Libya's Dbeibeh Seeks to Tighten Control Over Tripoli

Interior Minister Khaled Mazen during the security meeting in Tripoli (Interior Ministry)
Interior Minister Khaled Mazen during the security meeting in Tripoli (Interior Ministry)
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Libya's Dbeibeh Seeks to Tighten Control Over Tripoli

Interior Minister Khaled Mazen during the security meeting in Tripoli (Interior Ministry)
Interior Minister Khaled Mazen during the security meeting in Tripoli (Interior Ministry)

The interim Libyan unity government, headed by Abdulhamid Dbeibeh, seeks to consolidate its control over Tripoli's "relatively weak" security situation, but it ignored the armed clashes between militias last Monday night.

Interior Minister Khaled Mazen discussed the joint security plan to secure the capital and impose security control over it, including the possibility of forming a joint security room.

The security meeting included several security leaders in the ministry and other security and military services affiliated with the government and the Presidential Council.

The minister reviewed the issues and obstacles facing the security and military agencies to improve the security situation in Tripoli.

Mazen said in a statement that the meeting concluded with "doubling security and traffic efforts ... and dismantling criminal gangs to maintain the security and safety of citizens."

He discussed the joint security plan "No. 2" for the current year, which he said aims to secure Tripoli, calling on all the ministry's agencies to double their efforts and maintain security and stability.

The head of the Criminal Investigation Agency reported that the crime rate dropped during Ramadan month.

Despite it being the first meeting held by the Interior Minister with security leaders after the clashes in Tripoli, Mazen did not comment on the incidents.

Clashes erupted recently between the Stabilization Support Apparatus and the al-Nawasi Brigade, which resulted in the killing of eight people and several damages to the infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the High Council of State (HCS) sent a new invitation for dialogue to the House of Representatives (HoR).

Several High Council of State members confirmed their willingness to hold talks with the HoR once they received the UN invitation.

The House of Representatives did not attend the meeting called by the UN advisor Stephanie Williams in Tunisia with the HCS delegation to complete the stalled dialogue on the constitutional basis necessary for holding the presidential and parliamentary elections.

The new invitation came following a meeting between the First Deputy of Khalid al-Mishri with the Turkish Ambassador, Kanaan Yilmaz, in Tripoli.

The two parties agreed on the importance of dialogue to ease tensions, create a unified executive authority, and complete the electoral process.

Furthermore, Williams said that she had received a positive response from the HoR Speaker, Aguila Saleh, as he welcomed the initiative of the UN, adding that the situation now is only a matter of bringing the HoR and HCS together then launching negotiations.

Williams expressed her optimism that the conditions would allow for an actual meeting of the HoR and HCS.

The UN official added that the UN initiative "did not come from Mars, but the 12th constitutional amendment."

"We do not have to go back to square one. We can build on the consensus that was achieved last January and February. We resorted to another clause in the constitutional amendment, which specifically requires the combination of the two chambers to set a constitutional basis for elections." Williams explained.

Williams said that setting a date for holding elections in Libya is a decision taken by the Libyan authorities and people, adding that the sooner the HoR and the HCS reach a consensus on the constitutional basis, the more realistic the hope of getting to the election stage is.

Williams said the UN had not adopted and would not adopt a position on recognizing one government or another, stressing that the UN is in contact with both sides and that the most important message the UN sends is that all parties need to maintain calm on the ground in Libya.



Lebanon Calls for Negotiations Following US Strikes on Iran

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun
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Lebanon Calls for Negotiations Following US Strikes on Iran

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun

Following American strikes on Iran that fueled fears of a wider conflict, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Sunday that the US bombing could lead to a regional conflict that no country could bear and called for negotiations.

“Lebanon, its leadership, parties, and people, are aware today, more than ever before, that it has paid a heavy price for the wars that erupted on its land and in the region,” Aoun said in a statement on X. “It is unwilling to pay more”, he added.

Iran and Israel traded air and missile strikes as the world braced on Monday for Tehran's response to the US attack on its nuclear sites and US President Donald Trump raised the idea of regime change in Iran. Iran vowed to defend itself on Sunday, a day after the US joined Israel in the biggest Western military action against the country since its 1979 Iranian Revolution, despite calls for restraint and a return to diplomacy from around the world.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah group has long been considered Iran’s first line of defense in case of a war with Israel. But since Israel launched its massive barrage against Iran, triggering the ongoing Israel-Iran war, the Lebanese group has stayed out of the fray — even after the US entered the conflict Sunday with strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

Lebanese government officials have pressed the group to stay out of the conflict, saying that Lebanon cannot handle another damaging war, and US envoy Tom Barrack, who visited Lebanon last week, said it would be a “very bad decision” for Hezbollah to get involved.