Libya, Chad Agree on Securing Border to Fight Extremists

Libyan ministerial delegation holds meetings with Chadian officials in N'Djamena on Tuesday (Libyan government)
Libyan ministerial delegation holds meetings with Chadian officials in N'Djamena on Tuesday (Libyan government)
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Libya, Chad Agree on Securing Border to Fight Extremists

Libyan ministerial delegation holds meetings with Chadian officials in N'Djamena on Tuesday (Libyan government)
Libyan ministerial delegation holds meetings with Chadian officials in N'Djamena on Tuesday (Libyan government)

Prime Minister of the Libyan Government of National Unity Abdelhamid Dbeibeh and the head of Chad’s Transitional Military Council, Lieutenant-General Mohamed Idriss Deby, agreed Tuesday on securing joint borders to stop the infiltration of extremist groups and fighters.

The Libyan Prime Minister visited the capital of Chad, N'Djamena, on Tuesday, accompanied by Foreign Minister Najla Al-Manqoush, Interior Minister Khaled Mazen, and GNU Chief of Staff Mohamed Al-Haddad.

The delegation was received at the airport by Chadian Prime Minister Albert Pahimi Padacke and Foreign Minister Moussa Faki Mahamat.

The meeting between Dbeibeh and Deby discussed advancing relations, strengthening cooperation, particularly on security, and supporting efforts in fighting mercenaries and terrorism.

The Libyan PM said his government wanted to strengthen bilateral relations with Chad as part of continuous cooperation between the two countries.

The two officials discussed efforts to defeat terrorism, secure borders and activate the quadripartite agreement aimed at reducing the risk of transnational organized crime.

In May 2018, a four-way agreement was signed between Libya, Niger, Sudan and Chad, stipulating the deployment of forces to secure the joint border and combat cross-border crimes and undocumented migration.

In this regard, Dbeibeh called on the international community to support Libyan-Chadian efforts to secure their borders.

He also called for the establishment of a joint Libyan-Chadian committee, including economic and trade experts, capable to define the common priorities of both countries and to place the mechanisms for implementing them.

The Libyan PM then discussed ways to increase the volume of trade exchange between the two sides and means to facilitate the movement of goods, and the possibility for Chad to benefit from Libyan ports.

Last August, Dbeibeh and Presidential Council member Musa al-Koni agreed on the importance of removing Chadian mercenaries from Libyan territories.



Hegseth Keeps 2 Aircraft Carriers in Middle East for Another Week for Battle with Yemen’s Houthis

Aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman is moored near Split, Croatia, Feb. 14, 2022. (AP)
Aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman is moored near Split, Croatia, Feb. 14, 2022. (AP)
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Hegseth Keeps 2 Aircraft Carriers in Middle East for Another Week for Battle with Yemen’s Houthis

Aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman is moored near Split, Croatia, Feb. 14, 2022. (AP)
Aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman is moored near Split, Croatia, Feb. 14, 2022. (AP)

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier to remain in the Middle East for a second time, keeping it there another week so the US can maintain two carrier strike groups in the region to battle Yemen-based Houthi militias, according to a US official.

In late March, Hegseth extended the deployment of the Truman and the warships in its group for a month as part of a campaign to increase strikes on the Iran-backed Houthis. The official said Hegseth signed the latest order Thursday and it is expected the Truman and its strike group warships will head home to Norfolk, Virginia, after the week is up.

Gen. Erik Kurilla, head of US Central Command, requested that the Truman be extended again, according to officials. The San Diego-based USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier and its strike group arrived in the region a few weeks ago and are operating in the Gulf of Aden. The Truman, along with two destroyers and a cruiser in its strike group, is in the Red Sea.

The officials spoke Friday on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.

The US has increased its attacks on the Houthis, launching daily strikes since March 15, when President Donald Trump ordered a new, expanded campaign. He promised to use "overwhelming lethal force" until the Houthis stop their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, a vital trade corridor.

According to Central Command, the US has been waging an "intense and sustained campaign" against the Houthis. In a statement over the weekend, the command said the US has struck more than 1,000 targets in Yemen since Operation Rough Rider began. It hasn't provided details on the targets or how the data is compiled.

It has been rare in recent years for the US to have two aircraft carriers in the Middle East at the same time. Navy leaders have generally been opposed to the idea because it disrupts ship maintenance schedules and delays time at home for sailors strained by the unusually high combat tempo.

If there are no additional extensions and the Truman and its warships leave the region next week, those sailors could be back home by next month.

Last year, the Biden administration ordered the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier to remain in the Red Sea for an extended time as US warships waged the most intense running sea battle since World War II. Prior to that, it had been years since the US had committed that much warship power to the Middle East.

The Houthis had been waging persistent missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group's leadership has described as an effort to end Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

From November 2023 until this January, the Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors. That has greatly reduced the flow of trade through the Red Sea corridor, which typically sees $1 trillion of goods move through it annually.

The group paused attacks in a self-imposed ceasefire until the US launched a broad assault against the militants in mid-March.