I am back in Derna, eastern Libya. Unfortunately all the foreign rescue teams we saw here after the flood have left. No trace of foreign media. Military presence substantially downsized. The most visible ongoing activities are demolitions and rubble removal.
They are trying to clear the most central area of Derna’s wadi (valley), the most damaged area of the city. These demolitions are being carried out mainly Libyan and Egyptian companies, I am told.
Jun 29, 2022 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
🔴 ALERT - I was a victim of a sophisticated phising attempt by an impostor pretending to be an established MENA op-ed writer. He asked for an interview on Libya’s political crisis. Fortunately no damage done but I am sharing this info for several reasons. THREAD
1. I want you to know that there are people impersonating well-known journalists or analysts, so be careful who you talk to. 2. To warn journalists & think-tankers I don’t already know that from now on I will be exercising greater scrutiny on who I give interviews to.
Jun 28, 2022 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Given ongoing @USEmbassyLibya push to establish a temporary financial mechanism in Libya, let me tell you what we @CrisisGroup think about this. It lacks a clear political objective and this is a problem. Also, the conditions to terminate it are unhelpfully vague.
Libyan Political Dialogue Forum taking place in Geneva: THREAD 👇
This week the 75 members of the UN-backed political forum are supposed to select a new interim executive composed of a 3-person Presidency Council & a separately appointed PM to lead Libya until elections. 1/
If successful, an agreement on new executive could be a real step forward in stabilising & unifying Libya divided into two since 2014. It will not be easy given complicated voting system and deeps rifts bw factions on who they want to see lead the country. 2/
Jan 23, 2020 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
Thread 1/9 I have read many people online dismissing Berlin #Libya conference as inconsequential in light of recent inflow of weapons and fighters, and last night’s bombing on Tripoli airport.
2/9 Nobody wants to deny that there is a real risk that war around Tripoli could soon restart. If it does, both sides will most certainly find a host of valid reasons (in their view) to blame each other for the breakdown of the current tenuous ceasefire.
Jan 20, 2020 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
Twelve foreign leaders + EU, UN, AU & Arab League attended Sunday’s #Libya conference in Berlin, which led to a 55-point final communique.
What chance does it have of ending fighting on the ground? A thread. 1/9 2/ The communique called on rival Libyan factions & foreign backers to:
➜ redouble their efforts for a sustained suspension of hostilities
➜ fully respect and implement the UN arms embargo
➜ support a 3-track (political, military, economic) UN-backed negotiation process
Jan 9, 2020 • 29 tweets • 5 min read
1/29 For Libya, 2020 kicked off with a storm of fast-paced events, each overtaking the next:
➨ #Turkey authorized a military intervention
➨ Haftar’s forces captured Sirte
➨ Turkey & #Russia called for a ceasefire.
What do these developments all mean? A THREAD
2/ Turkey’s decision to intervene directly in support of Libya’s UN-recognised gov’t comes in reaction to covert military support offered by Ankara’s Arab rivals and Russia to rebel forces led by General Khalifa Haftar.
