Libya’s GNA Says Retakes Tarhouna

A fighter loyal to Libya's GNA celebrates after regaining control over the city, in Tripoli, Libya, June 4, 2020. REUTERS/Ayman Al-Sahili
A fighter loyal to Libya's GNA celebrates after regaining control over the city, in Tripoli, Libya, June 4, 2020. REUTERS/Ayman Al-Sahili
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Libya’s GNA Says Retakes Tarhouna

A fighter loyal to Libya's GNA celebrates after regaining control over the city, in Tripoli, Libya, June 4, 2020. REUTERS/Ayman Al-Sahili
A fighter loyal to Libya's GNA celebrates after regaining control over the city, in Tripoli, Libya, June 4, 2020. REUTERS/Ayman Al-Sahili

The Government of National Accord (GNA) announced Friday taking over Tarhouna, 90 kilometers southeast of the Libyan capital Tripoli, the last western stronghold of the Libyan National Army (LNA).

"Our heroic forces have extended their control over the whole of Tarhouna," said GNA spokesman Mohamad Gnounou.

The GNA said Thursday that its forces regained control of all of Tripoli's entrance and exit points after taking back the airport.

GNA head Fayez al-Sarraj vowed that his government would impose its control over the whole of Libya.

"Our fight continues,” said Sarraj who is backed by Turkey.

Late Thursday, LNA chief Khalifa Haftar's spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari confirmed his forces' "redeployment" away from the capital after more than a year of sometimes intense fighting.

He said the redeployment was a "humanitarian gesture intended to spare the Libyan people further bloodshed".

US Ambassador to Libya Richard Norland expressed hope that the intensified diplomatic activity and the case-fire talks, announced this week by the UN, could help the sides reach an agreement.

“What makes it different now is that the escalation is in such a dangerous stage that cooler heads can and should prevail,” he told reporters on Thursday.



US Orders Departure of Beirut Embassy Staff's Families, Non-emergency Personnel

A boy sells balloons as the sun sets over the Mediterranean Sea in Beirut, Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
A boy sells balloons as the sun sets over the Mediterranean Sea in Beirut, Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
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US Orders Departure of Beirut Embassy Staff's Families, Non-emergency Personnel

A boy sells balloons as the sun sets over the Mediterranean Sea in Beirut, Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
A boy sells balloons as the sun sets over the Mediterranean Sea in Beirut, Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

The United States embassy in Lebanon said that the State Department on Sunday ordered the departure of family members and non-emergency US government personnel from Lebanon, after Washington launched strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

"On June 22, 2025, the US Department of State ordered the departure of family members and non-emergency US government personnel from Lebanon due to the volatile and unpredictable security situation in the region," said a statement on the US embassy website.

Washington has a "do not travel" advisory in place for Lebanon.

The Israel-Iran war, which began on June 13 with Israeli attacks on Iran, has raised further alarms in a region that was already on edge since the start of Israel's war in Gaza in October 2023.

The US had last year ordered the departure of family members and non-essential staff during Israel's war in Lebanon that had dealt severe blows to Hezbollah, but that order was later lifted.