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Libya’s Haftar Vows to Fight Turkey

FILE PHOTO: Troops loyal to Libya's GNA prepare themselves before heading to Sirte, in Tripoli, Libya, July 6, 2020. REUTERS/Ayman Sahely/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Troops loyal to Libya's GNA prepare themselves before heading to Sirte, in Tripoli, Libya, July 6, 2020. REUTERS/Ayman Sahely/File Photo
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Libya’s Haftar Vows to Fight Turkey

FILE PHOTO: Troops loyal to Libya's GNA prepare themselves before heading to Sirte, in Tripoli, Libya, July 6, 2020. REUTERS/Ayman Sahely/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Troops loyal to Libya's GNA prepare themselves before heading to Sirte, in Tripoli, Libya, July 6, 2020. REUTERS/Ayman Sahely/File Photo

Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar said that the fight against Turkish aggression will not stop as a battle loomed on the horizon in Sirte amid ongoing reinforcements by the Government of National Accord, led by Fayez al-Sarraj.

In a speech at the Military College in the city of Tocra, Haftar said that international quests for a political and fair settlement shouldn’t be exploited for bringing invaders and mercenaries in addition to reinforcing the enemy’s capabilities.

Haftar further hailed friendly and brotherly states, mainly the UAE and Egypt, that support the Libyans and the armed forces against Turkish greed.

His speech came as pro-Sarraj local media reported new military reinforcements were sent to the forces of the Turkey-backed GNA in locations near Sirte.

Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa James Cleverly said “the UK is deeply concerned at the ongoing conflict, fueled by reckless international interventions, and the unacceptable humanitarian and human rights cost.”

“It is shocking that the World Health Organization ranked Libya first in the world, ahead of Afghanistan and Syria, in numbers of attacks on health facilities and staff from January to May 2020,” he said.

US Permanent Representative Kelly Kraft also stressed that there is no place for foreign mercenaries or proxy agents, especially forces fighting on behalf of Russia.

Kraft expressed concern about what is going on in the cities of Sirte and Jafra close to the Libyan Oil Crescent, and stressed having reports that weapons and mines are transferred to Libyan areas for control, in clear violation of Libyan sovereignty.

“It is more urgent than ever that foreign interferences in the Libyan conflict cease,” France's UN ambassador Nicolas de Riviere said.

“The risks of regional escalation and a "Syrianization" of Libya are real. Despite the relative calm and the stabilization of the front line on the Sirte-Joufra axis, the continued military reinforcement of both camps is worrying,” he added.

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Arab World

Beirut Blast Investigator Resumes Work After Two Years

An aerial view shows the massive damage at Beirut port's grain silos and the area around it on August 5, 2020, one day after a massive explosion hit the heart of the Lebanese capital. (AFP)
An aerial view shows the massive damage at Beirut port's grain silos and the area around it on August 5, 2020, one day after a massive explosion hit the heart of the Lebanese capital. (AFP)
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Beirut Blast Investigator Resumes Work After Two Years

An aerial view shows the massive damage at Beirut port's grain silos and the area around it on August 5, 2020, one day after a massive explosion hit the heart of the Lebanese capital. (AFP)
An aerial view shows the massive damage at Beirut port's grain silos and the area around it on August 5, 2020, one day after a massive explosion hit the heart of the Lebanese capital. (AFP)

Lebanese judge Tarek Bitar resumed his investigation into the deadly 2020 Beirut port blast on Thursday, charging 10 people including security, customs and military personnel, a judicial official said.

The fresh charges come after a two-year hiatus in the investigation into the August 4, 2020 explosion that killed more than 220 people, injured thousands and devastated swathes of Lebanon's capital.

Authorities said the explosion was triggered by a fire in a warehouse where a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate fertilizer had been haphazardly stored for years.

But nobody has been held responsible for the blast, one of history's largest non-nuclear explosions.

The probe stalled two years ago after Lebanese group Hezbollah had accused Bitar of bias and demanded his dismissal, and after officials named in the investigation had filed a flurry of lawsuits to prevent it from going forward.

The resumption comes with Hezbollah's influence weakened after its recent war with Israel.

It also follows the election of a Lebanese president after the top position had been vacant for more than two years, with the new head of state Joseph Aoun last week pledging to work towards the "independence of the judiciary".

The judicial official told AFP that "procedures in the case have resumed", speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

The official said that "a new charge sheet has been issued, charging three employees and seven high-ranking officers in the Lebanese army, in the General Security, (and) in customs" with negligence and "possible intent to commit murder". Their interrogations would begin next month.

In March and April, "investigating sessions" would resume for those previously charged in the case, including former ministers, lawmakers, security and military officers, judges and port management employees, after which Bitar would ask public prosecutors to issue indictments, according to the judicial official.

Analysts say Hezbollah's weakening in its war with Israel last year allowed Lebanon's deeply divided political class to elect Aoun last week and back his naming of Nawaf Salam as premier on Monday.

Salam, until recently the presiding judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, on Tuesday promised "justice for the victims of the Beirut port blast".

Hundreds of individuals and organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, had previously called for the United Nations to establish a fact-finding mission on the disaster -- a demand Lebanese officials have repeatedly rejected.

Cecile Roukoz, a lawyer whose brother died in the explosion, said she was optimistic after "the promises made by the president and the prime minister, then the probe resuming".

"There is hope that the rights of the victims, for whom we never stopped fighting, won't be forgotten," said the attorney, one of several representing the relatives of those killed.

Visiting Lebanon on Thursday, UN rights chief Volker Turk called for the "resumption of an independent investigation into the explosion".

"I repeat that those responsible for that tragedy must be held to account and offer the support of my office in this regard," he said.

The probe has been repeatedly stalled since 2020.

In December of that year, lead investigator Fadi Sawan charged former prime minister Hassan Diab -- who had resigned in the explosion's aftermath -- and three ex-ministers with negligence.

But Sawan was later removed from the case after mounting political pressure, and the probe was suspended.

His successor, Bitar, also summoned Diab for questioning and asked parliament, without success, to lift the immunity of lawmakers who had served as ministers.

The interior ministry also refused to execute arrest warrants issued by Bitar, further undermining his efforts.

The public prosecutor at the time, Ghassan Oueidat, thwarted his attempt to resume investigations in early 2023 after Bitar charged him in the case.