Libya's Bashagha Admits his Government Failed to Enter Tripoli

Fighters affiliated with the Dbeibeh government train on securing Tripoli, Libya (AP)
Fighters affiliated with the Dbeibeh government train on securing Tripoli, Libya (AP)
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Libya's Bashagha Admits his Government Failed to Enter Tripoli

Fighters affiliated with the Dbeibeh government train on securing Tripoli, Libya (AP)
Fighters affiliated with the Dbeibeh government train on securing Tripoli, Libya (AP)

Libya’s parliament-appointed prime minister, Fathi Bashagha, has admitted the government’s failure to conduct its daily business from the capital Tripoli nearly eight months after its formation.

Bashagha said in a speech in Benghazi, after concluding his tour abroad, that the cabinet will exercise its duties from Sirte and Benghazi, adding that the government rejects sedition.

He asserted that the government works for all Libyans, accusing some parties of wanting to create chaos and division.

Bashagha stressed that the government would serve all Libyans to achieve national reconciliation, despite many difficulties.

The government tried to stay in Tripoli to carry out its duties but wanted to avoid bloodshed and sedition, and decided to return peacefully despite people's suffering in the capital and the Libyan West in general, explained Bashagha.

According to local media, Bashagha is scheduled to visit Cairo after meeting in Qobba with Speaker Aguila Saleh.

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry of the Dbeibeh government announced that its Undersecretary for Public Affairs, Mahmoud Saeed, received a Libyan prisoner from the Ukrainian-Polish border, according to the prisoner exchange agreement signed with the Ukrainian government.

The ministry explained that a government committee recently deported and evacuated all the Libyan community in Ukraine, after a series of negotiations with the Ukrainian authorities last March.

All members of the Libyan community were deported and returned safely.

In addition, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) renewed its commitment to achieving peace in Libya through an inclusive Libyan-led and owned process.

Noting in a brief statement on the International Day of Peace, UNSMIL asserted it continues to work with all Libyan actors to advance the peace process and the elections the Libyan people demanded.

In New York, the head of the Presidential Council, Mohammed Menfi, participated in the consultative meeting held by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz with African leaders, including President of Senegal, Macky Sall, in his capacity as President of the African Union (AU), and Chairperson of the African Commission, Moussa Faki.

Menfi praised Germany's role in supporting the political track in Libya through the Berlin conferences and the cooperation between Germany and Africa to support Libya's stability.

He also touched on the challenges of food security in Africa, especially in light of the current international crisis, and the importance of cooperation to overcome this crisis.

Menfi explained that after reaching stability, Libya could play a significant role in oil, energy, and environment, providing economic and investment opportunities, stopping illegal migration, and settling sustainable development in Africa.



Tunisia Activists Launch Gaza-bound Convoy in 'Symbolic Act'

 Tunisians gather at a meeting point in Tunis on June 9, 2025, ahead of the departure of a land convoy named “Steadfastness” to break the siege on Gaza. (AFP)
Tunisians gather at a meeting point in Tunis on June 9, 2025, ahead of the departure of a land convoy named “Steadfastness” to break the siege on Gaza. (AFP)
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Tunisia Activists Launch Gaza-bound Convoy in 'Symbolic Act'

 Tunisians gather at a meeting point in Tunis on June 9, 2025, ahead of the departure of a land convoy named “Steadfastness” to break the siege on Gaza. (AFP)
Tunisians gather at a meeting point in Tunis on June 9, 2025, ahead of the departure of a land convoy named “Steadfastness” to break the siege on Gaza. (AFP)

Hundreds of people, mainly Tunisians, launched on Monday a land convoy bound for Gaza, seeking to "break the siege" on the Palestinian territory, activists said.

Organizers said the nine-bus convoy was not bringing aid into Gaza, but rather aimed at carrying out a "symbolic act" by breaking the blockade on the territory described by the United Nations as "the hungriest place on Earth".

The "Soumoud" convoy, meaning "steadfastness" in Arabic, includes doctors and aims to arrive in Rafah, in southern Gaza, "by the end of the week", activist Jawaher Channa told AFP.

It is set to pass through Libya and Egypt, although Cairo has yet to provide passage permits, she added.

"We are about a thousand people, and we will have more join us along the way," said Channa, spokeswoman of the Tunisian Coordination of Joint Action for Palestine, the group organizing the caravan.

"Egypt has not yet given us permission to cross its borders, but we will see what happens when we get there," she said.

Channa said the convoy was not set to face issues crossing Libya, "whose people have historically supported the Palestinian cause", despite recent deadly clashes in the country that remains divided between two governments.

Algerian, Mauritanian, Moroccan and Libyan activists were also among the group, which is set to travel along the Tunisian and Libyan coasts, before continuing on to Rafah through Egypt.

After 21 months of war, Israel is facing mounting international pressure to allow more aid into Gaza to alleviate widespread shortages of food and basic supplies.

On June 1, the Madleen aid boat, boarded by activists including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and European parliament member Franco-Palestinian Rima Hassan, set sail for Gaza from Italy.

But on Monday morning Israel intercepted it, preventing it from reaching the Palestinian territory.

The UN has warned that the Palestinian territory's entire population is at risk of famine.