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ICC Hints Foreign Fighters in Libya Could Face Prosecution

Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Fatou Bensouda. Reuters
Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Fatou Bensouda. Reuters
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ICC Hints Foreign Fighters in Libya Could Face Prosecution

Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Fatou Bensouda. Reuters
Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Fatou Bensouda. Reuters

Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Fatou Bensouda told the UN Security Council on Monday that mercenaries and armed groups involved in the Libyan conflict could face prosecution.

“I must emphasize that crimes committed by mercenaries and foreign fighters on Libyan territory may fall under the jurisdiction of the Court, no matter the nationality of the persons involved,” she said.

In her last briefing to the Council on the Libya situation before the end of her mandate on June 15, Bensouda said her Office has received concerning information about the activities of mercenaries and foreign fighters in Libya.

“This information is consistent with the findings of UNSMIL Panel of Experts reports. The Office fully supports the call for these armed groups and individuals to leave Libya without delay,” she said.

The UN estimates that there are at least 20,000 foreign fighters and mercenaries in Libya.

Bensouda also encouraged the Council and all UN member states to once again convey a clear and firm message to leaders and commanders, be they military or civilian, and all parties and armed groups involved in the Libya conflict that the rules of international humanitarian law must be respected and that those who defy such rules will be held individually responsible.

Also, the Chief Prosecutor said her office collected credible information and evidence on serious crimes allegedly committed in official and unofficial detention facilities in Libya.

“Further credible reports detail the summary conviction and sentencing of civilians to long prison sentences including handing of death penalty by Military Courts in eastern Libya following secret trials devoid of fair trial guarantees,” she said.

UNSMIL says more than 8,850 individuals are arbitrarily detained at 28 official prisons in Libya in Judicial Police custody with an estimated 60 to 70 percent in pre-trial detention. An additional 10,000 individuals are detained in other detention facilities run by militia and armed groups including about 480 women and 63 juveniles and children.

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Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire Takes Effect

A view of Beirut, after a ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed group Hezbollah took effect on Wednesday after US President Joe Biden said both sides accepted an agreement brokered by the United States and France, as seen from Hazmieh, Lebanon November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A view of Beirut, after a ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed group Hezbollah took effect on Wednesday after US President Joe Biden said both sides accepted an agreement brokered by the United States and France, as seen from Hazmieh, Lebanon November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire Takes Effect

A view of Beirut, after a ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed group Hezbollah took effect on Wednesday after US President Joe Biden said both sides accepted an agreement brokered by the United States and France, as seen from Hazmieh, Lebanon November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A view of Beirut, after a ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed group Hezbollah took effect on Wednesday after US President Joe Biden said both sides accepted an agreement brokered by the United States and France, as seen from Hazmieh, Lebanon November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

A ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed group Hezbollah came into effect on Wednesday after both sides accepted an agreement brokered by the US and France, a rare victory for diplomacy in a region traumatised by two devastating wars for over a year.
Lebanon's army, which is tasked with helping make sure the ceasefire holds, said in a statement on Wednesday it was preparing to deploy to the south of the country.
The military also asked that residents of border villages delay returning home until the Israeli military, which has waged war against Hezbollah on several occasions and pushed around six km (4 miles) into Lebanese territory, withdraws.
The agreement, which promises to end a conflict across the Israeli-Lebanese border that has killed thousands of people since it was ignited by the Gaza war last year, is a major achievement for the US in the waning days of President Joe Biden's administration.
Bursts of gunfire could be heard across Lebanon's capital Beirut after the ceasefire took effect at 0200 GMT. It was not immediately clear if the shooting was celebratory, as gunfire had also been used to alert residents who may have missed evacuation warnings issued by Israel's military.
Later, cars and vans piled high with mattresses, suitcases and even furniture streamed through the southern port city of Tyre, which was heavily bombed in the final days before the ceasefire, heading further south.
Some cars waved Lebanese flags, others honked, and one woman could be seen flashing the victory sign with her fingers.
Many of the villages the people were likely returning to have been destroyed. But displaced families renting out alternative housing have been under financial pressure and hoped to having avoid paying another month of rent, some of them told Reuters.
Some displaced people said they were still nervous about returning.
Hussam Arrout, a father of four who said he was displaced from Beirut's southern suburbs and was originally from the southern border village of Mays al-Jabal, said he was itching to get to his ancestral home.
"The Israelis haven't withdrawn in full, they're still on the edge. So we decided to wait until the army announces that we can go in. Then we'll turn the cars on immediately and go to the village," he said.
'PERMANENT CESSATION'
Biden spoke at the White House on Tuesday shortly after Israel's security cabinet approved the agreement in a 10-1 vote. He said he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and that fighting would end at 4 a.m. local time (0200 GMT).
"This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities," Biden said. "What is left of Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations will not be allowed to threaten the security of Israel again."
Israel will gradually withdraw its forces over 60 days as Lebanon's army takes control of territory near its border with Israel to ensure that Hezbollah does not rebuild its infrastructure there, Biden said.
"Civilians on both sides will soon be able to safely return to their communities," he said.
Hezbollah has not formally commented on the ceasefire but senior official Hassan Fadlallah told Lebanon's Al Jadeed TV that while it supported the extension of the Lebanese state’s authority, the group would emerge from the war stronger.
"Thousands will join the resistance ... Disarming the resistance was an Israeli proposal that fell through," said Fadlallah, who is also a member of Lebanon's parliament.
Iran, which backs Hezbollah, the Palestinian group Hamas as well as the Houthi rebels that have attacked Israel from Yemen, said it welcomed the ceasefire.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on social-media platform X the deal was “the culmination of efforts undertaken for many months with the Israeli and Lebanese authorities, in close collaboration with the United States.”
Lebanon's Mikati issued a statement welcoming the deal. Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said the Lebanese army would have at least 5,000 troops deployed in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops withdrew.
Netanyahu said he was ready to implement a ceasefire but would respond forcefully to any violation by Hezbollah.
He said the ceasefire would allow Israel to focus on the threat from Iran, give the army an opportunity to rest and replenish supplies, and isolate Hamas, the Islamist militant group that triggered war in the region when it attacked Israel from Gaza last year.
'SET IT BACK DECADES'
"In full coordination with the United States, we retain complete military freedom of action. Should Hezbollah violate the agreement or attempt to rearm, we will strike decisively," Netanyahu said.
Hezbollah, which is allied to Hamas, was considerably weaker than it had been at the start of the conflict, he added.
"We have set it back decades, eliminated ... its top leaders, destroyed most of its rockets and missiles, neutralized thousands of fighters, and obliterated years of terror infrastructure near our border," he said.
A senior US official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, said the US and France would join a mechanism with the UNIFIL peacekeeping force that would work with Lebanon's army to deter potential violations of the ceasefire. US combat forces would not be deployed, the official said.
In the hours leading up to the ceasefire, hostilities raged as Israel ramped up its campaign of airstrikes in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon, with health authorities reporting at least 18 killed.
The Israeli military said it struck "components of Hezbollah's financial management and systems" including a money-exchange office. Hezbollah also kept up rocket fire into Israel in the final hours.