Category:

Libya has two governments, assemblies as chaos spreads

BENGHAZI Libya/CAIRO (Reuters) – The Libyan parliament that was replaced in an election in June reconvened on Monday and chose an Islamist-backed deputy as prime minister, leaving the chaotic country with two rival leaders and assemblies each backed by armed factions. The election was meant draw a line under another incidence of competing prime ministers in May and allow nation building to being to try to quell three years of spreading violence since veteran ruler Muammar Gaddafi was ousted. But the old General National Congress (GNC), where Islamists had a strong voice, has refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of its successor assembly, the House of Representatives, which is dominated by liberals and federalists. The GNC reconvened after armed factions from the western city of Misrata forced a rival faction from Zintan out of Tripoli’s main airport on Saturday after a month of fighting that has come to symbolize the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Libya Islamists Seize Tripoli Airport as Parliament Duel Set

An alliance of Islamist militias said it wrested control of Tripoli’s international airport from a rival force after weeks of fighting that triggered an exodus of foreigners and threatened to plunge Libya deeper into chaos. Libya’s defunct, Islamist-dominated parliament said it would temporarily resume its sessions, the state-run Libya News Agency reported, a move that may set the stage for dueling legislatures amid a leadership vacuum. The fighting has battered Libya, undercut efforts to revive oil output in the OPEC member and dimmed hopes for a transition to democracy. It has sparked concern the nation, led by a largely toothless central government, will descend into anarchy and emerge as little more than a failed state controlled by militias. The announcement of the airport’s capture by Fajr Libya, or Libya Dawn, came hours after warplanes struck Islamists near and around the airport, killing at least 13 people and wounding 30 […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Libya’s neighbors fear spillover of violence

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s foreign minister has called for an international push to disband militias in neighboring Libya, where weeks of inter-militia fighting has wreaked havoc in the country. Sameh Shukri says the escalation of violence in oil-rich Libya poses a threat to the entire region. He is calling for a joint effort to disband all militias, "without exception." The Egyptian top diplomat spoke Monday at a Cairo gathering of Libya’s neighbors. It was attended by Tunisia, Algeria, Sudan and Chad. The meeting comes as Islamist-led militias in the Libyan capital say they consolidated their hold on Tripoli and its international airport, driving out rivals to the city’s outskirts after battles that largely destroyed the strategic hub. It’s the worst violence in Libya since the 2011 downfall and killing of dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Libya's neighbors fear spillover of violence

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s foreign minister has called for an international push to disband militias in neighboring Libya, where weeks of inter-militia fighting has wreaked havoc in the country. Sameh Shukri says the escalation of violence in oil-rich Libya poses a threat to the entire region. He is calling for a joint effort to disband all militias, "without exception." The Egyptian top diplomat spoke Monday at a Cairo gathering of Libya’s neighbors. It was attended by Tunisia, Algeria, Sudan and Chad. The meeting comes as Islamist-led militias in the Libyan capital say they consolidated their hold on Tripoli and its international airport, driving out rivals to the city’s outskirts after battles that largely destroyed the strategic hub. It’s the worst violence in Libya since the 2011 downfall and killing of dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Libya’s Islamist Militias Claim Control of Tripoli

Smoke fills the sky over Tripoli after fighting between Dawn of Libya and rival militias Aug. 23, 2014. European Pressphoto Agency Libya’s Islamist militias said Sunday they have consolidated their hold on Tripoli and its international airport, driving out rival militias to the outskirts of the capital after a weeks-long battle for control of the strategic hub. The umbrella group for Islamist militias, calling itself Dawn of Libya, said it has also taken hold of other locations in the capital that were controlled by rival militias. The move draws to a close one chapter in a prolonged confrontation between the Islamist-allied militia, largely from the city of Misrata, and the powerful militia from the western mountains of Zintan. The fight has largely destroyed the airport and scarred the capital, prompting diplomats, foreign nationals and thousands of Libyans to flee. The violence in Libya is rooted in the empowerment of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Strife in Libya Could Presage Long Civil War

TRIPOLI, Libya — “The fire is inside the airport!” a militiaman cried, as he fired an antiaircraft cannon on the back of a pickup truck toward the runway of Libya’s main international airport. “God is great, the flames are rising!” “Intensify the shooting,” responded his commander, Salah Badi, an ultraconservative Islamist and former lawmaker from the coastal city of Misurata. Captured on video by the proud attackers just one month ago, Mr. Badi’s assault on Libya’s main international airport has now drawn the country’s fractious militias, tribes and towns into a single national conflagration that threatens to become a prolonged civil war. Both sides see the fight as part of a larger regional struggle, fraught with the risks of a return to repressive authoritarianism or a slide toward Islamist extremism. Three years after the NATO-backed ouster of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the violence threatens to turn Libya into a pocket […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Algeria Postpones Oil Bids to Sept. 30

LONDON—Algeria has delayed the deadline for its next oil-licence bids by about four weeks, people familiar with the matter said, as companies complain about investment conditions despite recent oil-sector reform. The date set for the submissions to the tender for oil and gas blocks has been reset to Sept. 30 from Sept. 4 previously, people familiar with the matter said. The development comes despite a new Algerian law—passed last year—that improves revenue sharing for companies that invest in difficult blocks, such as the country’s sizable natural-gas shale resources. One main concern for bidders is a clause that allows national oil company Sonatrach to make investment decisions without consulting its foreign partners, according to people at international companies involved in the licensing round. But an Algerian official said the delay was due to the need to handle "numerous applications" for the licensing round. At previous bidding rounds, Algeria has struggled […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Israel Nears Gas Sales to Egypt as Mideast Unrest Flares

In the midst of some of the worst Middle East tensions in a decade, one-time enemies Egypt and Israel are negotiating deals that may mean the sale of $60 billion in Israeli natural gas to liquefaction plants in Egypt. The talks come as Israel resumes air strikes on Gaza after Hamas, which the U.S. and the European Union classify as a terrorist group, fired rockets following a breakdown in Egypt’s efforts to broker a cease-fire. The move is all the more improbable because Egypt — little more than a year ago — was under the sway of the Muslim Brotherhood, which had begun to steer the country away from viewing Israel as a trading partner. Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) and units of Israel’s Delek Group Ltd. (DLEKG) plan to deliver as much as 6.25 trillion cubic feet of gas from the Tamar and Leviathan offshore fields to LNG facilities […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

In the dark: Egypt’s electricity deficit worsens as shortages hit five hours a day

The deficit for fuel supplied to stations this month increased to approximately 8m cubic metres of gas and equivalent daily compared to 7m last month. The deficit for fuel supplied to stations this month increased to approximately 8m cubic metres of gas and equivalent daily compared to 7m last month. More > , The electricity deficit reached approximately 6,180MW on Monday, resulting in power outages for periods exceeding five hours daily, said an official at the Ministry of Electricity. A 1900MW portion of the deficit resulted from a shortage of 8m cubic metres of gas and equivalent while another 2500MW was attributed to poor technical conditions at power stations, partially a result of failure to carry out the necessary maintenance and repair operations. The deficit increased by approximately 1700MW as a result of a rise in the sulphur content of fuel oil supplied to the plants. This led to clogs in fuel oil […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

In the dark: Egypt's electricity deficit worsens as shortages hit five hours a day

The deficit for fuel supplied to stations this month increased to approximately 8m cubic metres of gas and equivalent daily compared to 7m last month. The deficit for fuel supplied to stations this month increased to approximately 8m cubic metres of gas and equivalent daily compared to 7m last month. More > , The electricity deficit reached approximately 6,180MW on Monday, resulting in power outages for periods exceeding five hours daily, said an official at the Ministry of Electricity. A 1900MW portion of the deficit resulted from a shortage of 8m cubic metres of gas and equivalent while another 2500MW was attributed to poor technical conditions at power stations, partially a result of failure to carry out the necessary maintenance and repair operations. The deficit increased by approximately 1700MW as a result of a rise in the sulphur content of fuel oil supplied to the plants. This led to clogs in fuel oil […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple