Weekly Highlights
- Hawari Hospital: Covid-19 deaths “increasing in a scary way”
- Rebuilding Libya will cost nearly half a trillion dollars
- GECOL: Power cuts within five hours this summer
- Turkey reportedly informed mercenaries to prepare for leaving Libya
- Libya’s first female Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush takes over her duties
- Rescuers save 67 children among more than 100 migrants in dinghy off Libya
Currency Exchange:
- Bank exchange rate: USD 1 – LYD 4.5173
- Black market exchange rate: USD 1 – LYD 5.05
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Hawari Hospital: Covid-19 deaths “increasing in a scary way”
Hawari Hospital said its medical staffers aren’t capable, psychologically, to deal with the increasing number of Covid-19 cases, describing the rate of deaths as “scary”. The manager of the hospital, Fadi Fertas, said there are mass cases coming daily to the hospital and the intensive care unit is full, adding that the use of oxygen has become five or six times more than usual. He said the rate of deaths among young and old people is “absolutely scary”, calling on people to wear masks all the time outdoors, use sanitizers continuously and stay away from gatherings and crowded areas. LIBYA OBSERVER
Rebuilding Libya will cost nearly half a trillion dollars
Abdul-Majd Kosher, head of Libya’s Contractors Union affirmed that Libya requires an estimated 450 billion dollars over the course of the next five years to be able to rebuild the country. In a press release, Kosher stated that the reconstruction process will require no less than three million skilled workers in construction, noting that Egyptian workers are the most qualified to help in rebuilding the country after the wars and civil conflicts of the last ten years. Egypt has a long history of providing Libya with the necessary manpower for construction, and now with the appointment of the country’s new government and Libya’s continued path to progress and stability. LIBYAN EXPRESS
GECOL: Power cuts within five hours this summer
Power cuts will be within five hours during the peak demand period this summer, General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL) chairman Wiam Al-Abdali said yesterday. The revelation came during an expanded meeting yesterday with new Government of National Unity (GNU) prime minister, Abd Alhamid Aldabaiba, Central Bank of Libya Governor Saddek El-Kaber as well as GNU Ministers of Finance, Planning and Communications. The GNU Media Department reported that the meeting was held specifically to discuss the power cut crises. LIBYA HERALD
Turkey reportedly informed mercenaries to prepare for leaving Libya
Turkish-backed Syrian fighters in Libya have been informed to prepare themselves to return to Syria, at orders of the Turkish government, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). The Observatory reported that about 9,000 Syrian mercenaries who were recruited by the Turkish intelligence services, including 350 children under the age of 18, returned to Syria after completing the duration of their contracts and receiving their financial dues. AAWSAT
Libya’s first female Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush takes over her duties
Libya’s first ever female Foreign Minister, Najla Mangoush, took over her duties from her predecessor, Mohamed Siala, at a ceremony in the Ministry in the capital Tripoli yesterday. The historic occasion did not pass unnoticed by the Foreign Ministry which described it thus: ‘‘In a cultural scene that embodies the peaceful handover of power and in a historical precedent represented in the assumption of the first woman in the history of Libya the duties of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.’’ LIBYA HERALD
Rescuers save 67 children among more than 100 migrants in dinghy off Libya
More than 100 migrants, including 67 children, were rescued from a dinghy off the Libyan coast by a humanitarian vessel, the European NGO running the rescue ship said on Saturday. Crew members of the Ocean Viking found the dinghy in difficulty as it was making a bid to get to Europe. “Today, #OceanViking rescued around 106 children, women & men from an overcrowded dinghy that had run into trouble in international waters around 34 nautical miles from #Libya,” SOS Mediterrannee tweeted. CGTN
USEFUL INFORMATION
List of holidays in Libya 2021
| Date | Day | Name | Type |
| 17 Feb | Wednesday | Libyan Revolution Day | Public Holiday |
| 1 May | Saturday | May Day | Public Holiday |
| 13 May | Thursday | Eid al-Fitr | Public Holiday |
| 14 May | Friday | Eid al-Fitr Holiday | Public Holiday |
| 15 May | Saturday | Eid al-Fitr Holiday | Public Holiday |
| 19 Jul | Monday | Day of Arafah | Public Holiday |
| 20 Jul | Tuesday | Eid al-Adha | Public Holiday |
| 21 Jul | Wednesday | Eid al-Adha | Public Holiday |
| 22 Jul | Thursday | Eid al-Adha | Public Holiday |
| 10 Aug | Tuesday | Muharram | Public Holiday |
| 16 Sep | Thursday | Martyrs’ Day | Public Holiday |
| 19 Oct | Tuesday | The Prophet’s Birthday | Public Holiday |
| 23 Oct | Saturday | Liberation Day | Public Holiday |
| 24 Dec | Friday | Independence Day | Public Holiday |
Exchange rates – Libyan Dinar
According to our most recent information (22nd March 2021) the Libyan Dinar has the following exchange rates.
The exchange rate from your own bank or Credit Card Company will differ somewhat from the exchange rates as mentioned above. Your bank or Credit Card Company might also apply additional international charges.
LIBYA SECURITY & RISK LEVELS
Do not travel to Libya due to COVID-19, crime, terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping, and armed conflict.
Crime levels in Libya remain high, including the threat of kidnapping for ransom. Westerners and U.S. citizens have been targets of these crimes.
Terrorist groups continue plotting attacks in Libya. Violent extremist activity in Libya remains high, and extremist groups have made threats against citizens. Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, hotels, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and government facilities.
Outbreaks of violence between competing armed groups can occur with little warning and have the potential to impact citizens. The capital, Tripoli, and other cities, such as Surman, Al-Jufra, Misrata, Ajdabiya, Benghazi, Sabha, and Dernah, have witnessed fighting among armed groups, as well as terrorist attacks. Hotels and airports frequented by Westerners have been the targets of these attacks. Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence.
For the latest advice from the Libyan government, please visit the National Centre of Disease Control (NCDC) webpage at ncdc.org.ly/Ar/
If you decide to travel to Libya:
- Carry proof of citizenship and valid immigration status at all times.
- Avoid demonstrations and crowds.
- Make contingency plans to leave.
- Establish your own personal security plan in coordination with your employer or host organisation or consider consulting with a professional security organization.
- Develop a communication plan with family and/or your employer or host organization.
LIBYA INCIDENT MAPPING: 16 – 23 MARCH 21
LIBYA – SIGNIFICANT INCIDENTS IN DETAIL
Turkey reportedly informed mercenaries to prepare for leaving Libya
Turkish-backed Syrian fighters in Libya have been informed to prepare themselves to return to Syria, at orders of the Turkish government, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). The Observatory reported that about 9,000 Syrian mercenaries who were recruited by the Turkish intelligence services, including 350 children under the age of 18, returned to Syria after completing the duration of their contracts and receiving their financial dues. Meanwhile, the unity government headed by Abdulhamid Dbeibeh denied issuing any statements regarding the mercenaries on Libyan territories, stating that a fake social media page published an unfounded statement. Dbeibeh’s spokesman, Mohamed Hammouda, told Asharq Al-Awsat there were about 50 fake Facebook pages issuing statements on behalf of the cabinet, but he did not specify the measures taken by the government to solve this issue. Hammouda also denied, later in press statements, any official statement about the mercenaries, asserting that statements attributed to the government about the fate of foreign fighters were unofficial.
10 years ago, U.S.-NATO forces demolished Libya
Ten years ago, on March 19, 2011, U.S.-NATO forces began the air and sea bombardment of Libya. The war was directed by the United States, first through its Africa Command, then through NATO under U.S. command. In seven months, the U.S.-NATO air force carried out 30,000 sorties, 10,000 of which were bombing attacks, unleashing over 40,000 bombs and missiles.
Italy, with the multi-party consensus of the Parliament (its Democratic Party in the lead), participated in the war using seven air bases (Trapani, Gioia del Colle, Sigonella, Decimomannu, Aviano, Amendola and Pantelleria), with Tornado fighter-bombers, Eurofighters and others, plus the aircraft carrier Garibaldi and other warships. Before the air-sea offensive began, U.S.-NATO agents and client states financed and armed ethnic groups and reactionary Islamic groups hostile to Libya’s government, and Qatar deployed special forces to instigate armed clashes within the country.
In this way, the African country was demolished. Libya, as the World Bank documented in 2010, had maintained “high levels of economic growth,” with its GDP increasing by 7.5 percent per year, and recorded “high human development indicators,” including universal access to primary and secondary education and, for over 40 percent of the youth, access to university education. Despite the disparities, the average standard of living in Libya was higher than in other African countries. About two million immigrants, mostly African, found work there.
REGIONAL REPORTED INCIDENT NUMBERS: 16 – 23 MARCH 21
POLITICAL OVERVIEW
Five women will hold important ministries in Libya’s new government for the first time in the country’s history. While the move has been praised it is far from achieving parity in the UN-sponsored transitional government led by Abdelhamid al-Dabaiba. Libya descended into conflict after dictator Moamer Kadhafi was toppled and killed in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011, with an array of forces battling to fill the void. The transitional Government of National Unity (GNU), which took office this week, faces the challenge of pulling the country out of a decade of chaos and divisions, by leading it to national elections in December. But with five women among its 26 ministers and six ministers of state, it also marks relative progress for women in politics. This is a “major step to advance women’s rights,” said UN Women in Libya, while US Ambassador to Libya, Richard Norland, said it was a “historic time for Libyan women”. AFRICA NEWS
Abdelhafid El Sakroufi, the head of the Supreme Council of Libyan Tunisian Businessmen (SCLTB), an organization that represents one group of Libyan and Tunisian business leaders, stated that the Council is working on a Tunisian-Libyan fund for the reconstruction of Libya, with Tunisian and Libyan funds, as well as international funds. He indicated that boosting investment between Tunisia and Libya basically requires changing investment laws. El-Sakroufi also said that Libya intends to recruit 3,000 Tunisian teachers and medical staff through international cooperation. Speaking to Tunisian media Thursday, he was quoted by SCLTB as saying that the process for this recruitment has not yet been approved yet, and that it will be implemented through technical cooperation. LIBYA HERALD
The delegates of China, Britain, Russia, and France to the United Nations have welcomed the approval of the new executive authority, represented by the Presidential Council and the Government of National Unity (GNU). This came during meetings that brought together Libya’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Taher Al-Sunni, with his counterparts of the aforementioned countries. In a statement, Libya’s mission to the UN said the officials reviewed the latest developments in Libya before holding the Security Council session on the 24th of this month. The session will be devoted to a briefing by the UN head mission in Libya Jan Kubis on the situation in country and the report of the International Sanctions Committee. The ambassadors emphasized the importance of the international community’s support for the roadmap emanating from the political dialogue forum in Tunis, which will lead to elections on December 24. LIBYA OBSERVER
Libya’s National Anti-Corruption Commission yesterday called on members of both the outgoing government of national accord and the newly confirmed government of national unity to complete their obligated financial disclosures. The commission reminded both parties that financial disclosure forms are mandated by law to protect the public from fraud and embezzlement by their elected officials. The authority stated that it would begin receiving declarations for all those holding new positions in the government, adding that the affidavits would be received at the NACC headquarters in Tripoli. Prime Minister Debaiba during his confirmation session in Sirte last week, stated that all members of his government will be made to complete the financial disclosure forms to declare their wealth. LIBYAN EXPRESS
AIRPORTS & BORDERS STATUS
