High-Level Meeting Looks to Tackle Tripoli’s Security Situation

Libya’s outgoing prime minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, and chairman of the Presidential Council, Mohamed Menfi, holding a security meeting on Sunday (Libyan Presidential Council)
Libya’s outgoing prime minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, and chairman of the Presidential Council, Mohamed Menfi, holding a security meeting on Sunday (Libyan Presidential Council)
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High-Level Meeting Looks to Tackle Tripoli’s Security Situation

Libya’s outgoing prime minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, and chairman of the Presidential Council, Mohamed Menfi, holding a security meeting on Sunday (Libyan Presidential Council)
Libya’s outgoing prime minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, and chairman of the Presidential Council, Mohamed Menfi, holding a security meeting on Sunday (Libyan Presidential Council)

Libya’s outgoing prime minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, and chairman of the Presidential Council, Mohamed Menfi, held a meeting on Sunday with several security officials, including members of 5+5 Joint Military Committee, and chiefs of intelligence, military police and counterterrorism.

According to a brief statement by Dbeibeh’s government, the talks focused on the “latest military developments, the course of action of the 5+5 Joint Military Committee, and the steps taken to unify the military institution, away from all political squabbles, and follow up on the continuation of the ceasefire”.

Local media predicted the meeting resulting in a package of measures and decisions aimed at controlling security in Tripoli.

A source close to Menfi said that the meeting also included military and security leaders from Libya’s western region.

Speaking under the conditions of anonymity, the source pointed out that the meeting aims to prevent the outbreak of new armed clashes between the forces of the Dbeibeh government and militias affiliated with his rival, Fathi Bashagha, who heads a parallel government backed by the House of Representatives.

However, many observers doubt that the leaders of the armed militias loyal to the two competing governments for power abiding by any decisions issued by this meeting. Tensions between armed groups loyal to the rival leaders have increased in recent months in Tripoli.
For his part, Dbeibeh ignored these developments.

On Sunday evening, Dbeibeh visited the Misrata Medical Center.

He thanked the Center’s staff for their efforts to provide good health services to the residents of the municipality and neighboring municipalities.

Libya has for years been split between rival administrations in the east and the west, each supported by rogue militias and foreign governments. The Mediterranean nation has been in a state of upheaval since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising toppled and later killed longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi.



US Revokes Foreign Terrorist Designation for Syria's HTS

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
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US Revokes Foreign Terrorist Designation for Syria's HTS

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)

President Donald Trump's administration on Monday revoked the foreign terrorist organization designation for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, as Washington moves to remove US sanctions on Syria to help the country rebuild following years of a civil war.

In December, opposition factions led by HTS ousted Syria's former president Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive. Then-HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa became Syria's president and said he wanted to build an inclusive and democratic Syria.

HTS was previously known as al-Nusra Front when it was al-Qaeda's Syria branch. It broke off ties with al-Qaeda in 2016.

In May, Sharaa met with Trump in Riyadh where, in a major policy shift, the Republican president unexpectedly announced he would lift US sanctions on Syria, prompting Washington to significantly ease its measures.

"This FTO revocation is an important step in fulfilling President Trump’s vision of a stable, unified, and peaceful Syria," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement, adding that the revocation will come into effect on Tuesday.

Last week, Trump signed an executive order terminating US sanctions program on Syria, a move that aims to end the country's isolation from the international financial system.

Syria's foreign ministry told Reuters that the lifting of sanctions on HTS was a "positive step toward correcting a course that previously hindered constructive engagement."

The written statement said Syria hoped the move would "contribute to the removal of remaining restrictions that continue to impact Syrian institutions and officials, and open the door to a rational, sovereign-based approach to international cooperation."

The ministry also said that Sharaa was planning to attend the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in September. The UN Security Council still has sanctions on both HTS and Sharaa himself, which require a Council decision to remove.