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Libya

October 21, 2026

Tripoli 4:16 am

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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

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.

A commercial vessel is anchored off Yemen's coast at Bab al-Mandeb, in the straits connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean on Sept. 12, 2026.

Explainer

Saudi Yanbu halt deepens oil strain as Europe scrambles for crude

European crude importers are racing to secure new oil shipments as markets brace for the loss of up to 4% of global supplies into October following attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure.

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.

Jonathan Fenton-Harvey

In London, reporting on North Africa and Gulf politics

Mohamed Eljarh

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.

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.

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.

Migrants arrive at a naval base in Tripoli, after the coast guard intercepted an inflatable boat carrying 138 Europe-bound migrants off its west coast, Libya, March 31, 2021.

Video shows Libyan coast guard firing on migrant boat in Mediterranean Sea

The Libyan coast guard has acknowledged the warning shots had endangered the migrant families.

AFP via Getty Images

US hopeful but 'realistic' on departure of foreign forces from Libya

Joey Hood, the acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, also said the United States expects the elections scheduled for December to take place.

Libyan police stand guard outside the Spanish Embassy in Tripoli after a bomb exploded outside the building during the night without causing injurues, April 21, 2015.

Spain reopens its embassy in Libya

The move constituted another diplomatic win for Libya's transitional government ahead of elections in December.

A man walks near a laundry clothing line hanging in the open by a building in the city of Tawergha, some 200 kilometres (125 miles) east of Libya's capital close to the port city of Misrata, on Dec. 12, 2020.

Libyan conflict stands out as key to Turkey-Egypt normalization

Turkey appears reluctant to back down from its military posture in Libya, even as its normalization bid with Egypt depends greatly on whether the two sides find common ground in the Libyan conflict.

The US Department of State is seen on Jan. 6, 2020, in Washington, DC.

US appoints Ambassador Richard Norland as Libya special envoy

Norland, who has served as chief of mission to Libya since August 2019, will lead US diplomatic efforts to promote a political solution to the conflict.

Members of Libya's parliament attend the swearing in ceremony for the country's new interim prime minister in the eastern Libyan city of Tobruk on March 15, 2021, after years of chaos and division.

Libya’s uncertain path to elections

Despite a political process that appears on track, the risk of conflict from foreign forces still in the country remains high.

Dbeibah and Erdogan

Libyan prime minister visits Ankara

The visit of the prime minister of Libya's Government of National Unity highlights an ongoing, close relationship with Turkey, with implications for the Libyan political process, and a likely signal to Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

Prisoners of war loyal to the forces of Libya's eastern military strongman Khalifa Hifter are pictured after their liberation by the new Libyan unity government on March 31, 2021, in the port city of Zawiya, 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, following the latest peace deal between the North African country's former rival governments.

'A climate of fear': eastern Libya's military courts convicted hundreds in sham trials, Amnesty International says

Former detainees told the rights group they were subjected to torture and other ill-treatment while in pre-trial detention.

AFP via Getty Images

130 migrants feared dead in shipwreck off Libyan coast

A volunteer rescue group searched the Mediterranean waters but found no survivors.