US backs UN bid to resolve dispute over Libya Central Bank

Update Libyan Ministry of Interior personnel stand guard in front of the Central Bank of Libya in Tripoli, Libya, August 26, 2024. (REUTERS)
Libyan Ministry of Interior personnel stand guard in front of the Central Bank of Libya in Tripoli, Libya, August 26, 2024. (Reuters)
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Updated 27 August 2024
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US backs UN bid to resolve dispute over Libya Central Bank

US backs UN bid to resolve dispute over Libya Central Bank
  • Libya is struggling to recover from years of conflict after the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that overthrew longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi

TRIPOLI: The United States gave its backing Tuesday to UN efforts to resolve differences between Libya’s rival administrations over the mangement of the central bank without cutting off vital oil income.

The US embassy said the move by the UN Support Mission in Libya “offers a path forward to resolve the crisis” sparked by the eastern administration’s announcement on Monday that it was suspending operations at all oil fields and export terminals under its control.

In a statement late Monday, UNSMIL said it was “convening an emergency meeting for all parties involved” in the crisis.

It also called for “immediately lifting force majeure on oil fields and refraining from using the country’s primary revenue source for political ends.”

Libya is struggling to recover from years of conflict after the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that overthrew longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi.

It remains divided between the UN-recognized government in Tripoli led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, and the rival administration in the east backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.

Most of its oil fields are located in regions controlled by Haftar, but oil revenues and the state budget are managed by the Central Bank based in Tripoli.

On Monday, Libya’s eastern-based administration said it was shutting down oil fields and terminals it controls in response to what it said were attempts by the western-based government to seize control of the Central Bank.

UNSMIL said “resolving this emerging crisis is an urgent necessity” and called for measures to protect the Central Bank’s employees from “threats and arbitrary arrests.”

On August 18, the bank’s head of information technology was kidnapped, and the bank said it was suspending its operations until his release later the same day.

A week earlier, Libyan media reported that armed men had besieged the bank in a bid to force the resignation of its governor, Seddik Al-Kabir, who has faced mounting criticism from people close to Dbeibah over its management of oil resources and the state budget.

On Monday morning, the eastern-based administration said an “outlaw group” close to the Tripoli authorities had forcibly taken over the bank.

Reports later said that the Presidential Council, which is close to Dbeibah, had established a commission tasked with leading a “transition of powers” which had installed a new bank board.


Syrian national dialogue to begin on February 25

Syrian national dialogue to begin on February 25
Updated 53 min 9 sec ago
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Syrian national dialogue to begin on February 25

Syrian national dialogue to begin on February 25

DAMASCUS: Syria’s new authorities will hold a national dialogue conference starting on February 25 to discuss a new path for the nation after the overthrow of Bashar Assad in December, two members of its preparatory committee said on Sunday.
Foreign capitals will be closely watching the conference as part of a political process in Syria that they say needs to be inclusive of its ethnically diverse and multi-religious population as they consider suspending sanctions on the country.
Holding the conference has been a key pledge of former Al Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) which took control of Damascus on December 8 in a stunning offensive that prompted then-president Assad to flee to Russia, ending more than 50 years of his family’s autocratic rule.
The preparatory committee’s seven members consulted with some 4,000 people across Syria over the last week to gather views that would help shape a constitutional declaration, a new economic framework and a plan for institutional reform, the committee told reporters on Sunday.
HTS-appointed President Ahmed Sharaa has said the conference was part of an inclusive political process to draft a constitution, which he said could take up to three years, and then hold elections, which he said could take four years.
The conference is scheduled for two days but could be extended if necessary, committee member Hassan Dugheim said, and a new government expected to be formed next month would also benefit from the conference’s recommendations.


Russia’s top diplomat to visit Turkiye Monday: sources

Russia’s top diplomat to visit Turkiye Monday: sources
Updated 23 February 2025
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Russia’s top diplomat to visit Turkiye Monday: sources

Russia’s top diplomat to visit Turkiye Monday: sources
  • Sergei Lavrov will hold talks in Ankara with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan
  • Turkiye wants to play a leading role in bringing an end to Russia-Ukraine hostilities

ISTANBUL: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Turkiye on Monday, which marks the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Turkish diplomatic sources said Sunday.
Lavrov will hold talks in Ankara with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, the source said, adding that the men will discuss the war in Ukraine, among other things.
Turkiye, a member of NATO, wants to play a leading role in bringing an end to hostilities, as it tried to do in March 2022 by twice hosting direct negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.
Receiving his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asserted that his country would be an “ideal host” for talks on Ukraine involving Moscow, Kyiv and Washington.
Moscow and Washington have already begun a direct dialogue in recent weeks, against a backdrop of rapprochement between US President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Russian and American officials met in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to begin rebuilding their relations, a meeting denounced by Zelensky, who fears an agreement on Ukraine reached without him at the table.
Lavrov, who last visited Turkiye in October, is also expected to visit Russian ally Iran.


Hamas says Israel’s claim on hostages’ handover ceremony is pretext to evade Gaza truce obligations

Hamas says Israel’s claim on hostages’ handover ceremony is pretext to evade Gaza truce obligations
Updated 23 February 2025
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Hamas says Israel’s claim on hostages’ handover ceremony is pretext to evade Gaza truce obligations

Hamas says Israel’s claim on hostages’ handover ceremony is pretext to evade Gaza truce obligations
  • Israeli says waiting to deliver Palestinian prisoners "until release of next hostages has been assured"
  • Hamas has made hostages appear on stage, sometimes speak before handing them over to Israel 

DUBAI: Hamas on Sunday condemned Israel’s decision to postpone the release of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, saying its claim that the hostages’ handover ceremonies are “humiliating” was false and a pretext to evade Israel’s obligations under the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Netanyahu’s decision reflects a deliberate attempt to disrupt the agreement, represents a clear violation of its terms, and shows the occupation’s lack of reliability in implementing its obligations,” Ezzat El Rashq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said in a statement.

Israel said earlier it was delaying the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners it had planned to free the day before until Hamas met its conditions, underscoring the fragility of the Gaza ceasefire accord.

Netanyahu’s office released a statement in the early hours of Sunday saying that Israel was waiting to deliver the 620 Palestinian prisoners and detainees “until the release of the next hostages has been assured, and without the humiliating ceremonies.”

Hamas’ El Rashq said the ceremonies do not include any insult to the hostages, “but rather reflect the humane and dignified treatment of them,” adding that the “real insult” is what the Palestinian prisoners are subjected to during the release process.

The Palestinian militant group official cited the hands’ tying of the Palestinian prisoners and detainees and their blindfolding and threatening them not to hold any celebrations for their release as examples of their humiliation at the hands of Israeli authorities.

Hamas has made hostages appear on stage in front of crowds and sometimes speak before they were handed over. Coffins with hostage remains have also been carried through crowds.

Israel’s announcement, which also accused Hamas of repeatedly violating the month-old ceasefire, came after the Palestinian militant group on Saturday handed over six hostages from Gaza as part of an exchange arranged under the truce.

The six hostages freed on Saturday were the last living Israeli captives due to be handed over during the first phase of the ceasefire. The bodies of four dead Israeli hostages were to be released next week.

 

 


Israel army says deploying tank division in West Bank city of Jenin

Israel army says deploying tank division in West Bank city of Jenin
Updated 23 February 2025
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Israel army says deploying tank division in West Bank city of Jenin

Israel army says deploying tank division in West Bank city of Jenin
  • Israel’s army on Sunday announced the expansion of operations in the occupied West Bank including the deployment of a tank division in the city of Jenin

JERUSALEM: Israel’s army on Sunday announced the expansion of operations in the occupied West Bank including the deployment of a tank division in the city of Jenin, the first time tanks have operated in the Palestinian territory since the end of the second intifada, or uprising, in 2005.
“IDF (military), Shin Bet (security agency), and border police forces continue their counterterrorism operation in northern Samaria (West Bank) and are expanding offensive activities in the area,” a military statement said, adding that “a tank division will operate in Jenin as part of the offensive effort.”


Sudan’s RSF, allies sign charter for rival government: sources

Sudan’s RSF, allies sign charter for rival government: sources
Updated 23 February 2025
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Sudan’s RSF, allies sign charter for rival government: sources

Sudan’s RSF, allies sign charter for rival government: sources
  • Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and a coalition of political and armed groups have signed a founding charter to establish a parallel government in the war-ravaged country

NAIROBI: Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and a coalition of political and armed groups have signed a founding charter to establish a parallel government in the war-ravaged country, sources said Sunday.
“It’s done,” a source close to the organizers of the signing ceremony, which took place overnight in Nairobi, told AFP.
The signatories said the charter paves the way for a “government of peace and unity” in rebel-controlled areas of Sudan.
The move comes nearly two years into a devastating war with the regular army that has uprooted more than 12 million people and caused what the United Nations calls the world’s worst hunger and displacement crises.
The signing, delayed multiple times, took place behind closed doors in the Kenyan capital.
Among those who signed was a faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), led by Abdelaziz Al-Hilu, which controls parts of the southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states.
Abdel Rahim Dagalo, deputy and brother of RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo — who was notably absent — also signed.
The charter, seen by AFP, calls for “a secular, democratic, decentralized state based on freedom, equality, and justice, without bias toward any cultural, ethnic, religious, or regional identity.”
It also outlines plans for a “new, unified, professional, national army” with a new military doctrine that “reflects the diversity and plurality characterising the Sudanese state.”
The proposed government, according to the charter, aims to end the war, ensure unhindered humanitarian aid and integrate armed groups into a single, national force.
The war between the RSF and the army, triggered by disputes over integrating the paramilitary force into the regular military, has killed tens of thousands with both warring parties accused of war crimes.
The conflict has torn the country in two, with the army in control of the north and east, while the RSF holds nearly all of the western region of Darfur and swathes of the south.