Libya conflict

Fidan

Analysis

What's at stake as Libya's eastern parliament approves Turkey maritime deal

Libya's eastern-based parliament's approval of a long-disputed maritime deal with Turkey marks a strategic win for Ankara as Saddam Hifter seeks Turkish backing for his presidential ambitions, according to analysts.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

The Hellenic Navy Roussen or Super Vita class Fast Missile Patrol Boat P 71 HS Ritsos patrols off the tiny Greek island of Kastellorizo (Megisti), in the Dodecanese, the furthest south eastern Greek Island, 2 kilometers from the Turkish mainland, on Aug. 28, 2020.

Turkey-Greece cable dispute hits impasse as Ankara insists on prior coordination

Turkey and Greece are increasingly at an impasse over the Great Sea Interconnector project, which aims to link the power grids of Greece and Cyprus and eventually Israel.

US Department of State's senior advisor to the President for Arab and African Affairs Massad Fares Boulos attends a conference for the support of peace and prosperity in the Great Lakes region, in Paris, on October 30, 2025. The international community gathered in Paris on October 30, 2025 to raise awareness about the dire humanitarian situation in the Great Lakes region, aiming to raise hundreds of millions of euros despite a drastic decrease in international aid, particularly from the United States. (Phot

Interview

Trump's Africa adviser denies Libya plan would entrench rival families

The reported unification plan for Libya has been met with pushback in a country torn apart by rival factions and foreign interference.

Saddam Hifter meets with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin

Russia’s Putin hosts Saddam Hifter amid instability in Libya: What to know

Moscow has built a strong relationship with Libya’s eastern camp, as Washington and Ankara pursue efforts to reunify the country’s political and military institutions.

Latest News

Analysis

Libya’s oil revival faces new test as violence returns amid US peace push

Libyan firefighting teams attempt to extinguish a fire at the Zawiya refinery, the second-largest oil refinery in Libya, with a refining capacity of 120,000 barrels per day, after a tank belonging to the state-owned Libyan Brega Oil Company was attacked by unknown perpetrators, in Zawiya, Libya, on Aug. 11, 2026.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Turkey’s Fidan heads to Libya as US-backed unification push gathers pace

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan met with Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity of Libya, in Tripoli on Aug. 11, 2026.

Turkey's intel chief hosts Libya delegation amid unification push: What to know

Turkish National Intelligence Organization chief Ibrahim Kalin

Analysis

In Libya, maritime dispute could complicate Turkey’s backing of US unity push

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech after a signing ceremony with Libyan Government of National Unity prime minister at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on April 12, 2021.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

A general view shows an oil refinery in Libya's northern town of Ras Lanuf on Jan. 11, 2017.

Power struggle over oil threatens Libya's fragile transition process

Oil production shutdowns are increasingly likely as several players in the sector push their own agenda.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass meets Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People on Nov. 13, 2018 in Beijing, China.

German foreign minister reopens embassy in Libya

France and Spain already reopened their diplomatic missions in Libya following the end of the civil war last year.

An aerial image shows a picnic tables at a recreational area, built on the former military academy of late Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's entourage of female bodyguards, known as "Amazons", between the port and the city centre of the capital Tripoli, on June 8, 2021.

Clashes in Libya’s capital raise concerns over stability ahead of elections

The UN's assistance mission to Libya expressed "grave concern" over the heaviest fighting in months.

RYAD KRAMDI/AFP via Getty Images

Libya's FM signals elections could be delayed

Foreign Minister Najla al-Mangoush said the Dec. 24 elections could be postponed if lawmakers fail to agree on the electoral law.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett chairs the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on Aug. 22, 2021.

The Takeaway: Bennett has opening to sway Biden administration on Iran nuclear deal

Also: Iran’s new foreign minister and Nasrallah; Syrian Islamist group cracks down in Idlib; TikTok finds audiences in Egypt, Gaza; Israel’s chocolate confiscation; and more … in about 1,500 words!

Libyan Interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah delivers a speech in the town of Buwairat al-Hassoun, during a ceremony to mark the reopening of a 186-mile road between the cities of Misrata and Sirte, Libya, June 20, 2021.

Egypt weighs Hifter's role in Libyan transition

Libyan National Army commander Khalifa Hifter visited Cairo and met with the US ambassador to Libya at a time of heightened tensions between Hifter and the new Libyan government of national unity.

Richard Norland and Khalifa Hifter

Intel: US ambassador meets Libya's Hifter in Cairo

The US envoy is for pushing for cooperation with Libya's planned elections in December, State Department says.

Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, son of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, appears in front of supporters and journalists at his father's residential complex, Tripoli, Libya, Aug. 23, 2011.

Gadhafi's son announces return to Libyan politics

As soon as Saif al-Islam, the son of late Libyan President Moammar Gadhafi, announced his plan to return to political life, media outlets close to the regime in Egypt rushed to announce their support, thus raising many questions about Egypt’s position and whether Cairo would support him if he runs for the upcoming presidential elections in neighboring Libya.

A picture taken on March 26, 2021, shows a damaged and abandoned villa complex of members of a Libyan family who commanded a militia that traumatised Tarhuna town, 80Km southeast of the capital. The Kaniyat were a team of six brothers who traumatized the town of Tarhuna in war-ravaged Libya, systematically eliminating those seen as opposing their militia — including killing the families.

Libyan militia leader sanctioned for war crimes killed in shootout

The International Criminal Court is investigating allegations and evidence that Mohammed al-Kani's militia carried out crimes against humanity.

In a photo taken from the TV station of President Kais Saied, the president announces the dissolution of parliament and Prime Minister Mechichi's government on July 25, 2021.

Turkish officials condemn Tunisian 'coup' but keep it measured

While AKP officials have denounced the Tunisian president's sacking of the prime minister and suspension of parliament as a "coup," Ankara’s language was markedly less incendiary than when Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi overthrew the country’s popularly elected president in 2013.

Syrian youth training in Aleppo

US adds Turkey to list of countries using child soldiers

A US State Department report called out Turkey for providing support to armed groups in Syria that use children in combat.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (L) attends the second international Libya conference on June 23, 2021, in Berlin, Germany.

Turkey stalls on withdrawal of foreign forces from Libya

Turkey might have managed to stave off pressure in the Berlin conference on Libya, but as the December elections near, the Turkish military presence in the country will remain a source of tension.