terrorists' attacks on Ma'rib.

Another Ansarullah Commander Hossein al-Houthi disclosed that the Yemeni forces have recaptured strategic heights overlooking Lahij province, inflicting heavy losses on them.

In a relevant development on Tuesday, Saudi interior ministry in a statement announced that nearly half a dozen of the kingdom's soldiers and senior officers were killed in clashes with the Yemeni army and popular forces near the border with Yemen.

"Five Saudi soldiers have been killed in battle with the Yemeni forces in Najran province as two senior Saudi officers were also killed in tough battle in Jizan province," the Saudi interior ministry's statement said.

It said that the Saudi soldiers were killed in Khabash region of Najran province while the officers were killed in clashes with the Yemeni forces in Jizan's al-Rabou'a region.

The Yemeni army and popular forces continued to inflict heavy losses on the Saudi army by destroying their military equipment and hardware and shot down another Apache military helicopter in the province of Ma’rib, killing its two pilots.

Yemeni Forces Down Another Saudi Military Chopper
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The Apache chopper was conducting an operation over a district in the oil-rich Yemeni province, located 250 kilometers East of the capital, Sana’a, late on Monday when it was targeted by the Yemeni forces, al-Masirah television network reported.

The Saudi forces involved in operations against Yemen claimed in a statement that the helicopter had crashed due to bad weather.