Libya Is Another Example of Cameron’s Folly. History Will Not Judge Him Kindly

THE GUARDIAN: The foreign affairs committee rightly condemns Cameron’s reckless, short-termist intervention in Libya that prefigured his biggest mistake – on the EU

When they gave him his send-off just two months ago, the House of Commons was warm and generous to David Cameron. A standing ovation on one side of the chamber, sustained applause on the other. But history won’t be anything like as kind.

Today’s report from the foreign affairs select committee on the 2011 military intervention in Libya has taken another axe to his reputation. Coming just two days after Cameron’s announcement that he will stand down as an MP – which brought a torrent of criticism for breaking an earlier promise to serve out his term – it shows just how roughly posterity is likely to treat him. » | Jonathan Freedland | Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Libya: Anger on the Streets over Covert French Military Intervention

The UN backed national Unity Government has reacted strongly after France confirmed three of its soldiers have been killed in Libya.

Inside Islamic State's New Stronghold in Libya: 'Isil Beheaded My Friend for Witchcraft - He Did Acupuncture'

THE TELEGRAPH: Residents of Islamic State's new 'caliphate' in Libya describe their terror of 'sorcery' trials

Sitting in the shabby parlour of his temporary home, Haaji Mohammed can barely bring himself to watch the Isil video playing on his mobile phone. The film was made just last month – yet the horrific scenes it shows could be from 500 years ago.

Kneeling before a masked executioner are two men in orange jumpsuits, charged under a statute that drags even the medieval barbarity of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant to new depths. The pair are accused of “sorcery”, and just as in witchcraft trials of old, justice is swift, brutal and dispensed to the sound of a baying mob.

As the executioner beheads them with a four-foot scimitar, a crowd of men and boys scream “Allahu Akhbar”, jostling each other for a closer look.

Mr Mohammed is less keen. “I know that man personally,” he says, pointing to the older of the two defendants, whom he names as Said Jabr. “He is not a witch, he is just an alternative healer who does homeopathy and acupuncture. He was wrongly accused.” » | Colin Freeman, Misrata | Monday, January 18, 2016

Recordings Reveal Qaddafi Foretold Rise of Radical Islam, Euro Invasion

FOX NEWS: Doomed Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi delivered a prophetic warning in 2011, saying Islamic terror would spread across North Africa and hit Europe if he was removed from power, newly released phone transcripts revealed Thursday.

Speaking to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Qaddafi said "[jihadists] want to control the Mediterranean and then they will attack Europe," British media reported.

A British foreign affairs committee investigating the Qaddafi ouster released the transcripts of two phone calls to Blair, both of which reportedly took place on February 25, 2011. Qaddafi fled the Libyan capital city of Tripoli that summer, and rebels killed him in October. » | FoxNews.com | Thursday, January 7, 2016

Angry Libyans Lash Out at Obama’s Independence Congratulations

In a message to the Libyan people, the US President said the 2011 Libyan revolution liberated them from “42 years of dictatorship.” Now there are “profound challenges,” which the Libyan people “have demonstrated the commitment to resolve.”

Libya's Cultural Heritage 'Being Destroyed and Plundered by Isis'

The Temple of Zeus, part of the world heritage site at Cyrene, Libya.

THE GUARDIAN: Museums and UN say ancient artefacts and artwork are in danger of obliteration or being looted and sold illegally

Greek and Roman antiquities and prehistoric artwork are under threat from Islamic State extremists in Libya, leading world museums and the UN have warned.

The International Council of Museums released a list of cultural treasures in peril and appealed to Interpol, customs officers and art traders to watch out for looted Libyan goods.

Isis extremists have destroyed temples and ancient sites in Iraq and Syria, and experts believe they are also selling plundered antiquities on the illegal market. Isis has also made inroads across Libya, which is split between rival governments and plagued by weapons smuggling, people smuggling and extremism. Read on and comment » | Associated Press in Paris | Tuesday, December 25, 2015

France Says Fight against Isil Will Extend to Libya

THE TELEGRAPH: French Prime Minister Manuel Valls says the threat of further attacks like Paris remains "because we have hundreds, even thousands of young people who have succumbed to radicalisation".

France has suggested it will extend its military operation against jihadists to Libya, where extremists increasingly have a strong hold.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls called on Friday for International efforts to crush the Islamic State jihadist group (Isil) to extend to Libya.

"We are at war, we have an enemy, Daesh, that we must fight and crush in Syria, in Iraq and soon in Libya too," Valls said, using an Arabic acronym for the group.

Speaking four weeks after Isil gunmen and suicide bombers attacked Paris, Valls told France Inter radio the threat of further outrages remained "because we have hundreds, even thousands of young people who have succumbed to radicalisation".

French planes carried out surveillance flights over Libya last week. » | AFP | Friday, December 11, 2015

Al Jazeera World: Libya’s Forgotten King

The story of King Idris I who unified Libya and became its first - and last - king before being toppled by Gaddafi in 1969.

Libya Warns It Could Flood Europe with Migrants If EU Does Not Recognise New Islamist Government

130 illegal immigrants who were intercepted by Libyan
coastguards off Tripoli coast

THE TELEGRAPH: Islamists who took power in Tripoli issue veiled threat in response to West's refusal to accept their legitimacy

Libya has issued a veiled threat to send "hundreds of thousands" of extra migrants to Europe if Brussels does not give official recognition to its self-declared Islamist government.

Officials say they could hire boats to send large numbers of African migrants across the Mediterranean, massively adding to the numbers already reaching Europe's borders.

The warning was made by a spokesman for Libya's General National Congress in an interview with The Telegraph in the Libyan capital, Tripoli.

The Congress took control of Tripoli last year after fighting against forces loyal to the internationally- recognised House of Representatives government, and is not recognised by the European Union as Libya's legitimate government. A fortnight ago, both factions also rejected the terms of a United Nations-brokered peace deal. » | Colin Freeman, Chief Foreign Correspondent in Tripoli | Monday, November 2, 2015

English-speaking Female Jihadis in Libya Issue Islamic State Call to Arms

An image supplied by Islamist media outlet Welayat Tarablos
allegedly shows Isis members parading the street in Libya's
coastal city of Sirte.

THE GUARDIAN: Three women, believed to be British, are using social media to reach out to western Muslims to open up new front in north Africa

English-speaking female jihadis have been using social media to try to lure western Muslims to join them with Islamic State in Libya, a new front in the war on terror just 400 miles from Europe’s shores.

Three native English-speaking women have been monitored for months by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a UK-based thinktank, and are believed to be British. They say they have been living in the war[-]torn north African country since at least the start of the summer.

Using a variety of social media platforms, including Twitter and encrypted messaging apps such as Surespot and Telegram, the three have reached out to their hundreds of followers, and as routes into Syria via its 500-mile border with Turkey have become further restricted they have advertised the journey to Libya as the easiest way of joining Isis’s so-called caliphate.

Isis has been in Libya for just over a year and the country is home to its largest forces outside of the Middle East. The group has its headquarters in the northern coastal town of Sirte, birthplace of Libya’s late dictator Muammar Gaddafi, but also has a training base to the west of the capital, Tripoli.

Melanie Smith, ISD researcher and an expert in western female jihadis, said evidence of women travelling to Libya to start a new life under Isis represented a dangerous tipping point. » | Shiv Malik, and Chris Stephen in Tunis | Sunday, September 27, 2015

Islamic State: ISIS Orders Parents to MARRY OFF Their Daughters to Its Depraved Fighters

EXPRESS: TERRIFIED parents in Libya have been ordered to MARRY OFF their daughters to depraved Islamic State (ISIS) fighters, it emerged today.

Sex-crazed Islamists in the coastal city of Sirte are looking to force mothers and fathers to hand over their young girls in the name of jihad.

Those who refuse could find themselves hauled before a Sharia court, with public floggings and even the death penalty amongst the punishments routinely handed down by Isis militants.

The move comes after Express.co.uk revealed how Nigerian terror group Boko Haram has sent hundreds of fighters to Sirte to help the jihadis hold the city.

The hated terror group has declared [the] Sirte its new capital in north Africa as part of its bid to create a so-called caliphate.

In a sermon to Sirte's terrified people - who recently rebelled against their new Isis rulers - militant Hassan al-Karami ordered locals to marry off their female relatives to Isis fighters. » | Nick Gutteridge | Saturday, September 5, 2015

Boko Haram Sends Terrorists to Help ISIS Take Libya as Map Shows Horrifying Plan for World

One ISIS supporter posted this map on Twitter, boasting the
group will conquer Rome

EXPRESS: TERRORIST group Boko Haram has sent hundreds of fighters to Libya to help Islamic State (ISIS) conquer the wartorn country…and their next stop could be EUROPE.

The Nigerian-based fanatics have dispatched up to 200 heavily armed troops to bolster ISIS forces in north Africa in a terrifying sign of the growing alliance between the two feared groups.

ISIS is fighting to take control of Libya - which has been engulfed by a chaotic civil war since the fall of Colonel Gadaffi - because it believes that it is a launchpad to Europe.

Boosted by the deployment, gleeful ISIS fighters boasted online of how they will use their stronghold in the north African nation to invade Italy and other parts of southern Europe.

The terrorists have described Libya as the "gateway to Rome" and it is thought they are planning to stow away fighters on smugglers' boats full of migrants destined for Italy.

ISIS supporters posted a series of mocked up messages online showing the eternal city in flames and the black flag of their hate group flying above the Vatican.

One even posted a map showing the area the terror group was targeting, writing in French that its fighters will conquer Iran, Burma, Rome and even America. » | Nick Gutteridge | Tuesday, August 25, 2015

‘It’s a Real Massacre, But the World Is Silent’: Up to 200 People Killed by ISIS in Sirte, Libya

ISIS takes full control of the city of Sirte, Libya. The situation is desperate, local residents report

New Dark Age Alert! Video Shows Saadi Gaddafi Being Beaten in Libya Jail

THE TELEGRAPH: Son of longtime dictator in undated video showing abuse of detainees in Tripoli prison, which human rights groups say raises questions over interrogation methods

Saadi Gaddafi, the son of Libya’s longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi, has appeared in a video showing prisoner abuse inside a Libyan jail.

Throughout the nine-minute long video, the 42-year-old sits hunched and blindfolded as he listens to the screams of other detainees being beaten in a back room. At the end of the film, Mr Gaddafi’s jailers ask him if he would rather be beaten on his feet or on his buttocks.

“What kind of a question is this? My feet,” the dictator’s son responds. His legs are then strapped to a metal contraption, and he too is hit.

The video, published on Sunday by news site Clear News, appears to have been filmed inside the al-Hadba corrections facility in the Libyan capital Tripoli. Libya’s state prosecutor said on Monday that his office was seeking to identify the guards shown in the video. » | Louisa Loveluck | Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Gaddafi's Son Trial Run by Militia

Related »

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Sentenced to Death in Libya

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi in a courtroom in Zintan, Libya

THE TELEGRAPH: Son of former dictator Col Gaddafi and security chief Abdullah Senussi found guilty of war crimes

The British-educated son of Col Muammar Gaddafi has been sentenced to death by firing squad by a court in war-torn Libya.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the debonair friend of Lord Mandelson and other European notables who returned to his father's side during the 2011 revolution, was found guilty of war crimes by a court in the capital Tripoli.

He had appeared at hearings by video-link, as he was captured - in late 2011 - by a militia from the town of Zintan, which is fighting Tripoli-based brigades in the country's civil war.

Also sentenced to death were Col Gaddafi's notorious security chief and brother-in-law, Abdullah Senussi, accused by some of masterminding the Lockerbie bombing, and his prime minister, Al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi. They appeared in person, having been extradited before security collapsed in Libya from neighbouring countries. » | Richard Spencer, Middle East Editor | Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Islamic State Fanatics Put Up Billboards Ordering Women to Wear the Burkha...or Else

The billboard appeared in the Libyan city of Sirte

DAILY EXPRESS: ISLAMIC State (ISIS) fighters have put up huge billboards ordering women to wear the Burkha or face cruel and severe punishments.

Enormous hoardings setting out the fanatics' oppressive dress code have been put up in a city in Libya held by the militants.

The posters set out seven rules for women, which include making sure that all body parts are covered and a ban on see-through and tight-fitting clothes.

Brand names are also forbidden, as are 'masculine garments' and designs that will attract male attention.

Finally, the Jihadists state that all "perfumed" clothes are heretical and should not be worn. » | Nick Gutteridge | Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Islamic State Murders 30 Ethiopian Christians in Libya

Masked militants are shown in the video released by Al-Furqan
Media, purportedly showing the execution of 30 Ethiopian
Christians captured in Libya

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A video purportedly made by Islamic State appears to show militants shooting and beheading about 30 Ethiopian Christians in Libya

A video purportedly made by Islamic State and posted on social media sites on Sunday appeared to show militants shooting and beheading about 30 Ethiopian Christians in Libya.

It was not possible to immediately verify the authenticity of the video, but the killings resemble past violence carried out by Islamic State, which has expanded its reach from strongholds in Iraq and Syria to a conflict-ridden Libya.

The video, in which militants call Christians crusaders and say they are out to kill Muslims, showed about 15 men being beheaded on a beach and another group of the same size shot in their heads in scrubland.

Both groups of men are referred to in a subtitle as "worshippers of the cross belonging to the hostile Ethiopian church".

Libyan officials were not immediately available for comment. » | Reuters | Sunday, April 19, 2015

Leptis Magna: War-torn Libya's Forgotten Ancient Roman City

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: As Libya's war keeps foreign visitors away, the Roman Empire's magnificent capital in Africa lies forgotten, with weeds growing among the cracks of the cobbled stones

For over 900 years Leptis Magna – once the pride of the Roman Empire in Africa – lay hidden, forgotten by man, beneath Libya’s sand dunes.

Now, excavated and magnificent on a promontory overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, Leptis Magna stands, once again, alone and almost entirely abandoned.

As political instability besets Libya, the theatre, parliament and wide, straight, cobbled roads of the “best preserved” Roman city in the world are devoid of tourists.

“We haven’t had any tourists since the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011,” said Osama Krema, a Libyan tour guide working at the site. “Occasionally aid workers staying in the country come to visit. They factor in only half an hour initially. » | Ruth Sherlock, Leptis Magna, video by Sam Tarling | Monday, March 16, 2015

Special Report from Libya: How Nato's Toppling of Gaddafi Has Turned to Disaster

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The country that fought for freedom is falling back into factionalism and bloodshed

Tears rolled down Khadija’s cheeks as the 17-seater plane – the whirr of its propellers deafening in the cabin – began its descent into the capital of a country crippled by war. The hope she’d felt of a better future for Libya after the ousting of dictator Col Muammar Gaddafi had long soured into resentment and fear. Now she was flying back into her homeland from exile. An uncle had been killed and she needed to attend his funeral.

“It wasn’t meant to be like this,” she said. “We have lost our dignity. We fought Gaddafi so that we could speak freely. Now it’s the same as before, but with less security.”

Many of her countrymen agree with her. Since the end of the 2011 Nato-backed war that toppled Gaddafi, Libya has fragmented – with two rival governments and their allied armed gangs vying for power. Nascent democracy has been supplanted by a system of repression and fear. Militias have become the most powerful players in a country devoid of the rule of law, of a national army or a police force. Anyone opposing them, be they politician or civilian, is silenced – often at gunpoint.

In the new Libya, just as in the old, speaking out against those wielding power is enough see you threatened, or killed. There was, many admit, a “golden age” in the months immediately after the end of Gaddafi’s 40-year-rule. But it was not long before factionalism began to spin out of control. Now that brief, optimistic interregnum is spoken of nostalgically, as thought [sic] it were a distant era. (+ video) » | Ruth Sherlock, video by Sam Tarling | Saturday, March 14, 2015

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: I don't regret helping overthrow Gaddafi, says David Cameron after Coptic Christian beheadings: Prime Minister defends Britain's involvement in Libya after 'monstrous' killings of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians by Isil » | Ben Riley-Smith, Political Correspondent | Tuesday, February 17, 2015

THE GUARDIAN: We won't abandon Libya after killings, says David Cameron: Prime minister says Britain right to help oust Gaddafi and pledges support to Libya in the wake of ‘brutal, senseless murders’ of Coptic Christians » | Rowena Mason, political correspondent | Tuesday, February 17, 2015

4bitNEWS: Cameron took the glory for toppling Gaddafi – where is he now as Libya implodes? » | Editor | Wednesday, August 06, 2014