UN Warns Libya Faces Economic Collapse Amid Central Bank Crisis 

A view of the Central Bank of Libya in Tripoli, Libya, August 26, 2024. (Reuters)
A view of the Central Bank of Libya in Tripoli, Libya, August 26, 2024. (Reuters)
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UN Warns Libya Faces Economic Collapse Amid Central Bank Crisis 

A view of the Central Bank of Libya in Tripoli, Libya, August 26, 2024. (Reuters)
A view of the Central Bank of Libya in Tripoli, Libya, August 26, 2024. (Reuters)

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) issued a statement late on Monday expressing deep concern "over the deteriorating situation in Libya resulting from unilateral decisions."

Disputes over control of Libya's Central Bank have raised alarms about the potential misuse of the country's financial resources.

"UNSMIL is convening an emergency meeting for all parties involved in the Central Bank of Libya crisis in order to reach a consensus based on political agreements, applicable laws, and the principle of the central bank's independence," the statement said.

The UN mission has 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's economy is heavily reliant on oil revenue, and there have been moves to impose force majeure on oil fields, effectively cutting off the country's primary source of income.

Earlier on Monday, Libya's eastern-based administration ordered the closure of oilfields in eastern Libya, which account for almost all the country's production, halting both production and exports after tensions flared over the Central Bank's leadership.

There has been no confirmation of these actions from the Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli or from the National Oil Corp (NOC), which controls the country's oil resources.



Israeli Settlers Kill Palestinian in West Bank, Military Strike Kills 5 Others 

22 August 2024, Palestinian Territories, Tulkarm: A view of a damaged car destroyed by Israeli forces during a raid on Tulkarm refugee camp. (Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
22 August 2024, Palestinian Territories, Tulkarm: A view of a damaged car destroyed by Israeli forces during a raid on Tulkarm refugee camp. (Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
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Israeli Settlers Kill Palestinian in West Bank, Military Strike Kills 5 Others 

22 August 2024, Palestinian Territories, Tulkarm: A view of a damaged car destroyed by Israeli forces during a raid on Tulkarm refugee camp. (Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)
22 August 2024, Palestinian Territories, Tulkarm: A view of a damaged car destroyed by Israeli forces during a raid on Tulkarm refugee camp. (Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa)

Israeli settlers shot dead one Palestinian and wounded three others in the occupied West Bank's Bethlehem, while five others were killed in an Israeli strike on the Nur Shams refugee camp near the city of Tulkarm, the Palestinian health ministry said.

The Israeli military said its aircraft struck a militant operations center in the camp, and that troops were separately blocking routes and conducting searches in the West Bank following reports of an abduction.

It was looking into reports on the settler raid, it added.

Palestinians regularly accuse Israeli security forces of standing by and allowing groups of violent settlers to attack their houses and villages and the incidents have attracted increasing concern internationally.

The US and a number of European countries have imposed sanctions on violent settlers and called repeatedly on Israel to do more to curb the attacks.

In parallel to escalating settler attacks, clashes with the Israeli military in the West Bank have risen sharply since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza last year as Israeli forces have stepped up operations against armed groups, including Iranian-backed Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Thousands of Palestinians have been arrested in military raids, and at least 637 have been killed, according to Palestinian Health Ministry figures. Many of them are armed fighters but others are stone-throwing youths or uninvolved civilians.

At least 30 Israelis - civilians and soldiers - have been killed by Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank in the same period, official Israeli figures showed.