Libya’s central bank governor Sadiq Al-Kabir said he and other senior bank staff had been forced to leave the country to “protect out lives” from potential attacks by armed militia, the Financial Times reported on Friday.
“Militias are threatening and terrifying bank staff and are sometimes abducting their children and relatives to force them to go to work,” Kabir told the newspaper via telephone.
He also said attempts by interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid Al-Dbeibah to replace him were illegal, and contravened UN negotiated accords on control of the central bank.
The crisis over the control of the Central Bank of Libya creates yet another level of instability in the country, a major oil producer that is split between eastern and western factions that have drawn backing from Turkiye and Russia.
The UN Support Mission in Libya early this week called for the suspension of unilateral decisions, the lifting of force majeure on oil fields, the halting of escalations and use of force, and the protection of central bank employees.
Libya central bank governor, other bankers flee to avoid militias, FT says
https://arab.news/mppqw
Libya central bank governor, other bankers flee to avoid militias, FT says
- The crisis over the control of the Central Bank of Libya creates yet another level of instability in the country
Fighting in Sudan’s North Darfur kills at least 13 children, UNICEF says
The children were between 6 and 17 years old, the UN agency said in a statement on Sunday.
The Sudanese army on Friday launched airstrikes that targeted a market in the town of Al Kuma, around 70 kilometers (43 miles) east of the North Darfur capital of El Fasher, the local Daily Sudan Post reported.
The airstrikes, which also hit the city of Mellit, killed at least 45 people and injured dozens of others, according to the Sudan Tribune news portal and the Central Observatory for Human Rights.
Hamrat Al-Sheikh in North Kordofan was also struck, according to Mohammed H. Al-Ta’ishi, a former member of the Sovereignty Council of Sudan, who said Saturday that the strikes targeted areas that “haven’t seen any form of confrontation since the war began.”
War between the Sudanese military and the Rapid Support Forces broke out in April 2023 in the capital, Khartoum, and has spread across the country. Darfur has seen particularly intense fighting.
“These attacks on children are unacceptable. Children have no role to play in wars or civil conflict, but children are the ones who are suffering the most as the conflict in Sudan grinds on,” said Sheldon Yett, a UNICEF representative to Sudan.
“Children should be safe everywhere, in their homes, neighborhoods, and on the streets,” Yett added.
The UN estimated that 20,000 people have been killed and thousands injured since the conflict began. The war has also displaced over 10 million people, including 2.4 million who fled to neighboring countries and other nations.
Jordan foreign minister arrives in Beirut in show of solidarity
- Jordan FM Ayman Safadi stressed his country’s support against the escalating Israeli aggression
BEIRUT: Jordan’s foreign minister Ayman Safadi arrived in Beirut on board a Jordanian aid plane, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The aircraft was the seventh aid plane dispatched to Lebanon since the onset of the war, carrying 13 tonnes of food, relief items and medical supplies, according to the Jordanian foreign minister.
As part of his “solidarity visit,” Safadi met with Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati and stressed Jordan’s support against the escalating Israeli aggression.
He reiterated his country’s commitment to achieving ceasefire and providing Jordan with the necessary aid to overcome the repercussions of the intense Israeli bombing.
Safadi is scheduled to meet Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berry and Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces Joseph Aoun during his visit.
Hezbollah vows to keep fighting Israeli ‘aggression’
- The Israeli army deployed another division to participate in operations in Lebanon
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Hezbollah on Monday vowed to keep up the fight against Israeli “aggression,” on the anniversary of its militant group ally Hamas’s October 7 attack that triggered war in the Gaza Strip.
Hezbollah and the Lebanese have paid a “heavy price” for the Iran-backed group’s decision to open a “support front” for Gaza on October 8, but “we are confident... in the ability of our resistance to oppose the Israeli aggression,” it said in a statement, calling Israel a “cancerous gland that must be eliminated, no matter how long it takes.”
Hezbollah said it targeted Israeli troops in a south Lebanon border village on Monday, as the Israeli army said it had deployed another division to participate in operations in Lebanon.
Hezbollah fighters “bombed... a gathering of Israeli forces in the Maroun Al-Ras park with a rocket salvo,” the Iran-backed group said in a statement, after announcing separately it had targeted several areas of northern Israel and military positions across the border.
The Israeli army on Monday said it had deployed another division to participate in operations in Lebanon — making it the third troop grouping at division strength to be used in the ground fight against Hezbollah.
“The soldiers of the 91st Division began localized and targeted operational activity in southern Lebanon,” said a statement from the army.
“Victory in Gaza may be delayed, but it is coming” says Hamas former leader Khaled Mashaal
DUBAI: Hamas’ former leader Khaled Mashaal said what is happening in Gaza is a “holocaust” in a speech he delivered on Monday morning.
Mashaal said the Oct. 7. attacks happened because all political horizons were closed and has achieved "strategic results" since.
He thanked Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran for supporting Hamas and called on Arab countries to provide financial support to Gaza.
Mashaal said Israel opened the war front in Lebanon after failing to achieve its goals in Gaza and claimed that Israel is conspiring against Jordan and Egypt.
A year after Oct. 7, Israel has opened a new front in Lebanon against Hezbollah, which has traded fire with Israel since the war in Gaza began.
“Israel is defeated although it has achieved accomplishments against Iran and Hezbollah,” added Mashaal.
Mashaal concluded by asking the people of Gaza not to despair and promised them victory soon.
Over the past year in Gaza, more than 40,000 people, including over 10,000 children, have been killed by Israel’s forces, exacting indiscriminate and disproportionate vengeance for the 1,200 Israelis killed by Hamas on Oct. 7.
Advisor to the Palestinian President Mahmoud Al-Habash said Mashaal's statements are "empty slogans that achieve nothing".
Al-Habash said "real victory is protecting our people" and added that Hamas should have moved towards unity with the Palestinian authority.
Globally, people have hit the streets to protest against Israel’s deadly military offensives in Gaza and Lebanon.
Demonstrators expressed outrage against the Israeli aggression, demanding an end to the war in Gaza, describing the situation as “genocide,” and calling upon the global community to act.
Protests have taken place from the Middle East to Europe, the US, India, Pakistan and Far East Asia.
Israeli hostage forum announces death of captive held in Gaza
- Idan Shtivi, 28, was abducted from the site of the Nova music festival
TEL AVIV: An Israeli campaign group on Monday announced the death of a hostage held in Gaza, as the country marked the first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Idan Shtivi, 28, was abducted from the site of the Nova music festival and his “body is still held captive by Hamas.”
The forum said Shtivi had just arrived at the festival site when the attack began.
“On October 7, Idan arrived at the Nova Festival in the early morning to document his friends’ performances and workshops,” the forum said in a statement.
“However, he never made it inside. When the attack began, Idan helped two strangers he had just met escape from the site. This selfless choice ultimately led to his abduction.”
