Month: October 2021

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) yesterday said, it deported 140 illegal Bangladeshi migrants to their country of origin.

The migrants, including nine with medical conditions, were assisted to return to Bangladesh from Benghazi on Thursday, in the first Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) flight from the city, since the resumption of IOM’s VHR programme, the IOM said.

“Closely facilitated and supported by the Embassy of Bangladesh, the returning migrants underwent health checks and were provided with counselling services and protection screening, as well as, personal protective equipment and COVID-19 tests before boarding,” the statement said.

Libya has been suffering insecurity and chaos since the fall of its leader, Muammar Gaddafi, in 2011, making the North African country a preferred point of departure, for illegal migrants who want to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores.

The VHR programme, run by the IOM, arranges the return of illegal immigrants stranded in Libya to their homelands.

Since 2015, more than 53,000 migrants have been returned from Libya through the VHR programme, with support from the European Union and the Italian Migration Fund, according to the IOM.

Source: Nam News Agency

Tripoli, The European tourist group that made a 12-day tour of the Libyan desert, which included a visits to the city of Ghadames, the areas of Hamada al-Hamra, Ghat, the Tadrarat Acacus Mountains, Ubari lakes, Tripoli and Sabratha.

The tourist group, which included tourists from France, Italy, Iceland and Switzerland, arrived in Libya on Monday last week through the Wazzen crossing, in the first visit of a cross-border tourist group after a hiatus of about 10 years.

The tourists expressed their delight to return to the tourist sites in Libya, stressing that they found welcome from their Libyan friends, and that their trip will be followed by other trips and groups, where they will convey their observations about the good conditions that accompanied their trip.

One of the tourists from France said, “When I learned from my friends of their intention to travel to Libya, and to go to its tourist areas and cities, I did not hesitate to join them and I found everything was fine and I will return.

Source: Libyan News Agency

Tripoli, The Head of UN Support Mission in Libya Jan Kupis thanked the Government of Egypt for hosting and supporting the Joint Military Committee (5+5) and expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the representatives of Chad, Niger and Sudan for their participation in this important meeting and their willingness to work with the Joint Military Committee (5+5) on the withdrawal of mercenaries and foreign fighters from Libya in a way that does not affect the stability of the situation in their countries and in the region.

‘In response to the aspirations of the Libyan people, and in line with the conclusions of the Berlin Conferences 1 and 2 and the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions on Libya, the Joint Military Committee (5+5) signed on October 8, 2021 during its meeting in Geneva, facilitated by the Mission, a plan of action, a comprehensive Libyan operation that will serve as the cornerstone for a gradual, balanced and sequential withdrawal of mercenaries, foreign fighters, and foreign forces from Libyan territory, Kupis told a meeting of 5+5 Military Committee in Cairo on Saturday.

The Action Plan is a Libyan plan approved by the Joint Military Commission and supported by the Libyan authorities; It is also a plan with national leadership and ownership that carries within it concrete ideas and determinants of implementation. The plan is a very important step on a long and arduous path towards peace, stability, security, cooperation and sustainable development in Libya and in the region in general, he said.

Based on the action plan, the Joint Military Committee intends to develop a plan and mechanism to implement a gradual, balanced and sequential exit of all mercenaries, foreign fighters and foreign forces, through consultations and negotiations with Libya’s neighboring countries and other international partners, Kupis said, indicating that the action plan was endorsed at the Stabilization Support Initiative Conference held in Tripoli on October 21 in the presence of the foreign ministers of Chad, Niger, and Sudan, as well as representatives of the Joint Military Commission who presented the plan.

The UN Envoy stressed that the Joint Military Commission has laid the foundation for the peace and political process in Libya. Our meeting today, and the meetings and consultations that will follow, are only the first steps in preparing a concrete implementation plan for the withdrawal of all mercenaries, foreign fighters and foreign forces from Libya, which is also important in light of the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections, he said.

Kupis expressed hope that the Cairo meeting would result in a mutual understanding on the building blocks and coordination mechanisms needed for withdrawal, and will enable agreement on the first steps of a withdrawal process that will take fully into account the needs and concerns of Libya and its neighbors. I count on your full cooperation as well as the support of the African Union in this noble and very important endeavor, he added.

Source: Libyan News Agency

Al-Shati, The Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity Ramadan Abu Jinnah met with the leaders and delegation members from Brak Al-Shati region.

The meeting focused on discussing the needs of the people of the area, the difficulties and problems they face, and ways to solve and address them, after starting the inauguration of the Brak-Shwerf Road, as part of ‘Return to Life ‘program launched by the Government.

Source: Libyan News Agency

Tripoli, President of the Presidency Council Mohamed Al-Manfi toured the old city of Tripoli on Saturday whereby he was briefed on a number of historical buildings that were recently maintained with the support of the Central Bank of Libya.

While touring the corridors of Dar Hassan al-Faqih Hassan, the President listened to historical account about it from the director of the house, Mrs. Fawzia Oreibi, who gave a detailed explanation since it was established as a cultural center on 01/11/2001, down to the phase when the building was opened in the year 1630, where it remained the headquarters of the French Consulate until the beginning of World War II.

The President also toured the “Iskander House of Art” and was briefed on the maintenance work of the (Banca di Roma) building, which was established in 1907 as the first bank in North Africa.

The president concluded his tour by visiting the “Christa House” for children, which was established in what is known as the Ottoman prison. He met with a number of house’s managers who are training the children in handicraft skills.

The tour of the President of the Presidential Council in the old city coincided with the presence of a number of foreign tourists from France and Italy, as the first foreign tourist group to visit the old city in several years. They exchanged comments with the President, praising the improvement of conditions in the country and the great welcome they received in all the Libyan cities and regions they visited.

The President of the Presidency Council was flanked on his tour with the Governor of the Central Bank of Libya Al-Siddiq Al-Kabir the coordinator of the maintenance project Abdul Jawad Al Maghrabi and a number of notables and directors of cultural institutions in the old city.

Source: Libyan News Agency