African-European Plan to End the Plight of Refugees in Libya

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, front right, speaks with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, front left, during a group photo at an EU Africa summit in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Abidjan: Hatim Betioui

07:12-1 December 2017 AD ـ 13 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1439 AH

Abidjan: Hatim Betioui

07:12-1 December 2017 AD ـ 13 Rabi’ Al-Awwal 1439 AH

African-European Plan to End the Plight of Refugees in Libya

The Africa-European Union Summit concluded in the Ivorian capital on Thursday with the announcement of an urgent plan to end the plight of the refugees of Libya.

Leaders of more than 80 countries agreed in the summit’s final statement to strengthen cooperation in four areas, including migration, security, investment in education and sustainable development.

They also expressed their strong commitment to combat illegal immigration and the resulting slavery trade in Libya.

“There must be urgent humanitarian action in Libya,” said Alassane Ouattara, president of Cote d'Ivoire, during the closing session. He underlined the need to “end the networks of smugglers and open an international investigation.”

Alpha Conde, President of Guinea, which holds the rotating presidency of the African Union, requested that the Commission of Inquiry be under the supervision of the AU Commission on Human Rights and called for “special forces” to fight human traffickers.

The head of the African Union Commission, Moussa Fakih Mohamed, announced on Thursday that around 3,800 African migrants in Libya must be urgently evacuated, pointing out that the total number of migrants in this country ranged from “400,000 to 700,000”.

The Abidjan Summit adopted a series of urgent measures to end the practices of slavery of migrants in Libya.

French President Emmanuel Macron said after a meeting on Wednesday in the Ivorian capital that the European Union, the African Union and the United Nations have agreed to conduct “emergency evacuations in the coming days or weeks” of migrants, who are victims of human trafficking in Libya.

He added that the EU, the AU and the UN have decided to provide greater support to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in order to assist the return of Africans wishing to return to their home country, which would be carried out in the coming days, in cooperation with the concerned countries.

In addition to the urgent evacuation of Africans, Macron announced the formation of an “intervention force” of police and intelligence, as well as an awareness campaign to discourage young people from emigrating.

Two US Navy Pilots Shot Down Over Red Sea in Apparent ‘Friendly Fire’ Incident, US Military Says

Aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman is moored near Split, Croatia, Feb. 14, 2022. (AP)

09:13-22 December 2024 AD ـ 21 Jumada Al-Alkhirah 1446 AH

Two US Navy Pilots Shot Down Over Red Sea in Apparent ‘Friendly Fire’ Incident, US Military Says

Aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman is moored near Split, Croatia, Feb. 14, 2022. (AP)

Two US Navy pilots were shot down Sunday over the Red Sea in an apparent “friendly fire” incident, the US military said, marking the most serious incident to threaten troops in over a year of America targeting Yemen's Houthi militias.

Both pilots were recovered alive after ejecting from their stricken aircraft, with one suffering minor injuries. But the shootdown underlines just how dangerous the Red Sea corridor has become over the ongoing attacks on shipping by the Iranian-backed Houthis despite US and European military coalitions patrolling the area.

The US military had conducted airstrikes targeting the Houthis at the time, though the US military’s Central Command did not elaborate on what their mission was and did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press.

The F/A-18 shot down had just flown off the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, Central Command said. On Dec. 15, Central Command acknowledged the Truman had entered the Mideast, but hadn't specified that the carrier and its battle group was in the Red Sea.

“The guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, which is part of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, mistakenly fired on and hit the F/A-18,” Central Command said in a statement.

From the military's description, the aircraft shot down was a two-seat F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet assigned to the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 out of Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia.

It wasn't immediately clear how the Gettysburg could mistake an F/A-18 for an enemy aircraft or missile, particularly as ships in a battle group remain linked by both radar and radio communication.

However, Central Command said that warships and aircraft earlier shot down multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile launched by the militias. Incoming hostile fire from the Houthis has given sailors just seconds to make decisions in the past.

Since the Truman's arrival, the US has stepped up its airstrikes targeting the Houthis and their missile fire into the Red Sea and the surrounding area. However, the presence of an American warship group may spark renewed attacks from the militias, like what the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower saw earlier this year. That deployment marked what the Navy described as its most intense combat since World War II.

On Saturday night and early Sunday, US warplanes conducted airstrikes that shook Sanaa, the capital of Yemen that the Houthis have held since 2014. Central Command described the strikes as targeting a “missile storage facility” and a “command-and-control facility,” without elaborating.

Houthi-controlled media reported strikes in both Sanaa and around the port city of Hodeidah, without offering any casualty or damage information. In Sanaa, strikes appeared particularly targeted at a mountainside known to be home to military installations. The Houthis later acknowledged the aircraft being shot down in the Red Sea.

The Houthis have targeted about 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip started in October 2023 after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage.

Israel’s grinding offensive in Gaza has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, local health officials say. The tally doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians.

The Houthis have seized one vessel and sunk two in a campaign that has also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by separate US- and European-led coalitions in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have also included Western military vessels.

The militias maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the US or the United Kingdom to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.

The Houthis also have increasingly targeted Israel itself with drones and missiles, resulting in retaliatory Israeli airstrikes.

African-European Plan to End the Plight of Refugees in Libya

African-European Plan to End the Plight of Refugees in Libya

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Two US Navy Pilots Shot Down Over Red Sea in Apparent ‘Friendly Fire’ Incident, US Military Says

Two US Navy Pilots Shot Down Over Red Sea in Apparent ‘Friendly Fire’ Incident, US Military Says

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