Libya

15 November 2023; MEMO: Libya turned away an oil tanker that was due to load a cargo from one of its ports, after the vessel previously performed a voyage to Israel, Bloomberg reports.

According to the report, the “Proteus Philippa” arrived near Mellitah in western Libya two days ago.

The vessel was set to load 600,000 barrels, but was asked to leave because it previously moved barrels to Haifa in Israel.

TRIPOLI, Oct 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Libyan parliament demanded the departure of ambassadors from countries that “support” Israel as it fights Hamas in Gaza, taking specific aim at the United States, Britain, France and Italy.

Israel has been bombarding the Gaza Strip since Oct 7, when Hamas militants launched an attack that Israeli officials say has killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians.

The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza says that Israel’s strikes have killed more than 6,500 Palestinians, also mainly civilians.

TRIPOLI, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Libya's newly approved presidential and national assembly election laws were referred to the High National Elections Commission, said the speaker of Libyan parliament on Wednesday.

The laws were issued on Wednesday officially by Libyan parliament, the House of Representatives, based on the 13th Constitutional Amendment and the outcomes of the 6+6 committee, said a statement on its official website.

TRIPOLI, Oct 2 (NNN-AFRICANEWS) — Flights resumed between Libya and Italy after a nearly decade-long suspension due to a ban by the European Union.

Twenty-five passengers boarded Saturday’s flight, operated by Libya-based Medsky Airways, which will offer a twice-weekly direct connection to the Italian capital, Rome.

The EU stopped flights operated by Libyan airlines and banned them from entering member states’ airspace in 2014, as the country was mired in intense fighting.

25 September 2023; MEMO: Libya’s Prosecutor-General, on Monday, ordered the arrest of eight officials as part of his inquiry into the recent flood disaster which killed thousands, his office said.

The flash flood, which witnesses likened to a tsunami, broke through two ageing dams on 10 September, after a hurricane-strength storm lashed the area around Derna, a port city in Libya‘s east.

DERNA, Libya (AP) — The prime minister of Libya’s eastern administration said Tuesday that authorities have divided the flood-stricken city of Derna into four sections to create buffers in case of disease outbreaks, a day after thousands of angry protesters demanded the city’s rapid reconstruction.

Last week, two dams collapsed during Mediterranean storm Daniel, sending a wall of water gushing through Derna. Government officials and aid agencies have given death tolls ranging from about 4,000 to 11,000.

DERNA, Libya (AP) — Libyan authorities have opened an investigation into the collapse of two dams that caused a devastating flood in a coastal city as rescue teams searched for bodies on Saturday, nearly a week after the deluge killed more than 11,000 people.

15 September 2023; MEMO: At least eight per cent of the population of Libya’s eastern Derna city was killed or went missing and a quarter of the city’s neighbourhoods were wiped off the map as a result of the disastrous floods which ravaged the country.

At least 6,000 people were killed and thousands of others remain missing, according to the latest official numbers.

DERNA, Libya (AP) — Libyan authorities limited access to the flooded city of Derna on Friday to make it easier for searchers to dig through the mud and hollowed-out buildings for the more than 10,000 people still missing and presumed dead following a disaster that has already claimed more than 11,000 lives.

The staggering death toll could grow further due to the spread of waterborne diseases and shifting of explosive ordnance that was swept up when two dams collapsed early Monday and sent a wall of water gushing through the city, officials warned.

DERNA, Libya (AP) — The Libyan city of Derna has buried thousands of people in mass graves, officials said Thursday, as search teams scoured ruins left by devastating floods and the city’s mayor said the death toll could triple.

The deluge swept away entire families on Sunday night and exposed vulnerabilities in the oil-rich country that has been mired in conflict since a 2011 uprising that toppled long-ruling dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Health officials have confirmed 5,500 deaths and say 9,000 people are still missing.

Here’s a look at the latest developments.