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Reopening of Coastal Highway Highlights Divisions in Libya

Bulldozers reopen the coastal highway. (AP)
Bulldozers reopen the coastal highway. (AP)
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Reopening of Coastal Highway Highlights Divisions in Libya

Bulldozers reopen the coastal highway. (AP)
Bulldozers reopen the coastal highway. (AP)

The coastal highway connecting Libya’s east and west was reopened on Sunday after a nearly two-year closure.

The Government of National Unity (GNU) hailed the development, but members of the 5+5 military committee have cast doubt over the move.

The committee stressed that it should have been consulted over the reopening.

The Libyan National Army (LNA), commanded by Khalifa Haftar, did not comment on the development. However, head of the Sirte command Ahmed Salem said that the committee did not issue any order to reopen the highway.

The committee met in Sirte on Sunday night. It declared that it alone has the authority to announce the opening of the highway and coordinate with the concerned parties.

The coastal highway has been closed since April 2019. Its reopening was a long-held demand by the UN to enable the safe passage of civilians and goods.

GNU chief Abdulhamid Dbeibeh announced the reopening on Sunday, saying: “I am so delighted to participate in the opening of this essential lifeline linking the east of our country to its west.”

The US embassy in Libya hailed the reopening, saying in a tweet it was “paving the path for Libyans to have full control over their own affairs.”

Sources revealed that a joint force, comprised of some 400 fighters from the east and west and overseen by the interior ministry, will operate in the region covering Ras Lanuf in the east to al-Hisha to secure the highway.

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Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah Warns US Against Intervening in Israel-Iran Conflict

Protesters hold Iranian flags during a protest against Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, at a bridge leading to the fortified Green Zone where the US embassy is located in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)
Protesters hold Iranian flags during a protest against Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, at a bridge leading to the fortified Green Zone where the US embassy is located in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)
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Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah Warns US Against Intervening in Israel-Iran Conflict

Protesters hold Iranian flags during a protest against Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, at a bridge leading to the fortified Green Zone where the US embassy is located in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)
Protesters hold Iranian flags during a protest against Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, at a bridge leading to the fortified Green Zone where the US embassy is located in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP)

Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group Kataib Hezbollah warned on Sunday it would resume attacks on US troops in the region if the United States intervenes in the conflict between Israel and Iran.

"We are closely monitoring the movements of the American enemy's army in the region," Kataib Hezbollah Secretary-General Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi said in a statement. "If America intervenes in the war, we will act directly against its interests and bases spread across the region without hesitation."

Founded in the aftermath of the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, Kataib Hezbollah is one of the elite Iraqi armed factions closest to Iran. The group, a key pillar of Iran's network of regional proxy forces, has claimed responsibility for dozens of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and US forces in both Iraq and Syria.

Early last year, Kataib Hezbollah announced the suspension of all its military operations against US troops in the region in response to efforts by the Iraqi government.

Kataib Hezbollah is part of a coalition of Iran-aligned groups known collectively as the "Axis of Resistance" — an umbrella of hardline Shiite armed factions that have claimed more than 150 attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria since the onset of the Gaza war about 20 months ago.

Iraq, a rare ally of both Washington and Tehran, is striving to avoid upsetting its fragile stability while focusing on rebuilding after years of conflict.