Libyan prime minister meets Hollande, debates border control and security - France - Libya. About 15 foreign affairs ministers and representatives of international organisations met at the request of the Libyan government in the French capital Tuesday. “It’s now two years since the Libyan revolution,” declared French Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius. “We can say that considerable progress has been made. But a certain number of security problems remain.” With violence still erupting in Libya from time to time, Tuesday’s meeting discussed how to disarm militias and integrate them into the armed forces, measures which some former anti-Kadhafi fighters are still resisting.
And, with arms and former members of Kadhafi’s armed forces fuelling the Malian conflict, France and other countries want tighter control of Libya’s 4,000 kilometres of border. Islamists who attacked the In Amenas gas field in Algeria last month entered the country from Libya, in Libyan military vehicles, according to some reports. Sarkozy returns to politics with call to Syrian opposition chief - France - Syria. Sarkozy held a 40-minute telephone conversation with Syrian National Council chief, Abdel Basset Sayda, a joint communiqué revealed on Tuesday. The two expressed "complete agreement" on the serious nature of the Syrian crisis and the need for "speedy action by the international community", it said.
They also agreed that there was "great similarity" to events in Libya that led to the downfall of Moamer Kadhafi, an outcome that Sarkozy regarded as a triumph for his intervention in the conflict there. Previous French presidents have usually refrained from involvement in foreign policy when their terms in office were over. Sarkozy's communiqué is unlikely to please the present Socialist-led government, which is taking its own inititatives, although its policy in the Middle East is not markedly different to Sarkozy's. Sarkozy declared that he was retiring from public life after his election defeat. Dust Blowing Off Northwestern Coast of Libya. Libya - April 15th, 2012 Dust from the Sahara Desert can be seen blowing in a northeasterly direction over the Libyan district of Misrata and off Libya’s northwestern coast, over the Gulf of Sidra. The dust does not quite reach the island of Malta, visible at the top edge.
Libya will not be governed by extremists, says new PM. “We’ve had some vacuum in the past few months,” he says. “The previous cabinet or executive office, they had lots of issues, challenges to deal with. I think we understand the situation better now. Once we have the government in place we will definitely do the best we can,” he says. Keib points out that the concerns in the Western media regarding implementation of sharia law amount to scaremongering. “We will not have the extremism that our friends and colleagues in the West are worried about,” he says. “We’re Muslims. The interim prime minister has spent time abroad in the United States and United Arab Emirates, including teaching electrical engineering at both North Carolina State University and the University of Alabama.
Keib was selected as the head of the new interim government late on Monday with 26 votes out of 51. “They have lots of credentials. Keib does not think his lack of political experience will hamper him from creating a stable, functioning government. Kadhafi buried in secret as blast in Sirte claims 100 lives. Military denies capture of Kadhafi's son, Mutassim. A top adviser to the new Libyan leadership, Abdelkarim Bizama, had said in the capital, Tripoli late on Wednesday that the feared Mutassim, who served as Kadhafi's national security chief, was in custody. "It is not true that Mutassim was captured," said Wesam Bin Hamid, brigade commander of the Martyrs of Free Libya Brigade, one of the new regime's main units inside the town.
"But some prisoners we have captured are saying that Kadhafi (himself) is in Sirte," he added. New regime fighters said they had also captured the Kadhafi regime's top cleric on Wednesday as he attempted to flee Sirte with his beard shaven off to disguise his appearance. Khaled Tantoosh, who served as the mufti of Libya under Kadhafi, made broadcasts in support of the fugitive strongman through the long uprising that ended his 42-year rule.
Meanwhile, loyalists of Moamer Kadhafi were keeping up their dogged resistance in two parts of Sirte on Thursday. Libya's NTC forces close in on Sirte. The Ouagadougou conference centre has become a major objective of fighters since they launched an offensive on the city on September 15. On Sunday, National Transitional Council military chief Mohammed al-Fayed told an AFP news agency correspondent, “We are ready to take the centre” of Sirte within “a matter of hours.” NTC fighters tore down portraits of Kadhafi in the conference centre, as well as the green flags that represent his 42-year regime. At the city’s hospital, the upper floors were blasted as the NTC took full control. Patients were being kept in ground floor corridors, some of them with life-threatening injuries. According to hospital staff, resources were extremely limited to treat patients. Thousands of civilians are still trapped in Sirte.
Battle continues for control of Sirte. Particularly fierce fighting took place around and inside the university, and the city centre. Hundreds of fighters entered the city after heavy artillery over the course of the morning. As they advanced into the city, NTC fighters came under mortar, machinegun and sniper fire, but managed to secure control of a 700-home complex west of the centre. Nato warplanes flew overhead, but no air strikes were reported.
The Misrata Military Council said that at least 12 fighters were killed and 193 wounded, amid heavy fighting on Friday. Defence Minister Jalal al-Digheily said on Friday that he was confident that the end of the conflict was near. “We are very close to the end of the war and peace will be restored all over Libya,” al-Digheily told reporters in Tripoli. Coastline of North Africa from Djerba, Tunisia, to Tripoli, Libya. Libya - October 3rd, 2011 This orthorectified image shows part of the coastline of Libya, from the border with Tunisia near Djerba (upper left corner) to beyond Tripoli. At 1,770 kilometres (1,100 mi), Libya’s coastline is the longest of any African country bordering the Mediterranean. The climate is mostly dry and desertlike in nature, with most of the country covered by the Libyan Desert. However, the northern regions enjoy a milder Mediterranean climate.
African Union meets on Libya in Pretoria. During the six months of fighting in Libya, Jacob Zuma made two visits to Tripoli in a vain attempt to broker an African peace plan. Moamer Kadhafi enthusiastically accepted what was called the roadmap. But the rebel National Transitional Council rejected it because it did not demand Kadhafi’s departure. As recently as last week, South Africa’s cabinet was calling for an inclusive settlement in Libya. It is withholding diplomatic recognition of the rebel-led government in Tripoli until an attempt is made to achieve this. South Africa has attracted African criticism for supporting the United Nations security council resolution for a no-fly zone over Libya. But Pretoria’s criticism of Nato’s aerial bombardment of Kadhafi’s military installations has put it at odds with Western powers.
Zuma says a great of bloodshed could have been saved if the AU had been given the space and opportunity to find an African solution to an African problem. Sarkozy, Cameron given heroes' welcome in Tripoli. Crowds of people thronged to shake the two leaders hands, chanting "Thank you, thank you," as they toured three of the hospital wards. When asked if he was pleased by the reception, the French president told reporters: "It's not about being pleased.
It's extremely moving to see young Arabs turn towards these two great Western countries to say 'Thank you'. " Britain's David Cameron pledged his country's help in hunting Moamer Kadhafi, while Sarkozy said there was a "job to finish" in eliminating the remaining strongholds of his forces.
The two men are the first world leaders to visit post-Kadhafi Libya, and both hope to benefit from the gamble they took in pledging early support for the rebels who overthrew Kadhafi and are now in power in the Libyan capital. France was the first country to recognise the National Transitional Council and the first to back the idea of a Nato military intervention. Where is Kadhafi? world asks as NTC claims he is surrounded. Kadhafi has been spotted in Libya and his capture is only a matter of time, NTC official Anis Sharif said Wednesday. The former leader is inside a 60-kilometre area surrounded by NTC forces and cannot get out, he said.
The owner of a Syrian-based TV channel, who is in touch with Kadhafi, also claimed that he is in Libya. He and his son Seif al-Islam are “in Libya, in very good spirits, feel[ing] strong […] and would be happy to die fighting against the occupiers" Mishan al-Juburi, a former Iraqi MP who is now the owner of Arrai Oruba television. But the NTC has sent a delegation to Niger’s capital, Niger, to tell the country not to allow Kadhafi or his troops to enter its territory, after a convoy, reportedly carrying gold and cash, crossed the Sahara on Tuesday. Niger has denied reports that Kadhafi was on board one of the roughly 200 vehicles and Burkina Faso, which two weeks ago offered him refuge, has now said it will not do so. Libyan fighters prepare to take Bani Walid. A local spokesman for the National Transitional Council, NTC, now governing Libya said the frontline stood 15 to 20 kilometres north of the town and that troops were poised for an advance.
The new government's interim interior minister Ahmed Darrat told the French news agency that he was confident the town's capture was imminent. "We expect Bani Walid to be freed today or tomorrow," he said. On Saturday, the deputy chief of the military council in the town of Tarhuna, north of Bani Walid, said Kadhafi's forces had been given until 0800 GMT on Sunday to surrender. Ousted strongman's son Saadi is said to be still in Bani Walid, along with other senior figures of the fallen regime, while prominent son Seif al-Islam is reported to have fled the town. Civilians who managed to leave the town said that most of Kadhafi's forces had now fled taking their heavy weaponry with them into the surrounding mountains.
The documents show how the CIA, under the administration of then US George W. France requests permission to unblock Libyan assets. NATO forces bomb Kadhafi's hometown of Sirte. NATO stepped up air strikes in the vicinity of Bani Walid on Tuesday, destroying three surface-to-surface missile launchers, one ammunition storage facility, one tank and rocket launcher storage facility, as well as an unspecified military facility, according to NATO's daily operations update. NATO had only hit five other targets in Bani Walid in the past week, three on Monday and two others in the previous seven days, according to alliance figures.
The mission's military spokesman, Colonel Roland Lavoie, said Tuesday that the NATO-led coalition was now focusing on "the corridor between Bani Walid and the eastern edge of Sirte. " NATO struck 35 targets around Sirte on Monday alone and continued the barrage on Tuesday, hitting 12 vehicles mounted with weapons, three tanks, and one command and control facility, one command post, one radar, and another military facility. Rebels give Kadhafi forces four days to surrender or face military action. "From Saturday, if no peaceful solution is in sight on the ground, we will resort to military force," he warned. Algeria meanwhile has defended its decision to give shelter to the embattled Libyan leader’s wife and three children saying it was based on humanitarian concerns. Libyan rebels who toppled the longtime strongman are demanding they be returned for trial.
"We'd like those persons to come back," NTC spokesman Mahmud Shammam said in Tripoli, claiming that Algeria had given the family members "a pass" to enter a third country. So far Algeria has not recognised the NTC and has adopted a stance of strict neutrality on the Libyan conflict, leading some among the rebels to accuse it of supporting the Kadhafi regime. Just hours after crossing over, the Algerian authorities announced that daughter Aisha had given birth to a girl. The family has been placed in a residence under guard in the desert town, the newspaper said. Battle for Tripoli continues as Kadhafi's son says loyalists are in control. Before cheering armed loyalists outside the Bab al-Aziya compound, he claimed the capital Tripoli was under the control of pro-Kadhafi forces. "I am here to refute the lies," the 39-year-old told journalists smiling broadly and flashing the V for victory sign.
"Everyone should rest assured. All is well in Tripoli. " Seif claimed the rebels had suffered heavy casualties on Monday when they attempted to storm the compound. On Monday, International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo claimed Seif had been arrested and called for his swift transfer to The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity. Meanwhile, on the ground, the battle for Tripoli continues. But there are signs that the rebels advance is faltering. Gunfire is still heard around the city, but loyalist snipers are hiding on rooftops and the rebels have so far been unable to capture Kadhafi's compound.
Rebels battle for Tripoli as Kadhafi hides out. Seif al-Islam could be tried in Libya if conditions right, says ICC. Battles in Tripoli as Libya regime says 'everything's fine' Libyan rebels advance on Kadhafi's stronghold. Kadhafi ready to keep out of Libya peace talks, SA minister says. ICC issues arrest warrant for Kadhafi. Paris protesters call for Syria's al-Assad to go. Kadhafi used rape as weapon of war, Moreno-Ocampo claims. Libyan government reports death of Kadhafi's youngest son. Libyan plane shot down by French fighter jet, report. Libye : Mohammed Al Nabbous, le blogueur de Benghazi, est mort. Libyan Citizen Journalist Muhammad Nabbous Killed in Benghazi; Hear His Interview With Democracy Now! (Audio) Libye, premières questions urgentes sur une guerre dans l'urgence.