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Libya

October 22, 2026

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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

Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and Head of United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Bernardino Leon addresses a news conference at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, January 14, 2015. The United Nations will launch talks on Wednesday in Geneva between warring Libyan factions even though one side has delayed its decision on attending negotiations aimed at averting a broader civil war. Two rival governments and their forces are vying for control in Libya, three years after th

Hope for Libya after first round of talks

After months of painful lobbying, the UN’s special envoy to Libya, Bernardino Leon, managed to get opposing sides to the negotiating table, with Libya’s main warring factions declaring a cease-fire to give the talks a chance.

People take part in a rally to support Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi and protest against the NATO military operation in Libya in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don July 7, 2011. The banner reads "NATO: Hands off Libya! Russia is with you, Gaddafi". REUTERS/Sergei Karpov (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST) - RTR2OKXP

Are there any prospects for Moscow-Libya cooperation?

Russian officials are taking a wait-and-see attitude to developments in Libya.

Firefighters work to put out the fire of a storage oil tank at the port of Es Sider in Ras Lanuf December 29, 2014. Oil tanks at Es Sider have been on fire for days after a rocket hit one of them, destroying more than two days of Libyan production, officials said on Sunday. Libya has appealed to Italy, Germany and the United States to send firefighters. REUTERS/Stringer (LIBYA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS CONFLICT ENERGY) - RTR4JKBK

Regional powers fighting proxy war in Libya

The world’s major powers are doing little to stop rival regional blocs from exacerbating the violence in Libya, despite having several UN Security Council resolutions at their disposal to help them do so.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan speaks to the Libyan people on the 80th anniversary of the martyrdom of Libyan resistance hero Omar al-Mukhtar, near the shrine of his burial place in Benghazi September 16, 2011. Hundreds of Libyans joined Erdogan in prayer on Friday in Tripoli, heaping praise on him for backing the revolt against Muammar Gaddafi. The Turkish prime minister, who is promoting Ankara's blend of Islam and democracy as a model for North African states, hailed Libya's revolution by invokin

Political missteps in Libya cause Turkey's economy to stumble

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the AKP government's backing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Libya is inflicting billions of dollars of economic losses on Turkey and eroding its political influence in Libya and Saharan Africa.

Egyptian men wait to board their plane to return home, at the Gabes Matmata airport, south of Tunisia August 6, 2014. According to media reports, Egyptians fleeing the violence in Tripoli were picked up at the Libya-Tunisia border, and will be evacuated back to Egypt. Tunisia said on July 30 it might close its frontiers with Libya if the security situation continues to worsen. A steady stream of foreigners have been evacuated from Libya since the fighting began last month. REUTERS/Stringer (TUNISIA - Tags:

Egyptians struggle to return to Libya

Egyptian nationals would rather go to Libya for the chance to find work than live in poverty in their own country.

A fighter from Zintan brigade watches as smoke rises after rockets fired by one of Libya's militias struck and ignited a fuel tank in Tripoli August 2, 2014. On Saturday, sporadic shelling resumed in the capital after two days of relative calm. Plumes of black smoke rose over the south of Tripoli from a burning fuel tank at the airport's fuel depot. REUTERS/Hani Amara (LIBYA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR411E4

Turkey’s war in Libya

The Turkish government denies that it is taking sides in Libya, between the governments in Tobruk and Tripoli.

U.N. Special Envoy Bernardino Leon (C) attends a meeting in Ghadames September 29, 2014. Libya's elected parliament held U.N.-brokered talks with foes tied to a rival assembly on Monday calling for a ceasefire by armed factions and more dialogue to end a confrontation driving the OPEC member state close to civil war. Leon said after the meetings that both sides agreed on the need for a ceasefire, for humanitarian aid for victims of recent clashes in Tripoli, and to work to reopen airports closed by fighting

Is Algeria's dialogue initiative for Libya still viable?

Algeria had announced a dialogue initiative bringing together Libya’s rival factions to be held in October, but the month passed without a meeting being held.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika (L), Algerian former President Chadli Bendjedid (R) and leader of the Islamist Ennahda movement Rached Ghannouchi (C) pray during the funeral of the first President of independent Algeria Ahmed Ben Bella at Al Alia Cemetery in Algiers April 13, 2012. Ahmed Ben Bella helped lead Algeria's fight for independence from France and after victory became its first president, a figure who symbolised the romance of the national liberation struggle before the harsh reality of ru

Algeria pushes for national dialogue in Libya

Algeria says it will endeavor to host a Libyan national dialogue in October month, hoping to end the violence and rejecting calls for foreign military intervention.

Tunisian soldiers gather near the border with Algeria around Mount Chaambi, western Tunisia August 2, 2013. Tunisian troops exchanged fire with militants near the Algerian border on Thursday, security sources said, three days after gunmen killed eight soldiers in one of the deadliest attacks in decades on the country's security forces. Soldiers had been doing security sweeps since Monday in Mount Chaambi, a remote area where the army has been trying to track down Islamist militants since last December. REUT

AQIM defectors raise fears of IS branch in North Africa

A senior leader of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, leading some to speculate that an IS branch is in the making in North Africa.

A tank belonging to the Western Shield, a branch of the Libya Shield forces, fires during a clash with rival militias around the former Libyan army camp, Camp 27, in the 27 district, west of Tripoli, August 22, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer (LIBYA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR43F65

Egypt seeks help in disarming Libyan militias

While denying accusations that it helped conduct air strikes in Libya, Cairo is seeking international support for an initiative to stabilize the country and disarm the militias.

A burnt vehicle belonging to Iraqi security forces is pictured at a checkpoint in east Mosul, one day after radical Sunni Muslim insurgents seized control of the city, June 11, 2014. Sunni insurgents from an al Qaeda splinter group extended their control from the northern city of Mosul on Wednesday to an area further south that includes Iraq's biggest oil refinery in a devastating show of strength against the Shi'ite-led government. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Can Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE form Arab security alliance?

With the Islamic State (IS) out to change the regional order, Gulf states ought to establish a security alliance to prevent this from happening.

Turkey’s exports decrease amid regional tension

Turkey has suffered unexpected declines in its exports to Iraq, Libya, Egypt, Ukraine and Russia, though Turkish exports to Russia may have more potential following its recent foodstuff import boycott of the United States and European Union.