TRIPOLI, Libya (AFP) — At least two civilians were killed late Tuesday as a number of rockets struck parts of Tripoli, emergency services said in the Libyan capital. Another four people were injured, said a spokesman for the emergency services Osama Ali, who described the toll as still only “preliminary.” The explosions followed an offensive launched earlier this month by strongman Khalifa Haftar to take Tripoli. At least seven powerful explosions rocked the city center. Shortly […]
Tag: Libya
Over 120 killed, nearly 600 wounded in Libya fighting: WHO
TRIPOLI, Libya (AFP) — Fighting near Tripoli has killed 121 people and wounded 561 since strongman Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive earlier this month to take the Libyan capital, the World Health Organization said Sunday. WHO’s Libya account said on Twitter the organisation was sending medical supplies and more staff to Tripoli, and denounced “repeated attacks on health care workers, vehicles” during the fighting which erupted on April 4. Haftar’s forces, which control swathes […]
Libya forces battle for Tripoli despite UN truce calls
by Rim Taher and Imed Lamloum TRIPOLI, Libya (AFP) — Forces loyal to Libya’s internationally recognized government and a rival commander battled for control of the capital Thursday after UN chief Antonio Guterres warned the country faced a “very dangerous situation”. Thousands of people have fled heavy fighting on the outskirts of Tripoli that has left dozens dead and prompted mounting global alarm. Guterres appealed Wednesday for a halt to hostilities to prevent the situation […]
DOLE announces total ban on deployment of Filipino workers to Libya
(Eagle News)–The Department of Labor and Employment has announced a total deployment ban of Filipino workers to Libya. In a statement, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the ban was upon the recommendation of the Department of Foreign Affairs amid the ongoing fighting between factions there. Earlier, the DFA raised an alert level 3 in Libya, and urged a voluntary repatriation of Filipinos in Tripoli and nearby areas. Bello said the ban, which was also […]
UN postpones Libya talks as violence rages
by Imed Lamloum TRIPOLI, Libya (AFP) — The United Nations on Tuesday postponed a Libyan national conference aimed at drawing up an election roadmap because of fighting raging near the capital, in another setback to peace efforts. The move came as the North African country’s warring parties faced mounting international pressure to halt the violence that has caused thousands to flee and left several dozen people dead. “We cannot ask people to take part in […]
US urges ‘immediate halt’ to military offensive by Libya’s Haftar: Pompeo
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States is “deeply concerned” by fighting near Libya’s capital Tripoli and is seeking an “immediate halt” to an offensive by strongman Khalifa Haftar, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday. “We have made clear that we oppose the military offensive by Khalifa Haftar’s forces and urge the immediate halt to these military operations against the Libyan capital,” he said in a statement. Libya descended into chaos during […]
Clashes rage in Libya despite UN truce call
TRIPOLI, Libya (AFP) — Fighting raged south of Libya’s capital Sunday despite a UN call for a two-hour ceasefire, as forces of strongman Khalifa Haftar and the internationally recognized government exchanged air strikes. The unity government said the fighting had killed 21 people, while the United Nations said there had been “no truce” despite calls for a two-hour pause in fighting for civilians and the wounded to flee. Oil-rich Libya has been riven by chaos […]
World powers demand halt to Libya advance
by Imed Lamloum TRIPOLI, Libya (AFP) — Libyan forces under Khalifa Haftar battled their way to the south of Tripoli on Friday, prompting the UN Security Council and the G7 to demand a halt to the military advance on the capital. Haftar, commander of the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA), launched an offensive on Thursday to take the capital, held by a UN-backed unity government and an array of militias. The lightening assault was ordered […]
Seven seafarers acquitted of fuel smuggling in Libya arrive in PHL
(Eagle News)–The seven Filipino seafarers who were sentenced to prison for fuel smuggling in Libya but were later acquitted by the country’s high court are now in the Philippines. The Department of Foreign Affairs said the seven, who were crewmen of M/T Levante, arrived in Manila on board a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul. They were accompanied by Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers Affairs Abdullah Mama-o and Philippine Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Mardomel Melicor, and were […]
DOLE lifts ban on deployment of some Filipino workers to Libya
(Eagle News)–The Department of Labor and Employment has lifted the deployment ban on Filipinos who wish to return to their jobs in Libya. The Philippine Overseas Employment and Administration said the ban–which was imposed in September last year after the Department of Foreign Affairs raised an Alert Level 3 over the area because of cases of kidnapping of Overseas Filipino Workers there—was relaxed after the DFA and the National Security Council lowered the crisis alert level […]
Filipinos in Libya told to exercise caution amid spate of attacks
(Eagle News) — The Department of Foreign Affairs has urged Filipinos in Libya to exercise caution when they travel following the spate of attacks there. The DFA issued the advisory even as it announced that tensions from the recent clashes in Tripoli had disappeared, and that the situation had returned to normal. The agency said no Filipinos were affected in the latest clashes. “But anywhere when clashes take place, there is always the danger to […]
DFA: Gov’t exerting best efforts to bring home seven Filipino seafarers detained in Libya
(Eagle News) — The Department of Foreign Affairs assured the families of the seven Filipino seafarers who were detained in Libya that it was exerting best efforts to bring them home. In a statement, the DFA said Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. already held a meeting “with the Libyan official on the sides of the Global Compact for Migration meeting in Morocco last month.” “The Secretary reiterated his request to Libyan Embassy Chargé d’Affaires […]





