Sarraj Heads to Rome Again as Turkey ‘Summons’ his Senior Military Officials

GNA chief Fayez al-Sarraj during a visit to Ankara, Turkey, on June 4, 2020. (AFP)
GNA chief Fayez al-Sarraj during a visit to Ankara, Turkey, on June 4, 2020. (AFP)
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Sarraj Heads to Rome Again as Turkey ‘Summons’ his Senior Military Officials

GNA chief Fayez al-Sarraj during a visit to Ankara, Turkey, on June 4, 2020. (AFP)
GNA chief Fayez al-Sarraj during a visit to Ankara, Turkey, on June 4, 2020. (AFP)

Libya has witnessed a flurry of developments in recent days, capped on Thursday with Government of National Accord (GNA) chief Fayez al-Sarraj’s surprise visit to Rome – his second in a month.

Italian media noted that the two-day visit was supposed to have been a formal trip.

Sarraj was then expected to then travel to Turkey, a main backer of the GNA.

A delegation of his senior military officials had arriving in Turkey before him for expanded security talks. It includes Defense Minister Salah al-Namroush, Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha, High Council of State chief Khalid al-Mishri, head of the intelligence agency Emad al-Trabulsi, and 16 militia leaders.

Sources close to the GNA said the meeting is aimed at resolving disputes within the GNA and its forces before their withdrawal from frontlines with the Libyan National Army (LNA) in the cities of Sirte al-Jufra.

Unofficial sources said the meeting was aimed at preparing an “imminent military operation.”

Libyan media said that Turkey had “summoned” the delegation for an emergency meeting three weeks before a deadline for foreign forces and mercenaries to pull out from the chaos-ravaged country.

The withdrawal was part of a UN-brokered ceasefire agreement reached between the LNA and GNA in Geneva in October.

The 5+5 military committee, which includes LNA and GNA representatives, is expected to hold a decisive meeting in Sirte next week, revealed informed sources without elaborating.

Meanwhile, GNA commander of Sirte al-Jufra operations Ibrahim Bayt al-Mal expressed his “great disappointment” with the alleged heavy deployment of pro-LNA “Wagner gangs and Janjaweed fighters” near the frontlines.

In a statement on Wednesday, he doubted that the LNA and its affiliated fighters would commit to the ceasefire, citing the failure to pull out the mercenaries.

LNA spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari denied the deployment of any such forces, hoping that all pending problems would be resolved “to end the large conspiracy that is leading the country towards division.”

He described the situation as calm on the Sirte front, saying the LNA has pushed back “Turkey-backed mercenaries.”



Israeli Settlers Accused of Killing 117 Sheep in West Bank Attack

Palestinians checks wounded sheep after settlers attack a Bedouin community in the Jordan valley, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Sawafta
Palestinians checks wounded sheep after settlers attack a Bedouin community in the Jordan valley, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Sawafta
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Israeli Settlers Accused of Killing 117 Sheep in West Bank Attack

Palestinians checks wounded sheep after settlers attack a Bedouin community in the Jordan valley, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Sawafta
Palestinians checks wounded sheep after settlers attack a Bedouin community in the Jordan valley, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Sawafta

Palestinian Bedouins accused Israeli settlers on Friday of killing 117 sheep in an overnight attack and stealing hundreds of others in an apparent effort to chase farmers off their land in the occupied West Bank.

The incident comes amid what the United Nations described this week as intensifying attacks by Jewish settlers and security forces against Palestinians in the West Bank and record mass displacements, according to Reuters.

The Israeli army did not respond to a request for comment about the mass slaughter of the animals belonging to the Arab al-Kaabaneh Bedouin community, in the Jordan Valley.

Veterinarians were called in to treat a handful of sheep which had survived the knife and gun attack, some of the animals shaking uncontrollably and in apparent shock.

Salem Salman Mujahed, a resident of Arab al-Kaabaneh, said multiple groups of settlers working in coordination had orchestrated the assault, and accused the army of standing by.

"(Settlers) came near the houses. I asked them what are you doing here then we started fighting with each other," he said. "The army detained me, and they handcuffed me."

He said other groups of settlers then attacked the sheep, which are vital to his community's survival.

Palestinian Minister Moayad Shaaban condemned the incident, calling it part of a broader strategy to displace Palestinians from the region.

"These sheep and animals were slaughtered and shot at," he told Reuters. "They are using these tools to terrify these people to leave these areas, which have been inhabited for dozens of years."

MOVING AWAY

The attack prompted at least one family to begin relocating.

Bedouin Tareq Kaabaneh said he could no longer withstand what he called settler intimidation.

"They were armed, they steal donkeys and sheep. In the night they come here and start shooting toward us," Kaabaneh said.

"I am moving now from here, I want to protect my kids and my sheep, my livelihood ... yesterday I was safe, but I don't know what will happen to me tomorrow," he added.

The United Nations reported this week that mass displacements in the West Bank had reached levels unprecedented since Israel first took military control of the territory nearly six decades ago.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva also said there had been 757 settler attacks on Palestinians or their properties since January - a 13% increase from the same period last year.

At least 964 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023. Over the same period, 53 Israelis have been killed in attacks by Palestinians or in armed clashes.

The US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee demanded this week a full investigation into the killing of a Palestinian American who was beaten to death by settlers in the West Bank on July 11, describing it as a "criminal and terrorist act".

The United Nations' highest court said last year that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, was illegal and should end as soon as possible.

Israel disputes this, citing security needs as well as historical and biblical ties to the land, which it captured in the 1967 Middle East war. The West Bank is among the territories Palestinians seek for an independent state.