EU Imposes Sanctions on Libya's Kaniyat Militia

Members of Libya's al-Kaniyat militia.
Members of Libya's al-Kaniyat militia.
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EU Imposes Sanctions on Libya's Kaniyat Militia

Members of Libya's al-Kaniyat militia.
Members of Libya's al-Kaniyat militia.

The European Council imposed restrictive measures on 11 individuals and four entities responsible for serious human rights violations and abuses in a number of countries, including Libya.

The US, Britain, and Germany earlier urged the Council's 15-member Libya Sanctions Committee to blacklist Mohammed al-Kani and the Kaniyat militia.

Since their escape from Tarhuna last summer following a military defeat, dozens of mass graves were discovered and attributed to Kaniyat militiamen.

In this regard, the council imposed sanctions on two individuals and the militia group over “extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances in Libya.”

The sanctions targeted Mohammed Khalifa al-Kani and his brother Abderrahim al-Kani who are accused of committing human rights violations between 2015 and June 2020 in Tarhuna.

Under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, the listed individuals and entities are subject to an asset freeze in the EU. Also, all listed individuals are subject to a travel ban to EU countries.

A former Libyan military officer told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that militias dominated the country in the past years and made profits through human trafficking and blackmailing.

The officer urged the EU and the Security Council to tackle the issues of killings and enforced disappearances of citizens.

He also armed groups would vanish if the government of national unity succeeds in uniting the military and security institutions in Libya.



Syria and Neighbors Urge Israel to Stop Bombings

Israeli Merkava tanks in the buffer zone between Israel and Syria near the village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 08 May 2025. (EPA)
Israeli Merkava tanks in the buffer zone between Israel and Syria near the village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 08 May 2025. (EPA)
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Syria and Neighbors Urge Israel to Stop Bombings

Israeli Merkava tanks in the buffer zone between Israel and Syria near the village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 08 May 2025. (EPA)
Israeli Merkava tanks in the buffer zone between Israel and Syria near the village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 08 May 2025. (EPA)

The foreign ministers of Syria, Türkiye and Jordan, meeting Monday in Ankara, called on Israel to cease attacks on Syria and to withdraw troops from the country.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on Syria since longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December, often targeting military sites and killing dozens of people.

Israeli officials have also described Syria's new authorities as extremists and claimed to defend the country's Druze minority with a recent spate of attacks.

Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told a press conference with his Jordanian and Syrian counterparts that "Israel's expansionism poses a significant threat to the security, stability and future of Syria."

"This must come to an end. And we are on the same page about this. Syria needs to be supported to prevent terrorist organizations from settling in this region," Fidan added, noting that Syria shares a 900-kilometer (560-mile) border with Türkiye.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani told the joint press conference that "our borders are constantly violated by Israeli attacks".

The Israeli strikes are "calculated escalations aimed at destabilizing Syria and dragging the region into a new cycle of conflict", Shaibani said, decrying "systematic violations of international law and explicit provocations".

He called on the international community to put Israel under "increased pressure" to halt the bombings.

Jordan's top diplomat, Ayman Safadi, said attacks on Syrian soil "will not bring security to Israel and will bring nothing to Syria except ruin and destruction".