Rival Militias Violate Tripoli Ceasefire

Heavy security in a Tripoli street. Reuters file photo
Heavy security in a Tripoli street. Reuters file photo
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Rival Militias Violate Tripoli Ceasefire

Heavy security in a Tripoli street. Reuters file photo
Heavy security in a Tripoli street. Reuters file photo

Warring factions in the Libyan capital Tripoli have agreed to halt armed clashes and pave way for reconciliation attempts following a violation of a ceasefire deal, a semi-official committee announced on Thursday.

Ramadan Zarmouh, the head of the committee tasked with implementing security measures adopted by the Government of National Accord and the UN mission in Libya, said that the bickering militias resumed fighting in Tripoli on Wednesday. But they agreed to a ceasefire a day later.

The latest flareup of violence was the latest violation of a ceasefire that the GNA of Fayez al-Sarraj is seeking to impose in Tripoli since the heavy clashes it witnessed in September.

Following the announced ceasefire on Thursday, there was relative calm in the capital. Businesses and schools opened as usual and state institutions functioned normally.

“Schools are open to welcome their students while the city’s banks are trying to regulate their work,” the GNA-loyal news agency quoted Sarraj as saying.

Meanwhile, Libyan National Army spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari said that the LNA has received intelligence reports that extremists would be moved from Syria to Libya via Sudan.

During a press conference he held in the eastern city of Benghazi, Mismari warned of a possible infiltration of terrorists.

There are more than 18,000 terrorists, including Libyans, in the northern Syrian province of Idlib, the spokesman said. “If the Syrian army continues to tighten the noose around them, they will be taken out of (the war-torn country) to Sudan and from there to Libya and other African states.”

He also told reporters that for the first time several extremists have been taken to trial at a military court.



US Targets Houthis with Fresh Sanctions Action

Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)
Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)
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US Targets Houthis with Fresh Sanctions Action

Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)
Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)

The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on what it said was a Houthi-linked petroleum smuggling and sanctions evasion network across Yemen and the United Arab Emirates in fresh action targeting the Iran-backed militant group.

The US Treasury Department in a statement said the two individuals and five entities sanctioned on Tuesday were among the most significant importers of petroleum products and money launderers that benefit the Houthis.

"The Houthis collaborate with opportunistic businessmen to reap enormous profits from the importation of petroleum products and to enable the group’s access to the international financial system," said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender.

"These networks of shady businesses underpin the Houthis’ terrorist machine, and Treasury will use all tools at its disposal to disrupt these schemes."

Among those targeted on Tuesday was Muhammad Al-Sunaydar, who the Treasury said manages a network of petroleum companies between Yemen and the United Arab Emirates and was one of the most prominent petroleum importers in Yemen.

Three companies in his network were also designated, with the Treasury saying they coordinated the delivery of approximately $12 million dollars’ worth of Iranian petroleum products with a US-designated company to the Houthis.

Since Israel's war in Gaza against the Palestinian group Hamas began in October 2023, the Iran-aligned Houthis have been attacking vessels in the Red Sea in what they say are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians.

In January, Trump re-designated the Houthi movement as a foreign terrorist organization, aiming to impose harsher economic penalties in response to its attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and against US warships defending the critical maritime area.

In May, the United States announced a surprise deal with the Houthis where it agreed to stop a bombing campaign against them in return for an end to shipping attacks, though the Houthis said the deal did not include sparing Israel.

The Israeli military attacked Houthi targets in Yemen's Hodeidah port on Monday in its latest assault on the militants, who have been striking ships bound for Israel and launching missiles against it.