Libyans want an end to country’s divisions and feuding politicians to hold elections, UN envoy says

Stephanie Koury, the top UN official in Libya said, many Libyans she spoke to signaled the importance of a “pact” or agreement that would affirm, among other things, the rival parties’ respect for the outcome of elections. (X: @UNSMILibya)
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Updated 20 June 2024
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Libyans want an end to country’s divisions and feuding politicians to hold elections, UN envoy says

  • Koury said there is consensus that the current “status quo is not sustainable” – and the political process needs to advance toward elections

UNITED NATIONS: Libyans from rival regions and all walks of life are fed up with the country’s divisions and want political players to end their years-long impasse and agree to hold national elections, a key step to peace in the oil-rich north African country, the UN deputy representative said Wednesday.
Stephanie Koury told the UN Security Council that she has been meeting political leaders, civil society representatives, academics, women’s groups, military leaders and others in the country’s rival east and west to listen to their views. She said there is consensus that the current “status quo is not sustainable” – and the political process needs to advance toward elections.
Libya plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi in 2011. In the chaos that followed, the country split, with rival administrations in the east and west backed by rogue militias and foreign governments.
The country’s current political crisis stems from the failure to hold elections on Dec. 24, 2021, and the refusal of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah — who led a transitional government in the capital of Tripoli — to step down. In response, Libya’s east-based parliament appointed a rival prime minister who was suspended. The east is now governed by Prime Minister Ossama Hammad while the powerful military commander Khalifa Haftar continues to hold sway.
Koury, the top UN official in Libya since the resignation of special representative Abdoulaye Bathily in April, said many Libyans she spoke to signaled the importance of a “pact” or agreement that would affirm, among other things, the rival parties’ respect for the outcome of elections. They also expressed deep concern at the country’s divisions and parallel governments, and provided ideas on a roadmap to elections, she said.
“While institutional and political divisions keep deepening, ordinary Libyans long for peace, stability, prosperity and reconciliation,” Koury said. “Resolute and united action to advance a political process is needed by Libyans with the support of the international community.”
In February, Bathily warned the country’s feuding political actors that if they didn’t urgently form a unified government and move toward elections Libya will slide into “disintegration.”
The three African nations on the council – Sierra Leone, Algeria and Mozambique joined by Guyana – said in a joint statement Wednesday that “the Security Council must remain committed to an inclusive Libyan-led and Libyan-owned political process facilitated by the United Nations … for the holding of national elections.”
The four countries called on the rival political players “to move from the entrenched institutional and political positions, resolve their differences, build consensus and facilitate the holding of national election.”
US deputy Ambassador Robert Wood said the United States also continues to firmly support the UN political mission’s efforts “to bring Libya closer to unlocking a viable process toward long-overdue elections.”
“Progress toward greater military integration remains key to reaffirming Libyan sovereignty and preventing Libya from becoming enmeshed in regional turmoil,” he said.
Turning to Russia’s actions in Libya, Wood told the council the United States recently sanctioned “Russian state-owned enterprise Goznak for producing counterfeit currency globally and printing more than $1 billion worth of counterfeit Libyan currency, which exacerbated Libya’s economic challenges.”
Libya is under a UN arms embargo, and Wood said the United States also notes “with particular concern the recent reports of Russian Federation naval vessels unloading military hardware in Libya.”
Libya’s UN Ambassador Taher El-Sonni, who represents the internationally recognized government in the west, stressed that national reconciliation is the only way to rebuild social cohesion and trust between the rivals, unite the country and pave the way for elections.
“We are tired and fed up from the stalemate and the vicious cycle that we have been going through for decades now,” he said. “We are tired and fed up from being lectured on what to do and what not to do,” and from the Security Council’s inaction.
“We are tired and fed up to use Libya as a proxy for certain countries and regional powers for selfish greedy battles, some of which have colonial ambitions,” El-Sonni said.
He called on the Security Council “to leave Libya alone” and let the people decide their own future and “take their destiny in their own hands.”


Equality in the world hindered by lack of connectivity warns telecoms boss

Updated 9 sec ago
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Equality in the world hindered by lack of connectivity warns telecoms boss

  • Connectivity has become one of the most important ingredients for progress

DUBAI: A massive 5.5 billion people have been connected around the world through such projects as the Edison Alliance, but half as many remain unconnected, Hatem Dowidar, group CEO at e&, told the World Governments Summit on Tuesday.

Dowidar said it was important to ensure this gap was addressed before it led to further economic divide in the future.

He gave the example of two students, one in an advanced economy with access to personalized artificial intelligence programs for education and the ability to collaborate globally with his peers, and another in a less wealthy nation, who had to walk for hours to reach school and had access to only the “very basic training and teaching equipment.”

He said: “These two have to compete in the future … It’s really unfair. And if we don’t do anything today to bridge that divide, it will become a bigger problem in the future.”

Connectivity has become one of the most important ingredients for progress, Dowidar said, adding: “We need to all work together, whether it’s governments, businesses (or) organizations.”

Today with the advancement of AI, this becomes even more critical as “we can really help a lot of the global south with solutions that improve education, healthcare and economic activity.”

Dowidar said there were signs of improvements in technology that would help increase connectivity, such as satellite technology, which was becoming more accessible.

Margherita Della Valle, CEO, Vodafone, said: “For society, connectivity today is essential … There cannot be any real development without connectivity. In Vodafone, we operate in 17 different countries across Europe and Africa, and our mission statement is very simple: We connect everyone wherever they are.”

Della Valle said her company’s most recent evolution — one they are most proud of — has been adding satellite connectivity to their networks.

“I think this is a great opportunity to connect those areas of the world which are most remote. Out of the 2.5 billion people who have no access to the internet, there are around 300 million who are nowhere near any form of connectivity, and satellite can get us there,” Vodafone’s CEO said two weeks ago she made the first mobile space video call in the world using a normal smartphone.

“We are now going to commercially launch the service later this year, and I think it’s a great opportunity to bring connectivity to the most remote areas of the planet,” she said.


African Union: Sudan war is world’s ‘worst humanitarian crisis’

Updated 55 min 14 sec ago
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African Union: Sudan war is world’s ‘worst humanitarian crisis’

  • The Sudanese army has been at war since April 2023 with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces
  • The Sudanese army controls the east and north of the country while RSF holds most of Darfur region

ADDIS ABABA: African Union officials on Tuesday branded Sudan’s civil war the “worst humanitarian crisis in the world” and warned it was leaving hundreds of thousands of children malnourished.
The Sudanese army has been at war since April 2023 with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in a conflict that has displaced around 12 million people, according to the AU and the International Rescue Committee.
It “has hampered access to humanitarian relief, led to shortage of food and aggravated hunger,” Mohamed Ibn Chambas, chairman of an AU panel on Sudan, said Tuesday on X.
“Children and women are continually abused, and the elderly and sick lack medical assistance,” he added.
“This is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.”
A senior AU official for child welfare, Wilson Almeida Adao, said in a separate X post that hospital admissions for malnutrition rose by 44 percent in 2024, with over 431,000 children receiving treatment.
“We witness reports of grave violations, including attacks on schools and hospitals, forced recruitment of child soldiers, and the denial of humanitarian access,” he said.
The Sudanese army controls the east and north of the country while the RSF holds most of the stricken Darfur region, where the United Nations on Monday accused it of blocking aid.
For the AU, “only inter-Sudanese political dialogue, not the military option, can end this war,” said Chambas.


Syria’s Sharaa calls Trump Gaza plan ‘serious crime’ bound to fail

Updated 51 min 34 sec ago
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Syria’s Sharaa calls Trump Gaza plan ‘serious crime’ bound to fail

  • Trump had said the US would take over the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and develop it economically after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere

DUBAI: Syria Arab Republic’s new president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, said in remarks broadcast on Monday he believes US President Donald Trump’s plan to resettle Palestinians from Gaza and take over the Strip “is a serious crime that will ultimately fail.”
Trump had said the US would take over the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and develop it economically after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere. He said Palestinians would not have the right of return to Gaza under his proposal.
In an interview with a UK podcast, Sharaa, an Islamist whose militant group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham was once an affiliate of Al-Qaeda, said Trump’s proposal would not succeed.
“I believe no power can drive people from their land. Many countries have tried to do it and they have all failed, especially during the recent war in Gaza over the past year and a half,” he said.
Sharaa, declared president for a transitional phase after his group’s fighters led the overthrow of Bashar Assad, said it would be neither “wise nor morally or politically right” for Trump to lead an effort to force Palestinians out of their land.
“Over 80 years of this conflict, all attempts to displace them have failed; those who left have regretted their decision. The Palestinian lesson that every generation has learned is the importance of holding on to their land,” he added.
Egypt, Jordan and other Arab nations have strongly opposed any attempt to push Palestinians over the border.
They fear any mass movement across the border would further undermine prospects for a “two-state solution” – creating a state of Palestine next to Israel – and leave Arab nations dealing with the consequences.


Syria Kurds say aim to empty northeast camps of Syrians, Iraqis this year

Updated 11 February 2025
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Syria Kurds say aim to empty northeast camps of Syrians, Iraqis this year

  • Kurdish-run camps and prisons hold about 56,000 people, many with alleged or perceived links to Daesh
  • Al-Hol is northeast Syria’s largest camp, with more than 40,000 detainees from 47 countries, living in dire conditions

QAMISHLI, Syria: Syria’s semi-autonomous Kurdish administration aims to empty camps in the country’s northeast of thousands of displaced Syrians and Iraqis, including suspected relatives of Daesh group fighters, by the end of the year, an official said.
“The autonomous administration is working to empty the camps” of Syrians and Iraqis “in 2025... in coordination with the United Nations,” Sheikhmous Ahmed, an official in the Kurdish administration, said late Monday.
Kurdish-run camps and prisons hold about 56,000 people, many with alleged or perceived links to Daesh, more than five years after the group’s territorial defeat in Syria.
The US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) spearheaded the military campaign that ousted the jihadists from their last scraps of Syrian territory.
Al-Hol is northeast Syria’s largest camp, with more than 40,000 detainees from 47 countries, living in dire conditions.
According to 2024 figures, there were more than 20,000 Iraqis and 16,000 Syrians in Al-Hol.
An Iraqi security source said that about 12,000 Iraqis had left Al-Hol camp since 2021, while around 17,000 remain.
Last month, the Kurdish administration said it would facilitate the voluntary return of residents of Al-Hol and other camps to their areas of origin.
Ahmed said some Iraqis had already departed Al-Hol, while “for Syrians, the decision is still being studied.”
The “return and exit mechanism” is being coordinated with the UN refugee agency and other organizations, he said, noting the “very large number” of people affected.
No solution has been found for other foreign nationals.
Ahmed said the presence of other foreigners in Al-Hol “is an international matter linked to the countries that have oversight in Al-Hol camp and also the fighters” imprisoned by the SDF.
Some countries have repatriated nationals from Al-Hol, but most “have not carried out any withdrawal,” he added.
The push comes amid talks between Syria’s new authorities and the SDF over the group’s future, and as clashes rage in the north between the force and pro-Ankara factions.
Ahmed said the initiative was launched “after the fall of the regime of Bashar Assad” in December, noting that Syria is now “heading toward reconstruction.”
The official denied recent US aid cuts were the reason for the push, adding that UN-affiliated and local organizations were still providing support and the administration was “continuing to provide services to the camps.”
Human Rights Watch has warned that recent US aid suspensions could worsen “life-threatening conditions” in camps in Syria’s northeast.


UN chief: Renewed hostilities in Gaza must be avoided at all costs

Updated 11 February 2025
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UN chief: Renewed hostilities in Gaza must be avoided at all costs

  • Hamas on Monday announced it would stop releasing Israeli hostages until further notice
  • It claimed Israeli violated ceasefire agreement in Gaza, raising the risk of reigniting the conflict

GENEVA: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Hamas to continue with the planned release of hostages on Tuesday, a day after the Palestinian militant group announced its intention to halt the exchange.

“We must avoid at all costs the resumption of hostilities in Gaza that would lead to an immense tragedy,” he said in a statement.

Hamas on Monday announced it would stop releasing Israeli hostages until further notice over what it called Israeli violations of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, raising the risk of reigniting the conflict.

Hamas was to release more Israeli hostages on Saturday in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and other Palestinians held in Israeli detention as had happened over the past three weeks. An Israeli delegation returned from Doha for talks on the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Monday, amid growing doubts over the Egyptian and Qatari-brokered process to end the war in Gaza.

“Both sides must fully abide by their commitments in the ceasefire agreement and resume negotiations in Doha for the second phase,” Guterres added.

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Hamas should release all hostages held by the militant group in Gaza by midday Saturday or he would propose canceling the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and “let hell break out.”

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump must remember that the only way to bring home Israeli prisoners is to respect the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.