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Heiko Maas: “Irini” to halt the flow of arms into Libya

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German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas made a public statement about the latest situation in Libya following his meeting with French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian, Italian counterpart Luigi di Maio and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Thursday.

Expressing his concern on the recently increasing clashes and civil casualties, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas condemned the attacks targeting civilians and residential places in the capital Tripoli.

Maas said that warring sides in Libya are making a mistake by assuming that the crisis can be solved through military action instead of political dialogue and diplomatic initiatives. The German minister reminded the Berlin conference on Libya held in January and said that the diplomatic efforts started there and still continue.

Maas also added that Operation IRINI launched by the European Union will make a major contribution to the implementation of an arms embargo decision for Libya.

The EU last week launched a delayed naval mission to enforce an arms embargo on Libya.

Operation IRINI, currently headquartered in Rome, aims to halt the flow of arms into Libya.

Libya: schools to restart by June 13

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The Ministry of Education announced on Thursday its plan to restart schools by June 13, 2020.

Pupils preparing for the preparatory and secondary certificate will be the first to resume lessons said Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education, Adel Jumaa, noting that they will spend two months back at school before taking their exams.

Jumaa confirmed that the decision was approved by the scientific advisory committee for managing the Covid-19 pandemic and the anti-Covid-19 supreme committee.

Schools only managed to give 41% of the overall curriculum for this academic year, due to delays in the start of the school year, and Haftar’s offensive against the capital, according to the undersecretary.

Accordingly, the decision to transfer or calculate the average of the two terms cannot be implemented, therefore, the ministry decided to restart schools instead,” Jumaa added.

“To ensure pupils are studying in a safe environment, education institutions will be provided with the necessary hygiene and sterilizing supplies, periodically,” said Jumaa.

The undersecretary also announced that the Education Minister has formed a committee to supervise and monitor the restarting of schools in coordination with the National Center for Disease Control and to ensure that all measures recommended by the relevant bodies for the safety of the children at the education institutions are implemented.

Turkish Petroleum seeking Libya exploration permit

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Turkish Petroleum (TPAO) has requested permission from the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) to start oil exploration in the eastern Mediterranean, Reuters reports.

Exploration will begin as soon as the process is completed. Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez was quoted as saying.

According to Reuters, the move could further stoke tensions in the region, where Turkey has been at odds for years with Greece and Cyprus, as well as with other regional powers over ownership of natural resources.

GNA signed an agreement with Turkey in November 2019 that seeks to create an exclusive economic zone from Turkey’s southern Mediterranean coast to Libya’s northeast coast.

Greece, Cyprus and others have opposed the accord and call it illegal, an accusation Turkey has rejected. The EU also opposes the maritime deal.

Second batch of Turkish virus aid arrives in Libya

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A second batch of Turkish medical equipment arrived in Libya to help the country fight the novel coronavirus.

According to diplomatic sources, Turkey’s Ambassador to Tripoli Serhat Aksen personally delivered the medical supplies to Tawfik Harisha, the country’s Government Emergency Administration of the Ministry of Health director.

Emphasizing that they were grateful for Turkey’s help, Harisha thanked Ankara for its support in every field.

Ankara’s second delivery to Libya landed in the country on May 8 with accompanied medical aid to Tunisia.

After originating in China last December, COVID-19 has spread to at least 188 countries and regions. Europe and the US are currently the worst-hit areas.

The pandemic has killed more than 300,000 people worldwide with over 4.4 million confirmed cases, while recoveries have surpassed 1.5 million.

Education Ministry launches platform for virtual learning

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Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) launched on Tuesday a virtual platform for distance learning, maintaining anti-coronavirus measures in place.

This came at a time the UN voiced its concern towards the negative effects the war in Tripoli, Libya’s capital, could have on measures to stem the spread of the virus.

GNA’s Education Ministry said that the platform launched is part of its efforts to ensure the continuation of the education process amid the shutdown of schools.

It will be reminded that in mid-March, the ministry decided to close all schools and use television channels and electronic platforms to broadcast lessons. Since that date, it has spoken of resorting to new distance learning programs in cooperation with UNICEF, but that was not activated until Tuesday.

Water flow to Tripoli interrupted

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The management of the Man-made River said that its maintenance teams are continuing work to restore water supplies to Tripoli and the surrounding areas.

 A failure occurred in the electricity transmission lines linking the water system, which caused an interruption in the flow of water.

In addition, the majority of areas in the city suffered a total blackout at a time when the threat of the spread of the coronavirus looms in the country.

There was a total blackout in both the western and southern regions of the country.

Fayez al-Sarraj said, “shutting the gas pipe in the Sidi al-Sayeh area which feeds the western region with electricity days after closing the gas pipes in the Great Man Made River which also feeds the area.”

Abdel-Moneim al-Hor, the Secretary-General of the Arab Organization for Human Rights, residing in al-Khums, said that they have been suffering from a cut in water and electricity supplies for days.

The General Electricity Company clarified two days ago that “an unknown group had shut down the gas pipe in the Sidi al-Sayeh area.”

It warned that “continuing to close it will cause a massive shortage in electricity production in the area and that manual loads will be resorted to in order to maintain the safety and stability of the electric grid”.

In addition to the power cut, Tripoli and the majority of cities in western Libya have suffered from water cuts for two days.

Despite the Great Man Made River administration announcing that drinking water supply has partially returned to some areas, it expects that “it will be cut off again in the capital over the continued raids by armed men of the control room.

The western Libyan cities also suffered the same fate, as citizens there complained of drinking water and electricity cuts, deepening their years-long crisis coupled with a rise in the price of fuel and cooking gas.

NATO ready to support Libya’s government

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NATO is ready to support Libya’s government led by Fayez al-Sarraj, the head of the military alliance said on Thursday.

In an interview with Italian daily La Repubblica, Jens Stoltenberg noted that NATO has 30 partners, which on many issues have different positions, but added that Turkey remains an important ally.

He also stressed that NATO is supporting the UN’s efforts for peaceful solution to conflicts both in Libya and Syria.

“In Libya there is an arms embargo that needs to be respected by all sides,” Stoltenberg said.

“However, this doesn’t mean to put on the same level the forces led by [Khalifa] Haftar and the government of Fayez al-Sarraj, the only one recognized by the UN,” he stressed.

“For this reason, NATO is ready to give its support to the government of Tripoli,” he said.

UN agencies warn of significant threat to life in Libya

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Libyans are at risk because of conflict and the coronavirus pandemic, a group of UN agencies said Wednesday.

“Conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic present a significant threat to life in Libya. The health and safety of the country’s entire population are at risk,” said a joint statement by the humanitarian, human rights, children, population, food, health and migration agencies.

Defying repeated calls for a cease-fire, the “hostilities continue unabated, hindering access and the delivery of critical humanitarian supplies,” according to the statement.

NCDC: A week passes by without recording any new cases in Libya

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The National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) said it did not record any new COVID-19 cases since May 6.

In a statement, NCDC said it received on Wednesday 130 specimen of suspected COVID-19 cases. All of which have tested negative following laboratory examination.

Libya has recorded 64 cases of COVID-19 so far, 37 of which remain active, 24 others recovered and 3 are dead.