Libyan army says has retaken main camp in Benghazi Reuters, Ayman Al-Warfali 9 February 2015   (Reuters) - Libyan special forces said on Monday they had retaken the main military base in Benghazi from Islamist fighters that they have been battling since October, part of a wider struggle four years after the ousting of autocrat Muammar Gaddafi. Special forces commander Wanis Bukhamada told Reuters by telephone that his troops had seized the army

Libyan Militants Aligned With Islamic State Claim Kidnapping of 21 Egyptian Christians David D. Kirkpatrick, New York Times 12 January 2015   CAIRO — Libyan militants calling themselves part of the Islamic State said on Monday that they were holding captive 21 Egyptian Christians, raising new fears about the extremist group’s spreading influence beyond the battlegrounds of Syria and Iraq. “Urgent — Soldiers of the Islamic State captured

ISIS comes to Libya By Paul Cruickshank, Nic Robertson, Tim Lister and Jomana Karadsheh, CNN 18 November 2014 http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2014/11/18/ctw-pkg-robertson-libya-isis-stronghold.cnn.html The black flag of ISIS flies over government buildings. Police cars carry the group's insignia. The local football stadium is used for public executions. A town in Syria or Iraq? No. A city on the coast of the Mediterranean, in Libya.

Libya: ‘Rule of the gun’ amid mounting war crimes by rival militias Amnesty International 30 October 2014 Lawless militias and armed groups on all sides of the conflict in western Libya are carrying out rampant human rights abuses, including war crimes, according to a new briefing from Amnesty International. Rule of the gun: Abductions, torture and other abuses by militias in western Libya provides evidence that armed groups have possibly summarily

Libyan general’s forces make major push to oust Islamist militants from Benghazi By Erin Cunningham/ The Washington Post 16 October 2014 CAIRO — A rogue Libyan general waging a months-long campaign against Libya’s Islamists launched a full-blown assault on Benghazi this week, touching off clashes with the militants dominating the city. More than a dozen people have been killed in the violence, which started Wednesday, raising fears that the

Egypt Warplanes Hit Libya Militias, Officials Say By Maggie Michael and Omar Almosmari, The Associated Press 15 October 2014 Egypt deepened its involvement in the fight against Islamist militias who have taken over key parts of Libya on Wednesday, with officials saying Egyptian warplanes have bombed their positions in the eastern city of Benghazi. The two officials, who have firsthand knowledge of the operation, said the use of the aircraft was part

States at U.N. say ready to help Libya combat Islamist militants By Michelle Nichols, Reuters 25 September 2014 A group of mainly Western and Arab states expressed readiness on Thursday to help Libya's government combat a growing presence of Islamic militant groups in the North African country. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon convened a high-level meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly to discuss the conflict inLibya,

Libya closer to brink of protracted conflict and strife, UN envoy warns UN News Centre 15 September 2014 Three years after the fall of their former regime, the Libyan people find themselves nowhere closer to realizing their hopes and aspirations for a better future, the top UN official in Libya said today, noting the urgency to take advantage of a “small window of opportunity.” “The small window of opportunity before us for a peaceful resolution

Libyan Refugees Stream to Tunisia for Care, and Tell of a Home That Is Torn Apart Carlotta Gall, The New York Times 9 September 2014 Libyans seeking medical care and a refuge from war are filling the private clinics in this coastal Tunisian city for the second time in three years, bringing with them fresh accounts of the violence racking their country. Since the revolution three years ago that overthrew Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, about 1.8 million

Libya fighters may be guilty of war crimes, rights group warns By Laura King, Los Angeles Times 8 September 2014 In the latest marker of Libya’s descent into chaos, a leading human rights group warned Monday that some battle tactics being employed by rival militias -- looting and burning, indiscriminate fire and the seizing of civilian captives -- amount to war crimes. The report by New York-based Human Rights Watch represents the latest note of