Mitiga: Air traffic re-opened
Mitiga International Airport confirmed that the airport resumed its flights again after rockets were fired towards it yesterday.
Author: LS
EU: Turkey and Libya’s maritime deal should be abandoned
The European Union will not agree to a political solution to Libya’s factional conflict unless Turkey and Libya abandon a maritime accord they signed in November, Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced today.
Serraj signed an agreement with Turkey in November that seeks to create an exclusive economic zone from Turkey’s southern Mediterranean shore to Libya’s northeast coast. It carves out a slanting sea corridor, potentially clearing the way for oil and gas exploration in the area.
“We all know that this agreement was signed in exchange for Turkey’s military support to the GNA, and on top of that, it’s an agreement that has not been recognised yet by the Libyan legislature,” Mitsotakis added.
Algeria’s meeting: a political solution is needed
Before starting today’s meeting with foreign ministers and other officials from Egypt, Tunisia, Chad, Niger, Sudan and Mali, the Algerian Foreign Minister Sabri Boukadoum claimed that “Libya’s neighbours have the responsibility to facilitate a political solution.”
Heiko Maas, the foreign minister of Germany, joined the meeting too.
Sabri Boukadoum announced that he hopes their meeting will strengthen a fragile truce in Libya and help avert more foreign influence there.
Turkey: no more military advisers to Libya
Turkey does not plan to send more military advisers to Libya while a ceasefire is observed, Turkey’s foreign minister announced today.
He also added that a Libya peace conference will take place in Berlin at the start of February, but Germany has not fix it yet.
IEA: Oil prices slide
Yesterday, oil prices fell more than 2% as a market surplus forecast by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and expresses worries about the outbreak of a virus in China outweighed concern over disruptions to Libya’s crude output.
Brent crude ended the session down $1.38, or 2.1%, at $63.21 while West Texas Intermediate fell $1.64, or 2.8%, to settle at $56.74.
Prices extended losses in post-settlement trade, with WTI dropping by more than $2, after data from the American Petroleum Institute showed U.S crude inventories rose 1.6 million barrels last week, compared with analysts’ expectations for 1 million-barrel draw.
U.S gasoline stocks built for an 11th week, rising 4.5 million barrels, the API announced, much more than forecasts for a 3.1 million-barrel gain.
“Oil prices remain heavy on oversupply concerns and after the Saudi Energy Minister Price Abdulaziz did not offer any hints of optimism that the OPEC+ production cuts would be extended beyond March,” clarified Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA in New York.
“Demand concerns over a potential epidemic will counter concerns around supply disruptions in Libya, Iran and Iraq, driving spot price volatility in coming weeks,” Goldman said, though the “impact on oil fundamentals remains limited so far”.
“The Libyan pipeline blockade continued to have a muted impact on sentiment …There is a consensus that the disruption will prove short-lived,” claimed Stephen Brennock, oil analyst at PVM
Libyan Foreign Ministry refuses Algeria’s invitation
The Libyan Foreign Minister, Mohamed Sayala, declined an invitation to participate in Libya’s neighbouring countries meeting, at the foreign ministry level, set to take place today in Algeria.
It is noteworthy that the meeting of foreign ministers of Libya’s neighbouring countries is the first since the beginning of the war on Tripoli in April 2019.
“The refusal comes in objection of Algeria’s decision to invite the so-called foreign minister of the east-based interim government,” in a clear violation of the Security Council resolutions, Libya’s Foreign Ministry tweeted yesterday.
“Blockades are severely impacting oil operations”
The British Embassy in Tripoli expressed its deep concerns about oil operations’ suspension and emphasized the harmful overcomes of blockades at different levels.
Flights suspended at Tripoli’s Mitiga Airport
The only functioning airport in Libya’s capital Tripoli closed today after rockets were fired towards it, the airport clarified in a statement.
According to the airport, a plane coming from Tunis trying to land at Tripoli’s Mitiga airport was diverted to Misurata, a city about 200km (125 miles) east of Tripoli.
It should be noted that Mitiga airport reopened on January 14, after months of closure following repeated air strikes.
Migrants and refugees are in vulnerable situations
UNSMIL reported that 3,200 refugees and migrants are currently held in detention centres run by the Department for Combating Illegal Migration, under the Ministry of the Interior, and controlled by armed groups. Among them an estimated 2,000 are exposed to the fighting in and around Tripoli.
Migrants and refugees continued to be subjected systematically to arbitrary detention and torture in official and unofficial places of detention. Sexual violence, abduction for ransom, extortion, forced labour and unlawful killings are also widespread.
Perpetrators of violations include government officials, members of armed groups, smugglers, traffickers and members of criminal gangs. Only one official detention centre, the Tariq al-Sikkah centre, employed female guards.
A meeting to discuss the general situation in Libya
Chairman of the Presidential Council (PC), Fayez Al-Serraj, discussed yesterday, in separate meetings with the concerned bodies , the military, political, and economic situation in the country.
During meetings with the HCS head, HoR Speaker, and heads of the financial and regulatory bodies, the PC head highlighted the unfolding situation at the military and political level, as well as the Berlin Conference outcomes.
He also reviewed plans to revive the national economy and ways of providing goods to citizens.