Dbeibeh, Mechichi Discuss Economic Cooperation, Libya's Reconstruction

The Libyan Prime Minister during the meeting with his Tunisian counterpart in Tripoli on Saturday, May 22, 2021 (Libyan government’s media office)
The Libyan Prime Minister during the meeting with his Tunisian counterpart in Tripoli on Saturday, May 22, 2021 (Libyan government’s media office)
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Dbeibeh, Mechichi Discuss Economic Cooperation, Libya's Reconstruction

The Libyan Prime Minister during the meeting with his Tunisian counterpart in Tripoli on Saturday, May 22, 2021 (Libyan government’s media office)
The Libyan Prime Minister during the meeting with his Tunisian counterpart in Tripoli on Saturday, May 22, 2021 (Libyan government’s media office)

Tunisia’s Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi arrived in Tripoli on Saturday on an official two-day business visit.

Head of Libya’s Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid Dbeibeh received Mechichi and his accompanying delegation, which included several government ministers and around 100 business leaders who are expected to take part in a joint economic forum in Tripoli.

Officials from both countries are scheduled to discuss means of bolstering bilateral cooperation in the political, economic, investment, and commercial fields, in addition to Libya's reconstruction, the Libyan News Agency reported.

Tunisia pins high hopes on stability in Libya to revive its economy, sources said.

Mechichi pointed out that the Libyan market “is a promising strategic market for Tunisia,” especially after the progress in Libya’s political situation.

“Tunis will play a major role in Libya’s reconstruction and in keeping pace with its economic and developmental boom, in light of important factors and a common will that would help serve both countries’ economies,” Tunisian media quoted Mechichi as saying.

According to an official Tunisian statement, the visit aims to strengthen and push forward available means of cooperation at more than one level.

Mechichi will attend the launch of the Libyan-Tunisian Forum and Exhibition, in which more than 150 Tunisian economic institutions will take part, in an attempt to bolster bilateral partnership in the field of reconstruction.

Informed Tunisian sources said both sides are expected to assess the primary stages for the Tunisian-Libyan Supreme Committee.

The visit’s program also includes launching the Tunisian-Libyan air route, as well as inaugurating the Tunisian-Libyan exhibition in Tripoli.

Almost 1,000 Tunisian investors and businessmen are expected to participate in this exhibition, which presents several vital areas, such as construction, industrial products, trade, services, and the banking sector.



The Hezbollah Commanders Killed in Israeli Strikes

Hezbollah commanders killed in recent strikes. AFP/File
Hezbollah commanders killed in recent strikes. AFP/File
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The Hezbollah Commanders Killed in Israeli Strikes

Hezbollah commanders killed in recent strikes. AFP/File
Hezbollah commanders killed in recent strikes. AFP/File

Israel has killed several top Hezbollah commanders in a series of targeted strikes on the Iran-backed movement's stronghold in Beirut.
Here is what we know about the slain commanders.
Shukr: right-hand man
A strike on July 30 killed Fuad Shukr, the group's top military commander and one of Israel's most high-profile targets.
Shukr, who was in his early 60s, played a key role in cross-border clashes with Israeli forces, according to a source close to Hezbollah.
The two sides have traded near-daily fire across the frontier since Hezbollah ally Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel.
Shukr helped found Hezbollah during Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war and became a key adviser to its chief, Hassan Nasrallah.
Shukr was Hezbollah's most senior military commander, and Nasrallah said he had been in daily contact with him since October.
Israel blamed Shukr for a rocket attack in July on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights that killed 12 children in a Druze Arab town. Hezbollah has denied responsibility.
In 2017, the US Treasury offered a $5 million reward for information on Shukr, saying he had "a central role" in the deadly 1983 bombing of the US Marine Corps barracks in Beirut.
Aqil: US bounty
A strike on September 20 killed Ibrahim Aqil, head of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force, along with 15 other commanders.
According to Lebanese officials, the attack killed a total of 55 people, many of them civilians.
A source close to Hezbollah described Aqil as the second-in-command in the group's forces after Shukr.
The Radwan Force is Hezbollah's most formidable offensive unit and its fighters are trained in cross-border infiltration, a source close to the group told AFP.
The United States said Aqil was a member of Hezbollah's Jihad Council, the movement's highest military body.
The US Treasury said he was a "principal member" of the Islamic Jihad Organization -- a Hezbollah-linked group behind the 1983 bombing of the US embassy in Beirut that killed 63 people and an attack on US Marine Corps in the Lebanese capital the same year that killed 241 American soldiers.
Kobeissi: missiles expert
On September 25, a strike killed Ibrahim Mohammed Kobeissi, who commanded several military units including a guided missiles unit.
"Kobeissi was an important source of knowledge in the field of missiles and had close ties with senior Hezbollah military leaders," the Israeli military said.
Kobeissi joined Hezbollah in 1982 and rose through the ranks of the group's forces.
One of the units he led was tasked with manning operations in part of the south of Lebanon, which borders Israel.
Srur: drone chief
A strike on September 26 killed Mohammed Srur, the head of Hezbollah's drone unit since 2020.
Srur studied mathematics and was among a number of top advisers sent by Hezbollah to Yemen to train the country's Houthi group, who are also backed by Iran, a source close to Hezbollah said.
He had also played a key role in Hezbollah's intervention since 2013 in Syria's civil war in support of President Bashar al-Assad's government.
Hezbollah will hold a funeral ceremony for Srur on Friday.
Other commanders killed in recent strikes include Wissam Tawil and Mohammed Naameh Nasser.