The 158th session of the Council of the Arab League, at the level of permanent delegates, convened today at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the Arab League, headed by Libya. According to Libya’s delegation at the Arab Leagues, today’s session comes ahead of a meeting on Tuesday, which will be held at the level of foreign ministers. According to the council’s agenda, the Arab League’s permanent delegates will discuss developments in Libya, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen as well as the Israeli-Palestnian conflict among other issues.

The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, expressed on Saturday his “warm congratulations” to Senegalese diplomat Abdoulaye Bathily who was recently named as U.N. envoy to Libya. “Warm congratulations to the new UN Special Representative for Libya HE Abdoulaye Bathily,” Borrell stated via Twitter. “The EU continues to fully support UN efforts to find a Libyan-led political solution to the prolonged crisis in the interest of all Libyans.”Warm congratulations to the new @UN Special Representative for #Libya HE Abdoulaye Bathily. — Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) September 3, 2022The Security Council on Friday approved former Senegalese minister and U.N. diplomat Abdoulaye Bathily as the new U.N. envoy to Libya, ending a nine-month vacancy. The 75-year-old succeeds Ján Kubiš of Slovakia, who previously served as special envoy and head of U.N. Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

The National Center for Disease Control in Libya (NCDC) reported on Sunday that 11 people tested positive for COVID-19, marking 9 percent of the infection rate. 64 people recovered in the same reporting period. The total recorded COVID-19 cases in Libya have reached more than 500,000 since the start of the pandemic, while over 490,000 of which have recovered, according to the NCDC. The virus has claimed the lives of 6,437 people in total. Over two million people received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while over one million were fully vaccinated with two doses.

The Libyan state-owned General National Maritime Transport Company (GNMTC) has announced that it was able, through its lawyer, to cancel the registration of the Libyan tanker 'Badr' with the maritime authorities in Israel. The company said in a statement on Friday 'It is still striving through judicial procedures to retrieve the detained tanker Badr'. The Haifa Maritime Court ruled officially canceling the registration of the tanker Badr at the Israeli maritime registration and rejected the Livia Maritime Company’s appeal against the rule canceling the registration, and charged Livia with the litigation cost involved in favour of GNMTC. The GNMTC pointed out that the ruling of the Haifa Maritime Court and the cancellation of the Israeli registration of the ship is valid without any suspension, and that the terms and conditions of the ship's registration have not been met. The company indicated that the attempt to register the Libyan tanker Badr with Israel is the fourth attempt by Livia and Bulgargeomin, as both companies orchestrated the seizure of the tanker in Bulgaria.

The Ambulance and Emergency Services confirmed the return of calm to the Ghout Abu Saq area in Wirshiffana, southwest of Tripoli, after clashes that broke out on Friday evening between armed groups leaving behind 5 wounded civilians. The Ambulance and Emergency Services reported on its Facebook account that "the situation is calm in all axes of fighting, and an initial casualty toll of 5 civilians were slightly wounded. The five injuries are among members of one family, whose house was hit by a shell as a result of the clashes that erupted with light and medium weapons between members of the 55th Brigade led by Muammar Al-Dhawi, loyal to the Prime Minister-designate from the House of Representatives, Fathi Bashagha, and members of the 03 Infantry Brigade led by Ramzi Al-Lafa, who is affiliated with the Government of National Unity.

×remaining ofSUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th September, 2022) The United States welcomes the appointment of Senegalese diplomat Abdoulaye Bathily as the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the appointment on Friday. Libyan Ambassador to the United Nations Taher El Sonni said at the end of last month that his country was calling on Guterres to quickly select a new special representative for Libya. "We welcome the appointment by UN Secretary-General Guterres of Mr. Abdoulaye Bathily as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya. The United Nations has been facilitating peace efforts in Libya since the overthrow of President Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, which left the country split between rival factions.

September 3, 2022A fresh round of deadly clashes has forced Turkey to step into fray and host high-level meetings with two rival Libyan leaders in a bid to de-escalate the tensions, Al-Monitor has learned. The meetings came after deadly clashes between the rival forces rattled Tripoli last week, leaving 32 people dead and more than 150 wounded. Ankara has grown aloof from Bashagha, who once had worked closely with Turkey while serving as interior minister in the GNA. The Libyan leader’s following rapprochement with France and Egypt, which have supported eastern-based forces, further fed into Ankara's mistrust. As Turkey can hardly break the impasse by maintaining its appearance of neutrality, Ankara will have to choose its side.

Fighting has broken out between Libyan armed factions on the western outskirts of Tripoli, as forces aligned with the Government of National Unity (GNU) under Abdul Hamid al-Dabaiba further consolidated their control over the capital. Libyan oil production, a prize for the warring groups, has repeatedly been shut off. During last week’s fighting, a major Bashagha-aligned faction based in Zawiya was said to be among groups that were repulsed from the outskirts of the capital. In the southern Tripoli district of Ain Zara, a powerful faction that backed al-Dabaiba during last week’s fighting took over a security headquarters. Following last week’s fighting, Bashagha and al-Dabaiba visited Turkey, which helped the now-divided western factions fight off an eastern assault in 2020.

Clashes break out in Warshafala, a district west of Tripoli that has seen numerous clashes since Gaddafi’s ouster. Pro-Dbeibah forces seize military headquarters in southern Tripoli. During last week’s fighting, a major Bashagha-aligned faction based in Zawiya was said to be among the groups repulsed from the capital’s outskirts. AdvertisementA powerful faction that supported Dbeibah during last week’s fighting has taken over a security headquarters in the southern Tripoli district of Ain Zara. Also Read Fighting rips through Libyan capital, killing 13 Libya has been on the verge of civil war for months.

Former Senegalese minister and UN diplomat Abdoulaye Bathily will be the new UN envoy to Libya after the Security Council approved the appointment. In December, Mr Guterres appointed veteran American diplomat Stephanie Williams, a former UN deputy special representative in Libya, as his special adviser — a job that did not require council approval. Mr Guterres said Mr Bathily brings 40 years of experience to his new role in Libya. Libya’s transitional government, which opposed Mr Bathily’s nomination, reportedly sent a protest letter to Mr Guterres, which raises questions about how effective the new envoy can be in trying to resolve the country’s crisis. "The United States will provide full support to Special Representative Bathily as he mediates the Libya-led political process, and we call upon the international community to work in lockstep with the special representative," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

There is plenty of blame to go around in LibyaHafed Al-GhwellPeople inspect the damage following clashes between backers of rival governments in Libya's capital Tripoli. Oil production — and by extension the revenues from exports — has long had strategic, political and economic significance to the multitude of actors active in Libya. As Libyan factions reorient themselves and plan their next moves, international efforts remain rudderless and devoid of any sense of urgency. In essence, the international community has not only engineered the deliberate failures that are stifling progress in Libya, it has also become numb to the tragic consequences. Hafed Al-Ghwell is a non-resident senior fellow with the Foreign Policy Institute at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

U.S. Special Envoy and Ambassador to Libya, Richard Norland, spoke on the phone today with Prime Minister-designate Fathi Bashagha following the latter’s trip to Turkey, the American embassy announced. “We discussed the importance of de-escalating the military confrontation in and around Tripoli,” Norland was quoted as saying by the embassy via Twitter. The two also discussed “the urgent need for all parties” to work with the new U.N. Envoy to Libya Abdoulaye Bathily to “establish a clear roadmap to early elections as the only solution to Libya’s instability.”

Libyan armed factions fought in the western outskirts of Tripoli late on Friday and early Saturday as forces aligned with Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh’s government further consolidated their control over the capital. Fighting took place in Warshafala, a district west of Tripoli that has been the site of repeated clashes throughout the 11 years of violence and chaos since a NATO-backed uprising ousted veteran leader Muammar Gaddafi. According to Tripoli’s Ambulance and Emergency Service, five people, all from the same family, were wounded in the aftermath of the clashes. The clashes, along with a major pro-Dbeibah group taking over a military headquarters in southern Tripoli, come a week after Libya’s biggest bout of warfare for two years, as several rival factions battled in and around the capital. Last week’s fighting dislodged several groups that had aligned with Dbeibah’s rival as prime minister – the former interior minister Fathi Bashagha who has been appointed by the eastern-based parliament to head a new government.

16 new people tested positive for COVID-19, marking 8 percent of the infection rate, according to a Friday report by the National Center for Disease Control in Libya (NCDC). The center also said 23 have recovered during the same reporting period. The total recorded COVID-19 cases in Libya have exceeded more than 50,000 since the start of the pandemic, while over 490,000 of which have recovered, according to the NCDC. The virus has claimed the lives of 6,437 people. Over two million people received one dose of the vaccination, while more than one million others were vaccinated with two doses.