Washington, United States | AFP | Russia is trying to expand its influence in Libya through a combination of military means and oil and weapons sales, a top US general said Friday. General Thomas Tom Waldhauser, who heads the US military’s Africa Command, said Russia is “on the ground” in …
Read More »ANALYSIS: Key forces battling for control in Libya
Tripoli, Libya | AFP | Dozens of armed factions have battled for control of oil-rich Libya since the 2011 fall of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi. This week, four days of intense fighting saw pro-unity government armed forces expand their control in the capital Tripoli, where dozens of militias operate. Further east, …
Read More »Fight looms over takeover of UTL
Libyans vow to take on Uganda after `quitting’ It is not clear what the Uganda government’s plan is since it announced that the Libyan owners of Uganda Telecom Ltd (UTL) have quit, but the move might get dirty if the Libyans instead implement a fight for the company. The government …
Read More »Russian and Libyan state oil giants sign deal
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Russia’s Rosneft oil giant has paved the way for investment in Libya’s oil sector by signing a Cooperation Framework Agreement with the National Oil Corporation of Libya, it was announced Tuesday. The agreement was signed Monday on the sidelines of London’s International Petroleum Week …
Read More »Libya still in the mire as another anniversary passes
Tripoli, Libya | AFP | Libya’s transition has been bogged down by insecurity and chaos, leaving the country looking like a “failed state” six years after the NATO-backed uprising that ended Moamer Kadhafi’s rule. “We got rid of one dictator only to see 10,000 others take his place,” said Fatma …
Read More »ECOMOG’s Gambian gamble
THE LAST WORD: By Andrew M. Mwenda The likely dangers of the Western African states’ attempts to impose a solution on The Gambia The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has resolved to send a military force (ECOMOG) into The Gambia apparently to achieve three interrelated objectives: first to …
Read More »Plane hijackings in past decade
Paris, France | AFP | Hijackings like the one on Friday of a Libyan plane have become relatively rare since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States led to increased security. The hijackers who diverted the plane on Friday to Malta released everyone onboard and surrendered. A …
Read More »How armed men hijacked Libyan plane
Valletta, Malta | AFP | Two men armed with a grenade and at least one gun hijacked a Libyan plane with 117 people on board Friday and diverted it to Malta before releasing everyone and surrendering, officials said. The Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A320 was en route from Sabha in southern …
Read More »IS commander wanted by Italy arrested in Sudan
Rome, Italy | AFP | A veteran commander of the Islamic State group who was convicted in Italy of terrorist recruitment has been arrested in Sudan, an Italian lawmaker said Monday. Giacomo Stucchi, a senator who chairs the parliamentary committee that oversees Italy’s secret services, said Italian intelligence had played …
Read More »Museveni in Addis for AU meeting on Libya crisis
President Yoweri Museveni is in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on a two day working visit to the Africa Union Commission, where he will attend an African Union High Level Committee meeting on Libya. Museveni headed straight to the AU Headquarters where he joined other other presidents attending the AU …
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