Libya’s leaders have a duty to ‘close the chapter of division,’ UN special envoy tells Arab News

An Interview With Abdoulaye Bathily, Un Special Envoy For Libya 1
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Updated 19 September 2023
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Libya’s leaders have a duty to ‘close the chapter of division,’ UN special envoy tells Arab News

  • Abdoulaye Bathily believes there is pressure from citizens for restoration of stability, unity and dignity
  • Says anarchy and chaos in Libya would not serve interests of regional or international players

NEW YORK CITY: Libya has been mired in conflict, instability and political fragmentation since the eruption of the Arab uprisings in 2011. The latest blow was dealt by a natural disaster, a Mediterranean storm on September 10 night that caused catastrophic flooding in many eastern towns, leaving at least 11,300 people dead and more than 10,000 missing.

Despite the myriad challenges that war-ravaged Libya faces, there still can be found a resilient and hopeful population that yearns for peace, stability and prosperity. This is the view of Abdoulaye Bathily, the UN’s special envoy for Libya.

In an exclusive interview with Arab News during his recent visit to New York City, where he briefed the UN Security Council on the situation in the country, he said the successful staging of democratic elections offers the only path toward the restoration of political authority, legitimate institutions, and a security apparatus capable of safeguarding citizens and territorial integrity.

Bathily, who lives in Tripoli, described Libyans as a welcoming and peace-loving people. Their main desires are for their country to attain a sense of normalcy and stability, secure its sovereignty, and establish legitimate state institutions, so that it can become a prosperous nation capable of being a regional powerhouse.

“In spite of the crisis, today Libya produces 1.2 million barrels of oil a day, which is immense wealth for a country of 6 million people,” he said. “So, they have everything to be prosperous, everything to be happy.”

However, the reality is starkly different, according to him, as the hopes of the Libyan people continue to be undermined by their country’s precarious political and security situation. There is a gulf between the nation’s political elite and their people, and the responsibility for bridging that divide rests with Libya’s leaders, he said.

“Ordinary Libyans look at the political elite as not at the level of responsibility,” said Bathily, adding that the public demand a leadership that is capable of unifying political and security institutions, repairing the fragmentation of the country, and restoring its dignity.




A Mediterranean storm on September 10 night caused catastrophic flooding in many eastern Libyan towns. (AP)

“(Libyan leaders) have, at this current period of their history, the duty to take the responsibility to overcome the current failures of the institutions, (of) all the political setup.”

The protracted stalemate between Libya’s two rival governments, along with the internal divisions within each authority, is a constant source of political, economic and administrative instability.

In February 2022, following the indefinite postponement of elections scheduled to take place in December 2021 under the leadership of Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah, the prime minister of the Tripoli-based Government of National Unit, the rival faction — the House of Representatives (HoR) — elected Fathi Bashagha, a former interior minister, as prime minister of a competing authority that became known as the Government of National Stability (GNS).

The GNS is based in Sirte and aligned with the Libyan National Army, led by Gen. Khalifa Haftar.

In May this year, the HoR suspended Bashagha and replaced him with the finance minister, Osama Hamad, a move analysts believe was a result of Bashagha’s failed violent attempt to enter Tripoli last year.

Bathily emphasized the need for Libya’s rival political leaders to compromise on contentious issues, reunify the country’s political institutions, and combine their military and security structures. This is the only way forward, he said, and he believes momentum is building in this direction.

“There is a real pressure from below, (from) ordinary citizens,” he said. “When I go to Sirte, to Benghazi, to Misrata, to Zintan, to Zawiya, to Sabha — wherever — people say, ‘We want a change, we want to close the current chapter of division. We want dignity restored to our country.’

“This is the call everywhere. And I think because of this persistent call, the leadership finally would heed it. And, now, a number of signs are there that things are going forward, moving perhaps slowly, but surely.”




Natural disasters, political upheavals, conflicts and economic crises have for decades been the cause of untold human suffering. (AFP)

One such positive sign of this, according to Bathily, is the combination of efforts to establish a new road map for holding the national elections needed to unify the country’s divided government.

In spring this year, a “joint 6+6 committee,” comprised of six representatives of each of the rival authorities, was tasked with drafting electoral laws that would enable elections to take place by the end of this year.

Although the HoR approved the draft legislation in July, it remains controversial. Some political factions have objected to several of its provisions, including those related to the eligibility of dual nationals to run for president, and to the establishment of an interim executive in the run-up to the elections, with the latter proving particularly controversial.

“Those electoral laws are now being considered,” Bathily said. “We, as UNSMIL (the UN Support Mission in Libya), we looked at them and made some remarks on whether they can be implemented. The High Commission for Elections also looked at it.

“A number of observers of the Libyan scene also came to the conclusion that those laws cannot be implemented as they are. They needed to be fine-tuned, amended. And if they are amended on the basis of a political compromise, (we) can consider seriously now that we can have a road map to elections.”

FASTFACTS

• Abdoulaye Bathily held various ministerial positions in Senegalese government and academic posts before moving to the UN.

• He said it is through peace and stability in Libya that the interests of partners can be taken care of.

Several attempts to forge a unity government in the past have collapsed as a result of the infighting and factionalism that is deeply entrenched in Libyan politics. The political class is widely viewed as unresponsive to democratic change and transition.

And there are fears among the Libyan people that if decisions about the country’s future are entrusted to the same ruling elite that has been in place since the fall of former leader Muammar Qaddafi in 2011, it runs the risk of reinforcing the existing divisions between dueling factions.

These are the same factions that are accused of vying to maintain their own positions of power and influence, while applying a veneer of legitimacy to vested interests, thereby perpetuating the very power structures that are responsible for the current political mess.

Many fear this would drag Libyans down even further. “To prevent this bleak future from becoming reality, we can have only one prospect: elections,” Bathily said. “Elections are not just about the legal basis, elections are about political compromise, political agreement. And this is why, as we see the situation in Libya today, there is a necessity to unify the current political leadership of the country.

“There is a need to have one army to preserve and safeguard the territorial integrity of Libya, to secure the lives of Libyan citizens. And to go to elections, to have a level playing field where all candidates will be on equal footing, be able to campaign throughout the country, to present their programs, their visions for Libya.

“To have a safe debate among all the stakeholders, all the candidates, we need a government to lead the country; not an interim government anymore, but a unified government that cares about the whole country, that will take into account the desires of all the candidates and the desires, of course, of the citizens.”




At least 11,300 people died and more than 10,000 missing after the flood. (AFP)

The fragile security situation resulting from Libya’s political fragmentation was thrown into sharp relief on Aug. 14 when 55 people died during heavy fighting between armed groups in Tripoli. It was the deadliest violence there since the failed assault on the city by the GNS last year.

“It is intolerable to have this kind of casualty in Libya,” said Bathily. “Tens of civilians killed for nothing. For nothing. Because what is involved in those clashes is not the destiny of Libya. Those clashes came out of nowhere and nothing.

“So, it is unacceptable, and this is why we think that we have really to work for the unification of the security apparatus, on the basis of a unified political leadership in the country who will be obeyed by all the security and military institutions.

“I’m very concerned because so long as the institutional and political fragmentation continue, there is the risk of a repeat of this kind of situation.”

Bathily said the clashes were “indeed a wake-up call for all the elite, because if this situation continues, it will jeopardize individual ambition. The state of anarchy which will result from the repetition of this kind of situation will put at risk even the individual lives of all those leaders. So, they have an interest in keeping the peace and stability of the political landscape.”

On the bright side, Bathily highlighted what he called several signs of progress toward a more stable Libya, including ongoing efforts to finalize the electoral laws, the unification of the central bank, and consultations among institutional leaders to oversee state expenditure in a more transparent fashion.

He said the last of those signs was particularly “important because there is a continuous outcry in Libya about the management of national resources, lack of transparency and corruption. And this mechanism hopefully, if consolidated, since it is a result of a consensus among institutional players, will enable more transparency in public expenditure and put, really, the resources of the country at the disposal of the citizens of the country.”

Bathily also said it is important that regional and international actors speak with one voice and act in unison with regards to Libya. He called on them to respond to the calls by the Libyan people for unity, peace and prosperity and said he believes the interests of these external powers can only be served by a stable Libya.

“It is through peace and stability in Libya that the interests of partners, be they regional or international, can be taken care of,” said Bathily.

“But anarchy and chaos in Libya would not serve the interests of regional players or international players.”

He underscored the interconnected nature of regional crises such as those in Libya, the Sahel, Sudan, Chad and Niger, and the fact that recent developments have shown that the ripple effect of instability in one country will inevitably be felt by neighboring nations. A concerted effort is therefore needed to prevent further crises, which requires dialogue, cooperation and international support, according to Bathily.




Bathily, who lives in Tripoli, described Libyans as a welcoming and peace-loving people. (Supplied)

On several occasions, UN human rights experts have expressed serious concerns about reports of human traffickers in Libya detaining and torturing migrants and refugees, holding them for ransom, and subjecting them to human rights violations that might constitute enforced disappearance.

Referring to the migrant crisis, Bathily said that countries of origin, transit and destination share with Libya the responsibility for addressing it. He called for the development of a comprehensive approach to this that takes into consideration the economic, security and political dimensions of the issue.

“The issue of migration is a big subject and responsibilities are shared by all the countries concerned, from all sides, one side in the Mediterranean and the other side in the Sahel,” he said.

“This is why it is important to create the conditions for stability and peace in all these countries, because not only do you have migration; migration and human trafficking go with other scourges as well — that is, drug trafficking and all sorts of criminal activities along the route of migration.

“Therefore, we should shoulder the problem in its entirety instead of just looking at it from one side. It is important for Europe, the African countries concerned, and even beyond, to look at this issue because it is not only an economic issue. It is a security issue and a political issue as well.

“Therefore, it has something to do with the wider problems of our current world, a world of economic crises, a world of political crises, a world of deficit of leadership all along the line.”


Gaza aid sites shut, as Israel issues ‘combat zones’ warning

Updated 16 sec ago
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Gaza aid sites shut, as Israel issues ‘combat zones’ warning

  • Announcement follows a string of deadly incidents near Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution sites
  • On Tuesday, 27 people were killed in southern Gaza when Israeli troops opened fire near a GHF aid site

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: A US and Israeli-backed group operating aid sites in the Gaza Strip announced the temporary closure of the facilities on Wednesday, with the Israeli army warning that roads leading to distribution centers were “considered combat zones.”

The announcement by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) follows a string of deadly incidents near the distribution sites it operates that have sparked condemnation from the United Nations.

Israeli bombardment on Wednesday killed at least 16 people in the Gaza Strip, including 12 in a single strike on a tent housing displaced people, the Palestinian territory’s civil defense agency said.

On Tuesday, 27 people were killed in southern Gaza when Israeli troops opened fire near a GHF aid site, with the military saying the incident was under investigation.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the deaths of people seeking food aid as “unacceptable,” and the world body’s rights chief condemned attacks on civilians as “a war crime” following a similar incident near the same site on Sunday.

Israel recently eased its blockade of Gaza, but the UN says the territory’s entire population remains at risk of famine.

The GHF said its “distribution centers will be closed for renovation, reorganization and efficiency improvement work” on Wednesday and would resume operations on Thursday.

The Israeli army, which confirmed the temporary closure, warned against traveling “on roads leading to the distribution centers, which are considered combat zones.”

The GHF, officially a private effort with opaque funding, began operations a week ago but the UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with it over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.

Israeli authorities and the GHF, which uses contracted US security, have denied allegations that the Israeli army shot at civilians rushing to pick up aid packages.

Food shortages in Gaza have propelled fresh international calls for an end to the war, but a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas remains elusive.

The UN Security Council will vote Wednesday on a resolution calling for a ceasefire and humanitarian access to Gaza, a measure expected to be vetoed by key Israel backer the United States.

At a hospital in southern Gaza, the family of Reem Al-Akhras, who was killed in Tuesday’s shooting near GHF’s facility, were beside themselves with grief.

“She went to bring us some food, and this is what happened to her,” her son Zain Zidan said, his face streaked with tears.

Akhras’s husband, Mohamed Zidan, said “every day unarmed people” were being killed.

“This is not humanitarian aid – it’s a trap.”

The Israeli military maintains that its forces do not prevent Gazans from collecting aid.

Army spokesperson Effie Defrin said the Israeli soldiers had fired toward suspects who “were approaching in a way that endangered” the troops, adding that the “incident is being investigated.”

UN human rights chief Volker Turk called attacks against civilians “unconscionable” and said they “constitute a grave breach of international law and a war crime.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross meanwhile said “Gazans face an “unprecedented scale and frequency of recent mass casualty incidents.”

Scenes of hunger in Gaza have also sparked fresh solidarity with Palestinians, and a boat organized by an international activist coalition was sailing toward Gaza, aiming to deliver aid.

The boat from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition departed Sicily Sunday carrying a dozen people, including environmental activist Greta Thunberg, along with fruit juices, milk, tinned food and protein bars.

“Together, we can open a people’s sea corridor to Gaza,” the coalition said.

But Israel’s military said Tuesday it was ready to “protect” the country’s maritime space.

When asked about the Freedom Flotilla vessel, army spokesman Defrin said “for this case as well, we are prepared,” declining to go into detail.

Israel has stepped up its offensive in Gaza in what it says is a renewed push to defeat the Palestinian group Hamas, whose October 2023 attack sparked the war.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said at least 4,240 people have been killed since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 54,510, mostly civilians.

Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

The army said three of its soldiers had been killed in northern Gaza, bringing the number of Israeli troops killed in the territory since the start of the war to 424.


Ten Palestinians killed in Israeli attack on school in Gaza’s Khan Younis

Updated 04 June 2025
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Ten Palestinians killed in Israeli attack on school in Gaza’s Khan Younis

  • Residents say Israeli military escalated airstrikes and tank shelling on parts of Khan Younis
  • Israeli military earlier dropped leaflets warning residents to leave their homes and head west

CAIRO: An Israeli airstrike on a school housing displaced Palestinian families killed at least 10 people, including children, on Wednesday, local health authorities said.

Residents said Israeli military escalated airstrikes and tank shelling on parts of Khan Younis, a day after it dropped leaflets warning residents to leave their homes and head west, saying forces would fight Hamas and other militants in those areas.


Israel army says shelling Syria after projectiles launched

Updated 04 June 2025
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Israel army says shelling Syria after projectiles launched

  • Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said bombardments had hit farmland in the province, without reporting casualties

JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said it was shelling targets in Syria on Tuesday in response to a pair of projectile launches, with Defense Minister Israel Katz saying he held Syria’s leader “directly responsible.”
A military statement said that “two projectiles were identified crossing from Syria into Israeli territory, and fell in open areas,” adding in a subsequent statement that its “artillery struck in southern Syria” following the launches.
Syria’s official news agency SANA reported shelling “targeting the Yarmuk Basin, in the west of Daraa” province.
Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said bombardments had hit farmland in the province, without reporting casualties.
“Violent explosions shook southern Syria, notably the town of Quneitra and the Daraa region, following Israeli aerial strikes” overnight Tuesday to Wednesday, the monitor said in a statement.
Israel said it had targeted weapons belonging to Syrian authorities following the launch of the projectiles.
There were no reports of casualties or damage on the Israeli side due to the projectiles, which the military said triggered air raid sirens in parts of the southern Golan Heights, a territory Israel conquered from Syria in 1967 and annexed in 1981.
Katz, the Israeli defense minister, said in a statement released by his office that “we view the president of Syria as directly responsible for any threat or fire directed at the State of Israel.”
“A full response will follow shortly,” he added.
Syria’s interim president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, led the Islamist group that spearheaded the offensive that toppled longtime ruler Bashar Assad in December.
Israeli media said Tuesday’s projectiles were the first fired from Syria into Israeli territory since Assad’s fall.
Following his overthrow, Israel moved its forces into the UN-patrolled demilitarised zone in the Golan Heights, and has carried out hundreds of strikes against military targets in Syria.
Israel says the strikes aim to stop advanced weapons reaching Syria’s new authorities, whom it considers jihadists.
In a statement on Sunday, Israel’s military said its troops were continuing “defensive operations in southern Syria” to “dismantle terrorist infrastructure and protect the residents of the Golan Heights.”
Syria and Israel have technically been at war since 1948.
 

 


Israel army confirms shot Palestinian teen in West Bank

Updated 04 June 2025
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Israel army confirms shot Palestinian teen in West Bank

  • A statement from the local municipality also said Faqha died after being shot by Israeli forces

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories: Israel’s military confirmed on Tuesday it had “neutralized” a Palestinian who threw rocks in the occupied West Bank, where authorities said the slain victim was 14 years old.
In a statement on Monday, the Palestinian Authority announced “the martyrdom of 14-year-old boy Yousef Fouad F aqha, who was shot by Israeli forces in the town of Sinjil” in the central West Bank.
A statement from the local municipality also said Faqha died after being shot by Israeli forces.
Asked about the incident, the Israeli military told AFP on Tuesday that during an operation around Sinjil a day earlier, its forces had “identified a terrorist who had hurled rocks toward a transportation route and thrown two bottles containing hazardous material toward the forces.”
“Immediately after identifying the threat, the forces opened fire and neutralized the terrorist,” it added.
The military later confirmed to AFP that the target was Faqha.
Sources close to the family said that Israeli authorities were still holding onto the body.
In a similar incident in April, a teenager who held US citizenship was shot dead in the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya, with the Israeli military saying it had killed a “terrorist” who threw rocks at cars.
Sinjil and Turmus Ayya are located next to each other on either side of a main road running through the West Bank.
The Israeli military has recently surrounded Sinjil with a large metal fence that cuts the town off from the road.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and violence there has soared since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
The West Bank is home to about three million Palestinians, but also some 500,000 Israelis living in settlements that are illegal under international law.
Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 938 Palestinians — many of them militants, but also scores of civilians — in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, according to Palestinian health ministry figures.
At least 35 Israelis, including both soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, according to official Israeli figures.
 

 


US-backed Gaza aid group names evangelical as chairman

Rev. Dr. Johnnie Moore. (X @JohnnieM)
Updated 04 June 2025
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US-backed Gaza aid group names evangelical as chairman

  • Palestinians want a state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, all territory captured by Israel in a 1967 war with neighboring Arab states

UNITED NATIONS: The U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation on Tuesday named as its executive chairman an American evangelical Christian leader who has publicly backed President Donald Trump's proposal for the United States to take over the Palestinian enclave.
The appointment of Rev. Dr. Johnnie Moore, a former evangelical adviser to the White House during Trump's first term in office, came as health officials said at least 27 people died and more than 150 were injured trying to reach a GHF aid site.
"GHF is demonstrating that it is possible to move vast quantities of food to people who need it most — safely, efficiently, and effectively," Moore said in the foundation statement. "GHF believes that serving the people of Gaza with dignity and compassion must be the top priority."

HIGHLIGHTS

• GHF says it has delivered some 7 million meals in Gaza

• UN refuses to work with GHF, says aid distribution militarized

• Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid, Hamas denies it

The GHF began operations one week ago under a distribution model criticized by the United Nations as the militarization of aid. The GHF says so far it has given out seven million meals from so-called secure distribution sites. It uses private U.S. security and logistics companies to get aid into Gaza.
The U.N. and aid groups have refused to work with the GHF because they say it is not a neutral operation. U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher has said it "makes aid conditional on political and military aims" and uses starvation as "a bargaining chip."
The appointment of Moore could fuel U.N. concerns, given his support for the controversial proposal Trump floated in February for the U.S. to take over Gaza and develop it economically. After Trump proposed the idea, Moore posted video of Trump's remarks on X and wrote: "The USA will take full responsibility for future of Gaza, giving everyone hope & a future."

'BAD GUYS'
The U.N. did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the appointment of Moore, who has accused the U.N. of ignoring "bad guys" stealing aid in Gaza. The U.N. has long-blamed Israel and lawlessness in the enclave for impediments getting aid into Gaza and distributing throughout the war zone.
Israel has long accused Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies. In a reference to the new GHF-led aid model, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week said Israel was "taking control of food distribution" in Gaza.
"The @UN & others should clean up their act & work with America," Moore posted on May 26. "Surely, these old U.S. & E.U.-funded humanitarian orgs won't let people starve in exchange for being 'right' when they know what they have done hasn't worked & has, in fact, made a terrible war worse?"
The war in Gaza has raged since 2023 after Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in Israel in an October 7 attack and took some 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies, and Israel responded with a military campaign that has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.
Moore visited Israel about three months after the 2023 Hamas attack and wrote: "Never have I seen such horror."
Just a couple of weeks later, he posted a video titled "Come visit beautiful Gaza," which sought to portray Gaza as a tourist destination if it wasn't for Hamas militants. Trump has said Gaza has the potential to be "The Riviera of the Middle East."
The United Nations has long endorsed a vision of two states living side by side within secure and recognized borders. Palestinians want a state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, all territory captured by Israel in a 1967 war with neighboring Arab states.