DUBAI: The EU delegation and EU country missions in Libya said on Friday they were gravely concerned about the deterioration of the situation in the country.
They said the intimidation of the Tripoli-based High State Council members and central bank employees, the closure of oil fields, and disruptions in banking services were exacerbating an already fragile situation.
Meanwhile, the Financial Times reported that Libya’s central bank Gov. Sadiq Al-Kabir said he and other senior bank staff had been forced to leave the country to “protect our lives” from potential attacks by armed militia,
“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 Abdul Hamid 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 another level of instability in the country. This major oil producer is split between eastern and western factions with backing from Turkiye and Russia.
Early this week, the UN Support Mission in Libya called for the suspension of unilateral decisions, lifting force majeure on oil fields, halting escalations and use of force, and protecting central bank employees.
EU missions gravely concerned about Libya situation
https://arab.news/5pwjm
EU missions gravely concerned about Libya situation
Iran temporarily closes airspace to most flights
WASHINGTON: Iran temporarily closed its airspace to all flights except international ones to and from Iran with official permission at 5:15 p.m. ET on Wednesday, according to a notice posted on the Federal Aviation Administration’s website.
The prohibition is set to last for more than two hours until 7:30 p.m. ET, or 0030 GMT, but could be extended, the notice said. The United States was withdrawing some personnel from bases in the Middle East, a US official said on Wednesday, after a senior Iranian official said Tehran had warned neighbors it would hit American bases if Washington strikes.
Missile and drone barrages in a growing number of conflict zones represent a high risk to airline traffic. India’s largest airline, IndiGo said some of its international flights would be impacted by Iran’s sudden airspace closure. A flight by Russia’s Aeroflot bound for Tehran returned to Moscow after the closure, according to tracking data from Flightradar24.
Earlier on Wednesday, Germany issued a new directive cautioning the country’s airlines from entering Iranian airspace, shortly after Lufthansa rejigged its flight operations across the Middle East amid escalating tensions in the region.
The United States already prohibits all US commercial flights from overflying Iran and there are no direct flights between the countries. Airline operators like flydubai and Turkish Airlines have canceled multiple flights to Iran in the past week. “Several airlines have already reduced or suspended services, and most carriers are avoiding Iranian airspace,” said Safe Airspace, a website run by OPSGROUP, a membership-based organization that shares flight risk information.
“The situation may signal further security or military activity, including the risk of missile launches or heightened air defense, increasing the risk of misidentification of civil traffic.” Lufthansa said on Wednesday that it would bypass Iranian and Iraqi airspace until further notice while it would only operate day flights to Tel Aviv and Amman from Wednesday until Monday next week so that crew would not have to stay overnight.
Some flights could also be canceled as a result of these actions, it added in a statement. Italian carrier ITA Airways, in which Lufthansa Group is now a major shareholder, said that it would similarly suspend night flights to Tel Aviv until Tuesday next week.
