Libya on Verge of New Round of Fighting

A school damaged during fighting between rival factions in Tripoli, Libya, on November 19, 2020. (AFP)
A school damaged during fighting between rival factions in Tripoli, Libya, on November 19, 2020. (AFP)
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Libya on Verge of New Round of Fighting

A school damaged during fighting between rival factions in Tripoli, Libya, on November 19, 2020. (AFP)
A school damaged during fighting between rival factions in Tripoli, Libya, on November 19, 2020. (AFP)

Despite international and regional efforts to reach a political solution to the crisis in Libya, Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar continued to amass his forces, amid assertions from a Government of National Accord (GNA) commander that its troops were prepared for war.

LNA media said on Thursday that its 73rd infantry unit was preparing its forces and tanks to carry out Haftar’s orders.

Moreover, a military commander said that “colonial forces” – meaning Turkey – and their backers “of traitors and mercenary agents” were operating in western Libya, where the LNA is based.

He urged the army to remain on constant alert and “take advantage of every moment to prepare and wait for further instructions.”

The LNA also announced that it was recruiting new members to its 106th brigade.

Meanwhile, a commander from the GNA’s Sirte and al-Jufra operations command center said the forces were “fully” prepared to fight, warning that Haftar’s troops may attack at any moment.

He added that the war was still ongoing, revealing that the GNA forces were preparing for the worst.

He accused the LNA of continuing to bring in more weapons and mercenaries to the Sirte and Jufra areas, saying the GNA has detected its military activity.

Moreover, he said that the reopening of the coastal road that links western and eastern Libya hinges on the withdrawal of mercenaries and the removal of landmines.

Separately, deputy chief of the GNA’s Presidential Council, Ahmed Maiteeq was in Moscow for talks with Russian Minister of Trade and Industry Denis Manturov.

The officials agreed to reactivate agreements that have been suspended since 2008. They cover the areas of energy, electricity, health and basic infrastructure.

Maiteeq also held talks with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the latest efforts to reach a settlement in Libya.

Meanwhile, the US embassy in Libya condemned the fighting that erupted between pro-GNA militias in Tripoli on Thursday.

“Military posturing and violence by armed groups, such as we have seen in Tripoli (…) are incompatible with the Libyan people’s aspirations for change,” it said in a briefing before the United Nations Security Council.

“There is a viable path to end the Libya conflict and prepare for elections this year,” it stressed.

Acting UN envoy to Libya Stephanie Williams said before the Council that the ceasefire signed in Geneva on October 23 “continues to be observed and that the 5+5 Joint Military Commission (JMC) remains active. The professionalism and selfless commitment of its members is exemplary.

“The JMC reiterated in a public statement the need for the immediate repatriation of all mercenaries and foreign fighter from the entire Libyan territories.

“I welcome the JMC’s determination, though I am concerned by continued fortifications and defensive positions created by the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF) inside Gardabiya Airbase in Sirte and along the Sirte-Jufra axis in central Libya. Air cargo activities continued with flights reaching Libya’s western region and GNA military bases and airbases. In the southern region, there was an increase in assets and activities in the airbases seemingly aimed at strengthening LAAF presence and control. These activities undermine the 5+5 process,” she warned in her final briefing before the end of her mission.

She called on the GNA and LNA to “fully assume their responsibilities and fully implement the ceasefire agreement.”



Head of ISIS in Iraq and Syria Has Been Killed, Iraqi Prime Minister Says

This handout picture released by the Iraqi Prime Minister's press office shows Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (R) meeting with Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani in Baghdad on March 14, 2025. (Iraqi Prime Minister’s Press Office / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Iraqi Prime Minister's press office shows Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (R) meeting with Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani in Baghdad on March 14, 2025. (Iraqi Prime Minister’s Press Office / AFP)
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Head of ISIS in Iraq and Syria Has Been Killed, Iraqi Prime Minister Says

This handout picture released by the Iraqi Prime Minister's press office shows Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (R) meeting with Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani in Baghdad on March 14, 2025. (Iraqi Prime Minister’s Press Office / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Iraqi Prime Minister's press office shows Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (R) meeting with Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani in Baghdad on March 14, 2025. (Iraqi Prime Minister’s Press Office / AFP)

The head of ISIS in Iraq and Syria has been killed in Iraq in an operation by members of the Iraqi national intelligence service along with US-led coalition forces, the Iraqi prime minister announced Friday.

“The Iraqis continue their impressive victories over the forces of darkness and terrorism,” Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Abdallah Maki Mosleh al-Rifai, or “Abu Khadija,” was “deputy caliph” of the militant group and as “one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world," the statement said.

A security official said the operation was carried out by an airstrike in Anbar province, in western Iraq. A second official said the operation took place Thursday night but that al-Rifai's death was confirmed Friday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

The announcement came on the same day as the first visit by Syria’s top diplomat to Iraq, during which the two countries pledged to work together to combat ISIS.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein said at a news conference that “there are common challenges facing Syrian and Iraqi society, and especially the terrorists of ISIS.” He said the officials had spoken “in detail about the movements of ISIS, whether on the Syrian-Iraqi border, inside Syria or inside Iraq” during the visit.

Hussein referred to an operations room formed by Syria, Iraq, Türkiye, Jordan and Lebanon at a recent meeting in Amman to confront ISIS, and said it would soon begin work.

The relationship between Iraq and Syria is somewhat fraught after the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Al-Sudani came to power with the support of a coalition of Iran-backed factions, and Tehran was a major backer of Assad.

The current interim president of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, was previously known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani and fought as an al-Qaeda militant in Iraq after the US invasion of 2003, and later fought against Assad's government in Syria.

But Syrian interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani focused on the historic ties between the two countries.

“Throughout history, Baghdad and Damascus have been the capitals of the Arab and Islamic world, sharing knowledge, culture and economy,” he said.

Strengthening the partnership between the two countries “will not only benefit our peoples, but will also contribute to the stability of the region, making us less dependent on external powers and better able to determine our own destiny,” he said.

The operation and the visit come at a time when Iraqi officials are anxious about an ISIS resurgence in the wake of the fall of Assad in Syria.

While Syria’s new rulers have pursued ISIS cells since taking power, some fear a breakdown in overall security that could allow the group to stage a resurgence.

The US and Iraq announced an agreement last year to wind down the military mission in Iraq of an American-led coalition fighting the ISIS group by September 2025, with US forces departing some bases where they have stationed troops during a two-decade-long military presence in the country.

When the agreement was reached to end the coalition’s mission in Iraq, Iraqi political leaders said the threat of ISIS was under control and they no longer needed Washington’s help to beat back the remaining cells.

But the fall of Assad in December led some to reassess that stance, including members of the Coordination Framework, a coalition of mainly Shiite, Iran-allied political parties that brought al-Sudani to power in late 2022.