TRIPOLI: Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Al-Dbeibah said on Saturday that eliminating militias is an “ongoing project,” as a ceasefire after deadly clashes this week remained in place.
“We will not spare anyone who continues to engage in corruption or extortion. Our goal is to create a Libya free of militias and corruption,” Dbeibah said in a televised speech.
Dbeibah is the country’s internationally recognized leader in the west, based in Tripoli.
After Dbeibah on Tuesday ordered the armed groups to be dismantled, Tripoli was rocked by its fiercest clashes in years between two armed groups. The clashes killed at least eight civilians, according to the United Nations.
The government announced a ceasefire on Wednesday.
It followed Monday’s killing of major militia chief Abdulghani Kikli, widely known as Ghaniwa, and the sudden defeat of his Stabilization Support Apparatus group by factions aligned with Dbeibah.
SSA is under the Presidential Council that came to power in 2021 with the Government of National Unity of Dbeibah through a United Nations-backed process.
SSA was based in the densely populated Abu Salim neighborhood.
GNU’s Interior Ministry said in a statement that nine decomposed corpses were found in a morgue refrigerator in Abu Salim-based Al-Khadra hospital. It said SSA never reported them to authorities. The PM’s media office posted a video of Dbeibah greeting the security force protecting the Prime Ministry Building. It said he later received delegations from elders to discuss Tripoli’s situation and what he called “successful security operation in Abu Salim.”
“The Prime Minister stressed that this operation falls within the state’s fixed vision to eliminate armed formations outside the police and army institutions,” the media office said.
On Friday, at least three ministers resigned in sympathy with hundreds of protesters who took to the streets calling for Dbeibah’s ouster.
Dbeibah did not comment on their resignations. “The protests are annoying, but I’ve put up with them. I know some of them are real, but a lot of them are paid,” he said.
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya expressed concern on Friday about the escalation of violence in Tripoli, calling on parties to protect civilians and public property.
Libya has had little stability since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising ousted longtime autocrat Muammar Qaddafi. The country split in 2014 between rival eastern and western factions, though an outbreak of major warfare paused with a truce in 2020.
While eastern Libya has been dominated for a decade by commander Khalifa Haftar and his Libyan National Army, control in Tripoli and western Libya has been splintered among numerous armed factions.
A major energy exporter, Libya is also an important way station for migrants heading to Europe, while its conflict has drawn in foreign powers including Turkiye, Russia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
State-oil firm NOC said on Friday that its operations at oil facilities are proceeding as normal, with oil and gas exports operating regularly.
Libya’s PM says eliminating militias is ‘ongoing project’ as ceasefire holds
https://arab.news/gvhqa
Libya’s PM says eliminating militias is ‘ongoing project’ as ceasefire holds
- The United Nations Support Mission in Libya expressed concern on Friday about the escalation of violence in Tripoli, calling on parties to protect civilians and public property
Lebanon’s south could become US-backed economic zone, according to local paper Nidaa Al-Watan
- Lebanese daily quotes sources as saying the US plan casts southern Lebanon as a key gateway for broader economic transformation
- White House fails to respond to Arab News’ request for comment
LONDON: Lebanese daily Nidaa Al-Watan has reported that the office of Jared Kushner, son-in-law and senior adviser to US President Donald Trump, has prepared detailed maps for a so‑called “Trump Economic Zone” in southern Lebanon.
According to columnist Tarek Abou Zeinab, the Kushner plan has been formally submitted to the White House for consideration.
Citing unnamed sources, the column said that the idea is no longer just a “whispered” concept among political circles but has entered what it described as “concrete border‑related discussions aimed at fast‑tracking the plan onto the US administration’s Middle East implementation agenda.”
Arab News asked the US Embassy in Beirut and the US State Department for comment, but was directed to the White House for any official response. The White House was subsequently contacted but has not responded.
Lebanon has been mired in prolonged political paralysis. Large parts of the south remain under Hezbollah’s influence, while Israel illegally occupies at least five outposts along the border that are within Lebanese sovereign land.
According to Nidaa Al‑Watan’s sources, the US concept frames southern Lebanon as a key gateway for a wider economic transformation, tying large‑scale investment and infrastructure projects to security arrangements on the ground.
The reported plan would seek to attract international capital, establish factories and logistics hubs, upgrade infrastructure, and build a port connected to global shipping routes.
Its aim, according to the column, would be to open new export channels through a free‑zone model and lure major energy companies by linking southern Lebanon to wider schemes such as the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor.
Supporters of the plan argue it could trigger large Arab and international investments, raise living standards and create long‑term jobs, thereby lowering the risk of renewed conflict.
However, Lebanese political and media sources quoted by the daily have warned that the proposal follows a new “hegemonic” approach and carries major political implications that cannot be ignored.
The critics say the reported US vision goes beyond development to include the establishment of Jewish settlements in parts of southern Lebanon, justified on religious and security grounds to protect northern Israel.
One source expressed concern that such moves would create a geographic and symbolic link between Israel and southern Lebanon, deepening fears over sovereignty and the region’s future political trajectory.
The paper said Kushner is focussed on areas stretching from Mount Hermon to Shebaa and Naqoura in the far south at a time when Israel has been pressing for a buffer zone along the border, citing security concerns since the end of major clashes with Hezbollah in November 2024.
The proposed zone would cover more than 27 southern towns, raising questions over Lebanese sovereignty.
In parallel, the Lebanese army has been tasked with bringing all weapons under state control and asserting government authority in areas long dominated by Hezbollah, as part of a broader disarmament and security plan.
Despite a ceasefire, Israel has continued to carry out attacks inside Lebanese territory and maintains control over parts of the south, saying the measures are necessary for security.
Lebanese and Israeli delegations held talks in Naqoura earlier in December to shore up the ceasefire and discuss reconstruction in the south.
