Captured Libyan commander rejoins unit after clashes kill 55
Tripoli, LibyaReuters A Libyan factional commander whose seizure triggered the worst fighting in Tripoli for years, with 55 killed and 146 wounded, was returned to his unit on Wednesday, officials in the commander’s organisation said. Mahmoud Hamza, head of the powerful 444 Brigade, was seized by the Special Deterrence Force on Monday as he tried […]
Libyan factions pause Tripoli battle with 27 dead
Tripoli, LibyaReuters Two powerful armed factions battled in Libya’s capital on Tuesday in the city’s worst violence this year, but the deadly clashes calmed after one side released a commander whose detention had triggered the fighting. A Tripoli health agency said 27 people were killed and more than 100 injured in the violence, without saying […]
Clashes hit Libyan capital, residents say
Tripoli, LibyaReuters Clashes broke out in the Libyan capital Tripoli late on Monday, residents said, and flights to the city’s main airport were suspended, after the reported seizure of a powerful armed faction commander by a rival force. “We have heard gunfire for almost two hours now and we do not know what will happen. […]
Lebanon hopes UNESCO danger listing could save crumbling modernist fairground
Tripoli, Lebanon Reuters Its arch is cracking and its vast pavilions lie empty, but the crumbling Rachid Karami International Fair in Lebanon’s port city Tripoli now has hope of revival, having been added to the United Nations’ list of world heritage sites in danger. Designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer in 1962, the collection of […]
Lebanon: Poverty in ‘city of billionaires’ drives deadly migration
TIMOUR AZHARI and LAILA BASSAM, of Reuters, report from Tripoli in the wake of last week’s migrant boat tragedy in which 95 people were killed…
Explainer: Untangling the crisis in Libya
Reuters Libya’s worst fighting for two years suddenly hit the capital, Tripoli, on Saturday. This explains what led to the violence, why it matters, and how things may play out. How did Libya fall apart?Libya’s fault lines surfaced as local groups took different positions in the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi. An attempted […]
Tripoli calm, Libya riven after worst fighting in years
Tripoli, LibyaReuters Charred cars and buildings pockmarked by bullets scarred Libya’s capital on Sunday, the day after intense fighting killed 32 people yet appeared to leave the Tripoli government more firmly entrenched. Battles raged across the city throughout Saturday as forces aligned with the parliament-backed administration of Fathi Bashagha failed to take control of the […]
Deadly battles erupt across Tripoli, raising fears of wider Libya war
Tripoli, Libya Reuters Rival factions battled across Libya’s capital on Saturday in the worst fighting there for two years as an eyewitness said forces aligned with a parliament-backed administration moved on the city to try to take power. The Tripoli government’s health ministry gave a preliminary death toll of 12 people, with 87 injured, but […]
UN warns over Libya threats
Tunis, Tunisia Reuters The United Nations Libya mission said on Tuesday it was deeply concerned by what it called an ongoing mobilisation of forces and threats to use force to resolve the country’s political crisis. Libya has been enmeshed in a stalemate for months after the eastern-based parliament swore in a new prime minister despite […]
Fighting rips through Libyan capital, killing 13
Tripoli, Libya Reuters Rival factions fought each other in Tripoli overnight and into Friday, killing 13 people in the Libyan capital’s worst clashes for two years as a political standoff festers. Fighters exchanged fire in a central district where several government and international agencies, along with diplomatic missions, are based, and clashes spread to the […]