The Libyan Ministry of Interior’s Election Security Section concluded on Monday the second training program on Electoral Security, supported by The U.N. Development Programme (UNDP). The UNDP said the training is aimed at empowering the ministry’s personnel to “share expertise and collaborate on formulating strategic approaches for national and subnational electoral processes.”“This collaborative effort strengthens the foundation for implementing electoral security activities and aligns with global best practices of transparency and accountability,” UNDP said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has organized a four-day first aid training for for 16 participants of Libyan security forces from the West Coast Military Region. According to brief statement today by the Red Cross via X, the training aims to “enhance their capabilities to save lives in emergencies.”

A shadowy Libyan armed group accused of unlawful killings, torture, arbitrary detention and enslavement, with alleged links to Russia’s Wagner Group, has been forcibly returning refugees with the help of European authorities, a new investigation has found. Under international law, refugees cannot be returned to unsafe countries such as Libya, where they are at risk of serious ill-treatment. The TBZ pullbacks from European waters began in May. Al Jazeera and its partners investigated five that took place this year, which overall saw hundreds being returned and many abused. Several refugees who have been intercepted by the group told Al Jazeera and its partners that TBZ militiamen have tortured, beat, and shot at them.

Using a large blue vessel, the brigade has been locating migrants at sea and taking them back to Libya. We were detained for 20 days by the TBZ brigade,” he said. To do so, he sought out a boat trip that was set to leave from the Lebanese city of Tripoli. A few days into their voyage, somewhere between Cyprus and Greece, the migrants on board noticed a plane surveilling them. When they arrived in Libya, the members of the TBZ brigade started to select people randomly.

This was the first recorded time that this vessel, the Tareq Bin Zeyad, took migrants back to Libya from Malta’s search and rescue waters. “Tareq Bin Zeyad, Tareq Bin Zeyad. Ten minutes later, the same aircraft found the Tareq Bin Zeyad vessel nearby with a group of people sat on the ship’s deck. MaltaToday approached the AFM with this recording, and asked whether it was standard practice to communicate with the Tareq Bin Zeyad brigade. The AFM did not confirm nor deny that it is standard practice for them to communicate with the Tareq Bin Zeyad brigade.

I was born in Libya and studied veterinary sciences at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Tripoli in Libya, graduating in 1999. Since May 2022, I have been head of the Department of Aquaculture at the University of Tripoli. I also think that it goes without saying that, academia and the commercial sector need to work together to progress aquaculture development in Libya. I would say that there are two things; Firstly a workshop called ’Aquaculture in Libya and its future’ that I organised in May this year. Secondly, more generally, my active involvement in progressing the aquaculture sector in Libya – I am currently interested in developing aquaponics in the south of the country.

ISLAMABAD: The Anti-Human Trafficking Circle (AHTC) of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested the ringleader of human smuggling racket involved in Libya shipwreck case during a joint crackdown with the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), an FIA spokesman said Sunday. A migrant ship sails in a sea. — AFP/FileThe racketeer, identified as Faizullah, has been arrested from Umerkot and shifted to Islamabad for further investigation, the spokesman added. The suspect got Rs6.5 million for illegally transporting two young men to Italy through Libya, the spokesman quoting the statement of the complainant said, adding the AHTC would conduct raids to round up other suspects involved in the case.

Rather, it has always been a complex, winding route through an intricate web spun by a confluence of domestic and foreign interests, energized by armed groups in the country. However, a monolithic demobilization, disarmament and reintegration approach could do more harm than good in a nation where political power is not only divided but also deeply stratified. Armed groups in Misrata, Zawiya and Zintan, for example, offer a clear example of this complexity. For any demobilization, disarmament and reintegration efforts to succeed, government actors and citizens must be empowered to shape a strategic, inclusive and sustainable action plan. Security sector reform and demobilization, disarmament and reintegration will be indispensable factors in making that happen.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Dec, 2023) The Federal Investigation Agency’s Anti-Human Trafficking Circle Rawalpindi arrested a gang leader involved in the Libyan boat accident on Sunday in a major operation. The accused Faizullah was arrested from Umarkot in a joint operation with the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD). The accused had collected some 6.5 million rupees to illegally send the un-named citizen's son and nephew abroad to Libya via Italy, however citizen's son and nephew were missing since arriving in Libya. It was revealed during an investigation that other accomplices of the accused took the citizen's son and nephew into the boat to send them to Italy. After the arrest of gang leader Faizullah, the hunt for the accomplices of the accused is continued while the investigation has been started in the case.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) expressed concern about the “continuing crackdown on civic space and arbitrary detentions”, which it says “create a climate of fear across Libya”. In a statement released to commemorate International Human Rights Day, UNSMIL said that it documented, over the last nine months, “dozens of cases of arbitrary arrests and detention of men, women and children by security actors operating throughout Libya.”“These detentions violate Libya’s national laws and international obligations and are politically motivated with all individuals held for their actual or perceived political affiliation,” UN said. “Now more than ever we need to work together to safeguard the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration,” he said, adding that “Libyan civil society actors and human rights defenders – who embody these very values – must be supported, protected and empowered to carry out their work in safety and dignity”. “Stifling their work, silencing them, and fostering a climate of fear undermines the foundations required for Libya’s democratic transition, emboldens the spoilers, and enables security actors in particular to perpetrate human rights violations with impunity. This must end”, said Bathily.

US Chargé d’Affaires Jeremy Berndt has urged Libyan stakeholders to name representatives to participated in the upcoming UN-sponsored conference on political process in the country. This was stated by the US Embassy in Libya on Sunday following a meeting between Berndt and UN Special Envoy to Libya Abdoulaye Bathily. “In my meeting with [Bathily] today, I expressed strong U.S. support for his efforts to bring together institutional stakeholders to resolve political issues standing in the way of elections,” Berndt was quoted as saying by the the American embassy. “We urge all stakeholders to quickly name their representatives to [UN] preparatory talks and engage in constructive dialogue to put Libya on the path to long-term stability.”For his part, Bathily said via X that he “welcomed the US support for bringing together the institutional stakeholders in a meeting to resolve the political issues around elections.”

Refugee Salem Doma was tortured and held for ransom in Bani Walid, Libya, another victim of human trafficking. Bani Walid, Libya – Salem Doma never imagined that, after escaping government oppression at home in Eritrea, his greatest hardship still lay ahead, in the town of Bani Walid in northwest Libya. All the while, during repeated calls from Bani Walid, he has to listen to his brother’s screams as his abductors torture him. The young Nigerian prayed not to be taken and sold into the neighbourhoods of Bani Walid – “the worst place on earth,” he says. The work of the National Human Rights Committee continues: monitoring, documenting and following up on reported violations.

CAIRO: Egyptians head to the polls on Sunday for a presidential election in which Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is poised to win a third term in power as the country grapples with an economic crisis and a war on its border with Gaza. Voting, which runs from 9am until 9pm, is spread over three days, with results due to be announced on Dec 18. Critics see the election as a sham after a decade-long crackdown on dissent. Three candidates qualified to stand against Sisi in the election, none of them high-profile figures. Sisi and his backers say the crackdown was needed to stabilise Egypt and counter Islamist extremism.

The Tripoli based Libyan Ministry of Oil and Gas said that it denounces the agreement concluded between Egypt and South Korea regarding the export of Libyan oil through the Egyptian port of Garjoub, according to the official statement contained on the website and official Facebook page of the Egyptian Ministry of Transport. Libya unaware of agreementAl-Tarhouni explained that the statement of condemnation confirmed that the Ministry of Oil and Gas was not aware, neither closely nor remotely, of the agreement concluded between the Egyptian side and South Korea regarding the export of Libyan oil through the port of Garjoub. The Ministry encourages all development, energy and economic programmes related to the oil and gas sector in Libya, such as Libyan oil refining projects in Egypt for example. Libya has seven oil exporting ports on the Mediterranean! Al-Tarhouni noted that the ministry’s statement indicated that Libya has seven oil ports on the Mediterranean Sea through which crude oil, petroleum products, condensates, petrochemicals, etc.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the Commission, Josep Borrell, met in Brussels with Mousa Al-Koni, Vice President of the Presidential Council of Libya. The discussion focused on how to enhance the ongoing cooperation between the European Union and Libya on key areas, including improving migration governance and management, as well as regional cooperation between Libya and the Sahel. Borrell highlighted the importance to make progress on the political process to overcome the current situation in Libya. He also reiterated the support of the European Union for a UN-mediated political solution, based on an inclusive dialogue among all Libyan stakeholders, and ultimately aimed at elections.