Libya crisis: Foreign powers evacuate as unrest worsens - BBC News

International powers have begun evacuating personnel from Libya amid a worsening security situation.

US Africa Command said it had relocated an unspecified contingent of US forces, while India said it had evacuated peacekeepers to Tunisia.

Rebel forces under Gen Khalifa Haftar have advanced from the east with the aim of taking the capital, Tripoli.

The UN-backed prime minister has accused him of attempting a coup and says rebels will be met with force.

Libya has been torn by violence and political instability since long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi was deposed and killed in 2011.

• Why is Libya so lawless?
• Who is military strongman Khalifa Haftar?

Who is evacuating and why?

Gen Haftar began his offensive four days ago and fighting on the outskirts of the capital has led some international groups to react to the deteriorating security situation.

US Africa Command, responsible for US military operations and liaison in Africa, said that due to the "increased unrest" it had relocated a contingent of US forces temporarily, but gave no further details on numbers.

There were reports of a fast amphibious craft being used in the operation.

India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said its full contingent of 15 Central Reserve Police Force peacekeepers had been evacuated from Tripoli because the "situation in Libya has suddenly worsened".

The Italian multinational oil and gas company, Eni, decided to evacuate all its Italian personnel from the country.

The UN is also due to pull out non-essential staff.

Residents of Tripoli have reportedly begun stocking up on food and fuel. But BBC Arab affairs editor Sebastian Usher says many of those near the fighting are remaining in their homes for now, for fear of looting should they leave.

Some fear a long operation, which Gen Haftar mounted to take the eastern city of Benghazi from Islamist fighters.

What's happening with the fighting?

Fighting continued on Sunday around the disused international airport south of the capital that Gen Haftar earlier said his forces had seized.

Gen Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) forces have been carrying out a multi-pronged attack from the south and west of the city.

However, forces loyal to the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) have now slowed the advance.

"Intensive air strikes" were carried out by GNA aircraft 50km (30 miles) south of Tripoli on Saturday.

One militia from Misrata told AFP it had aligned with the GNA and had sent armed vehicles to Tajura, in the eastern suburbs, to counter the LNA.

Who are the opposing forces?

Libya has been wracked by unrest since the overthrow of Col Gaddafi. Dozens of militias operate in the country.

Recently they have been allying either with the UN-backed GNA, based in Tripoli, or the LNA of Gen Haftar, a tough anti-Islamist who has the support of Egypt and the UAE and is strong in eastern Libya.

Gen Haftar helped Col Gaddafi seize power in 1969 before falling out with him and going into exile in the US. He returned in 2011 after the uprising against Gaddafi began and became a rebel commander.

The unity government was created at talks in 2015 but has struggled to assert national control.

Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj delivered a TV address on Saturday, saying he would defend the capital.

Mr Serraj said he had offered concessions to Gen Haftar to avoid bloodshed, only to be "stabbed in the back".

Back to square one?

Analysis by Rana Jawad, BBC North Africa correspondent, in Tunis

The rogue general's defiance suggests that, despite international condemnation of his recent moves, he believes he can only secure a place in Libya's future political makeup through militarily means.

Diplomats are worried, because the manner and timing of the attack means he is unlikely to back down unless he is defeated.

Few thought he would go ahead and launch this operation - which he has long threatened to do - because they believed ongoing talks that saw him go from Paris to Palermo and the UAE for more than a year would buy time until a new political settlement was reached through negotiations and an eventual electoral process.

Today, Western nations have few cards to play to de-escalate the violence and once again find themselves in a position where they may need to start from scratch.

Are peace talks planned?

UN-backed talks aimed at drawing up a road map for new elections have been scheduled for 14-16 April in the Libyan city of Ghadames.

UN envoy Ghassan Salame insisted the talks would go ahead, unless serious obstacles prevented it, saying "we won't give up this political work quickly".

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was in Tripoli just last Thursday to discuss the situation.

But Gen Haftar has said his troops will not stop until they have defeated "terrorism".

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-47844513

2019-04-07 10:49:50Z
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Iran will retaliate in kind if U.S. designates Guards as terrorists: MPs - Reuters

FILE PHOTO: Members of the Iranian revolutionary guard march during a parade to commemorate the anniversary of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88), in Tehran September 22, 2011. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

GENEVA (Reuters) - Iran will take reciprocal action against the United States if Washington designates the elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as terrorists, a majority of Iranian parliamentarians said on Sunday, according to state news agency IRNA.

The United States is expected to designate the Revolutionary Guards a foreign terrorist organization, three U.S. officials told Reuters, marking the first time Washington has formally labeled another country’s military a terrorist group.

“We will answer any action taken against this force with a reciprocal action,” a statement issued by 255 out of the 290 Iranian lawmakers said, according to IRNA.

“So the leaders of America, who themselves are the creators and supporters of terrorists in the (Middle East) region, will regret this inappropriate and idiotic action.”

The U.S. decision, which critics warn could open U.S. military and intelligence officials to similar actions by unfriendly governments abroad, is expected to be announced by the State Department perhaps as early as Monday, the U.S. officials said last week. The move has been rumored for years.

IRGC commander Mohammad Ali Jafari warned in 2017 that if Trump went ahead with the move, “then the Revolutionary Guards will consider the American army to be like Islamic State all around the world”.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a strident Iran hawk, has advocated the change in U.S. policy as part of the Trump administration’s tough posture toward Tehran.

Set up after the 1979 Islamic Revolution to protect the Shi’ite clerical ruling system, the IRGC is Iran’s most powerful security organization. It controls large sectors of the Iranian economy and has huge influence in its political system.

Reporting by Babak Dehghanpisheh; Editing by Mark Heinrich

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-iran-guards/iran-will-retaliate-in-kind-if-us-designates-guards-as-terrorists-mps-idUSKCN1RJ07U

2019-04-07 09:53:00Z
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Israel elections 2019 at a glance: Gantz vs Netanyahu - Aljazeera.com

About 5.88 million of eligible voters are set to vote in the Israeli elections on April 9 to elect a party that will lead the next Israeli government.

Fourteen main parties are competing for 120 seats in the 21st Knesset.

A party has to secure a majority of 61 seats out of 120 in order to form a government and choose a leader to become prime minister.

Israel in the past has seen particularly high turn-out rates, with 71.8 percent of eligible voters casting their ballots in the 2015 election.

Israel's incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the right-wing Likud party is seeking a fifth term in office.

According to polls it's a tight race against his main rival Benny Gantz, a former army chief who leads the centrist Blue and White party, a party merged in alliance with former finance minister and TV personality Yair Lapid.

Here's what you need to know about Israel's elections:

Main contenders

Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, 69

If re-elected on April 9, Netanyahu could become Israel's longest serving prime minister and the first sitting prime minister to be indicted on corruption charges.

A corruption investigation involving one case of bribery and two cases of fraud and breach of trust culminated in February 2019 when Israel's attorney general announced that he intends to indict Netanyahu.

But Netanyahu dismissed the allegations, calling it a "witch-hunt" concoted by his opponents.

Despite the charges, mostly younger Israelis prefer Netanyahu for prime minister over rival Benny Gantz, according to a pre-election poll by Israel Democracy Institute.

Netanyahu currently leads the most right-wing government in Israeli history and also serves as defence minister.

Over the past decade he's become known as Mr. Security as he portrays himself as the one who can best keep Israel safe in the "tough neighbourhood" of the Middle East.

During his tenure, US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital and recognised the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, seized from Syria in 1967, which may boost his popularity at the polls.

Benjamin "Benny" Gantz, 59

As security always takes centre stage in Israeli politics, Benny Gantz former chief of staff of the Israeli army is Netanyahu's biggest challenger.

Along with two other former Israeli army chiefs of staff, he quickly formed the Centrist Blue and White party in February 2019 in alliance with former finance minister and TV personality Yair Lapid in a bid to unseat Netanyahu.

Gantz boasts the military credentials that appeal to much of the Israeli public. He served as chief of staff during two military assaults on the besieged Gaza Strip in in 2012 and 2014.

Once praised by Netanyahu as an "excellent officer" to whom Israelis owed gratitude, the prime minister has now branded his competition as a "weak leftist".

In a bid to win right-wing voters, Gantz's controversial campaign videos boast of killing Palestinians and sending Gaza "back to Stone Age" referencing to the air attacks the army launched in 2014.

Many have criticised him for lacking a clear political stance including the future of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

However, as part of his platform he has vowed to "fix" the controversial Jewish nation-state law which defined Israel as the exclusive homeland of the Jewish people.

How the elections work

Voters will be casting their ballots for a party, not a prime minister. The more votes a party gets, it obtains more seats in the Knesset (parliament) as the government is based on a nationwide proportional representation system.

There are 120 seats in Knesset. A party must secure a majority of at least 61 seats in order to form a government.

During elections, parties must pass an electoral threshold of 3.25 percent to gain a Knesset seat. That's why many parties form coalitions so they can have a better chance of passing this threshold.

Once the results are in, all parties that pass the threshold then submit their choice of candidate for prime minister to President Reuven Rivlin.

Rivlin then assigns the job of forming a coalition to the party leader who he thinks has the best chance of doing so.

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2019-04-07 05:36:00Z
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Brexit: I had no choice but to approach Labour - May - BBC News

Prime Minister Theresa May has insisted she had to reach out to Labour in a bid to deliver Brexit or risk letting it "slip through our fingers".

In a statement on Saturday night, Mrs May said there was a "stark choice" of either leaving the European Union with a deal or not leaving at all.

Some Conservatives have criticised her for seeking Labour's help after MPs rejected her Brexit plan three times.

Three days of talks between the parties ended without agreement on Friday.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he was "waiting to see the red lines move" and had not "noticed any great change in the government's position".

He is coming under pressure from his MPs to demand a referendum on any deal he reaches with the government, with 80 signing a letter saying a public vote should be the "bottom line" in the negotiations.

In the statement, Mrs May said that after doing "everything in my power" to persuade her own party - and their backers in Northern Ireland's DUP - to approve the deal she agreed with the EU last year, she "had to take a new approach".

"We have no choice but to reach out across the House of Commons," the prime minister said.

"The referendum was not fought along party lines and people I speak to on the doorstep tell me they expect their politicians to work together when the national interest demands it."

Getting a majority of MPs to back a Brexit deal was the only way for the UK to leave the EU, Mrs May said.

"The longer this takes, the greater the risk of the UK never leaving at all."

The UK is due to leave the EU on 12 April and, as yet, no withdrawal deal has been approved by the House of Commons.

Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott told BBC Radio 4's Today programme Labour had engaged in talks "in good faith" and wanted them to continue.

However, she said there was concern the government has made "no movement" on her party's demand for changes to the political declaration - the section of Mrs May's Brexit deal which outlines the basis for future UK-EU relations.

The document declares mutual ambitions in areas such as trade, regulations, security and fishing rights - but does not legally commit either party.

Downing Street has indicated it was "prepared to pursue changes" in order to secure a deal, and Chancellor Philip Hammond said on Saturday that he was "optimistic" the talks could reach "some form of agreement".

'Open revolt'

However, Tory Brexiteers have reacted angrily to the prospect of Mrs May accepting Labour's demands, particularly for a customs union with the EU which would allow tariff-free trade between members but bar them striking their own trade deals.

Leaving the EU's customs union was a Conservative manifesto commitment, and former party whip Michael Fabricant predicted "open revolt" among Tories and Leave voters if MPs agreed to it.

Former Brexit minister Steve Baker hit out at efforts to recruit MPs to sign a "toxic" letter endorsing the PM's cross-party efforts, which he said had party members "recoiling in horror".

And the Sunday Telegraph reported some activists were refusing to campaign for the party, while donations had "dried up".

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Your guide to Brexit jargon

Use the list below or select a button

Mrs May has written to European Council President Donald Tusk to request an extension to the Brexit process until 30 June but says if MPs agree a deal, the UK should be able to leave before European parliamentary elections are held on 23 May.

She says the UK would prepare to field candidates in May's European Parliament elections if MPs failed to back a deal.

But Education Minister Nadhim Zahawi told the Today programme it would be "a suicide note of the Conservative Party if we had to fight the European elections".

Labour is also split over its Brexit approach.

The letter organised by the Love Socialism Hate Brexit campaign contains the signatures of four shadow ministers and argues that any compromise deal agreed by Parliament will have "no legitimacy if it is not confirmed by the public".

As the political declaration is not legally binding, and with Mrs May having promised to stand down once a Brexit deal is passed, the letter points out that "any future Tory prime minister could simply rip up" assurances given to Labour over future relations with the EU.

However, a letter signed by 25 Labour MPs on Thursday argued against another public vote.

They warned it would "divide the country further and add uncertainty for business" and could be "exploited by the far-right, damage the trust of many core Labour voters and reduce our chances of winning a general election".

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2019-04-07 02:42:11Z
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Brexit: I had no choice but to approach Labour - May - BBC News

Prime Minister Theresa May has insisted she had to reach out to Labour in a bid to deliver Brexit or risk letting it "slip through our fingers".

In a statement on Saturday night, Mrs May said there was a "stark choice" of either leaving the European Union with a deal or not leaving at all.

Some Conservatives have criticised her for seeking Labour's help after MPs rejected her Brexit plan three times.

Three days of talks between the parties ended without agreement on Friday.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he was "waiting to see the red lines move" and had not "noticed any great change in the government's position".

He is coming under pressure from his MPs to demand a referendum on any deal he reaches with the government, with 80 signing a letter saying a public vote should be the "bottom line" in the negotiations.

In the statement, Mrs May said that after doing "everything in my power" to persuade her own party - and their backers in Northern Ireland's DUP - to approve the deal she agreed with the EU last year, she "had to take a new approach".

"We have no choice but to reach out across the House of Commons," the prime minister said.

"The referendum was not fought along party lines and people I speak to on the doorstep tell me they expect their politicians to work together when the national interest demands it."

Getting a majority of MPs to back a Brexit deal was the only way for the UK to leave the EU, Mrs May said.

"The longer this takes, the greater the risk of the UK never leaving at all."

The UK is due to leave the EU on 12 April and, as yet, no withdrawal deal has been approved by the House of Commons.

Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott told BBC Radio 4's Today programme Labour had engaged in talks "in good faith" and wanted them to continue.

However, she said there was concern the government has made "no movement" on her party's demand for changes to the political declaration - the section of Mrs May's Brexit deal which outlines the basis for future UK-EU relations.

The document declares mutual ambitions in areas such as trade, regulations, security and fishing rights - but does not legally commit either party.

Downing Street has indicated it was "prepared to pursue changes" in order to secure a deal, and Chancellor Philip Hammond said on Saturday that he was "optimistic" the talks could reach "some form of agreement".

'Open revolt'

However, Tory Brexiteers have reacted angrily to the prospect of Mrs May accepting Labour's demands, particularly for a customs union with the EU which would allow tariff-free trade between members but bar them striking their own trade deals.

Leaving the EU's customs union was a Conservative manifesto commitment, and former party whip Michael Fabricant predicted "open revolt" among Tories and Leave voters if MPs agreed to it.

Former Brexit minister Steve Baker hit out at efforts to recruit MPs to sign a "toxic" letter endorsing the PM's cross-party efforts, which he said had party members "recoiling in horror".

And the Sunday Telegraph reported some activists were refusing to campaign for the party, while donations had "dried up".

Please upgrade your browser

Your guide to Brexit jargon

Use the list below or select a button

Mrs May has written to European Council President Donald Tusk to request an extension to the Brexit process until 30 June but says if MPs agree a deal, the UK should be able to leave before European parliamentary elections are held on 23 May.

She says the UK would prepare to field candidates in May's European Parliament elections if MPs failed to back a deal.

But Education Minister Nadhim Zahawi told the Today programme it would be "a suicide note of the Conservative Party if we had to fight the European elections".

Labour is also split over its Brexit approach.

The letter organised by the Love Socialism Hate Brexit campaign contains the signatures of four shadow ministers and argues that any compromise deal agreed by Parliament will have "no legitimacy if it is not confirmed by the public".

As the political declaration is not legally binding, and with Mrs May having promised to stand down once a Brexit deal is passed, the letter points out that "any future Tory prime minister could simply rip up" assurances given to Labour over future relations with the EU.

However, a letter signed by 25 Labour MPs on Thursday argued against another public vote.

They warned it would "divide the country further and add uncertainty for business" and could be "exploited by the far-right, damage the trust of many core Labour voters and reduce our chances of winning a general election".

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47842572

2019-04-07 01:25:21Z
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Israel PM vows to annex West Bank settlements if re-elected - BBC News

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will annex Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank if he is re-elected.

Israelis go to the polls on Tuesday and Mr Netanyahu is competing for votes with right-wing parties who support annexing part of the West Bank.

The settlements are illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.

Last month the US recognised the occupied Golan Heights, seized from Syria in 1967, as Israeli territory.

Israel has settled about 400,000 Jews in West Bank settlements, with another 200,000 living in East Jerusalem. There are about 2.5 million Palestinians living in the West Bank.

Palestinians want to establish a state in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

What happens to the settlements is one of the most contentious issues between Israel and the Palestinians - Palestinians say the presence of settlements make a future independent state impossible.

Israel says the Palestinians are using the issue of settlements as a pretext to avoid direct peace talks. It says settlements are not a genuine obstacle to peace and are negotiable.

What exactly did Netanyahu say?

He was asked during an interview on Israeli TV why he had not extended Israeli sovereignty to large settlements in the West Bank.

"You are asking whether we are moving on to the next stage - the answer is yes, we will move to the next stage," he said.

"I am going to extend [Israeli] sovereignty and I don't distinguish between settlement blocs and the isolated settlements."

A spokesman for Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas told Reuters: "Any measures and any announcements will not change the facts. Settlements are illegal and they will be removed."

Potentially explosive comments

By Sebastian Usher, BBC Arab affairs editor

These comments by Benjamin Netanyahu are potentially explosive over an issue that has helped stall peace efforts for years.

They will resonate with several parties with which he'll try to form a coalition government if he wins the biggest share of votes.

But the very idea of annexation will rouse new Palestinian fury, as well as international condemnation.

Mr Netanyahu may have been emboldened by the Trump administration, which just last month recognised Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

What is the political background?

Mr Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party is in a tight race with the new centre-right Blue and White alliance.

However other parties, some of which support annexation, could end up being kingmakers when they try to form a governing coalition.

• Israel election: Who are the key candidates?
• The ex-military chief trying to unseat Netanyahu

In Mr Netanyahu's own Likud party, 28 out of the 29 lawmakers running for re-election are on record as supporting this approach. Until now the prime minister was the only exception.

What is the situation of peace negotiations?

Mr Trump's administration is preparing to unveil a long-awaited Middle East peace plan, which US officials say will be fair.

However the Trump administration has carried out a series of actions that have inflamed Palestinian opinion and generally pleased Israel.

In 2017 Mr Trump announced that the US recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital, overturning decades of official US policy.

In response Mr Abbas cut off relations with the US, saying the US could no longer be a peace broker.

Last year the US stopped contributing to the UN Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa), which has been looking after Palestinian refugees since 1949.

Last month President Trump officially recognised Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights.

Peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians have been at a standstill since 2014, when a US-brokered attempt to reach a deal collapsed.

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2019-04-06 21:35:16Z
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GNA head accuses Haftar of 'betrayal', vows to end Tripoli push - Aljazeera.com

The head of Libya's internationally recognised government has accused renegade General Khalifa Haftar of "betraying" him after the latter launched a military offensive aimed at capturing the capital, Tripoli, in a showdown that has sparked fears of a renewed war.

In a televised speech on Saturday, Fayez al-Sarraj said Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) would meet firm resistance from forces loyal to his United Nations-backed Government of National Accord (GNA). 

"We have extended our hands towards peace but after the aggression that has taken place on the part of forces belonging to Haftar and his declaration of war against our cities and our capital ... he will find nothing but strength and firmness," Sarraj said.

Sarraj and Haftar held talks in Abu Dhabi in late February, their first confirmed meeting since November 2018, during which they agreed that national elections were necessary, according to the UN.

"They also agreed on ways to maintain stability in the country and unify its institutions," the UN Libya mission said in a Twitter post after the Abu Dhabi meeting. 

Battle for airport

The GNA controls Tripoli, situated in northwestern Libya, while the LNA is allied to a parallel administration based in the east of the oil-rich country, which splintered into a patchwork of competing power bases following the overthrow of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Clashes between the rival forces escalated on Saturday, two days after Haftar ordered his eastern forces to storm their way into the capital, with fighting erupting in several areas on the southern outskirts of Tripoli.

Al Jazeera's Mahmoud Abdelwahed, reporting from the capital, said the city's disused international airport and a clutch of other nearby neighbourhoods on Saturday witnessed "military deployments and sporadic fighting".

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GNA officials told Al Jazeera they had taken "full control" of the airport just hours after the LNA said in a statement they were carrying out an operation to secure the site, which sits some 30km south of Tripoli.

The facility has been abandoned since 2014, after suffering extensive damage during heavy fighting between rival armed groups.

Its fall would be a largely symbolic development, even though the LNA said they planned to use the airport as a launching point for missions aimed at seizing key sites within the capital.

Pro-GNA forces have also amassed in the outskirts of city in a bid to push back the LNA offensive, including truckloads of fighters from different powerful militias arriving from Misrata.

"We are getting reports from the eastern outskirts of Tripoli saying that more military units and detachments from Misrata are joining the battle, moving towards the southern outskirts of Tripoli," Abdelwahed said.

In response to Haftar's drive, the GNA has also authorised air attacks against "any military activities by [LNA] forces trying to enter the capital", Abdelwahed said.

Haftar's spokesman, Ahmed al-Mesmari, said the LNA was targeted by four air raids on Saturday, including one in the al-Aziziya region, which sits about 50km south of Tripoli.

"Any fighter jet flying over Tripoli will not be allowed and will be targeted, the air base it came from will also be targeted," Mesmari said. He added that no LNA troops were wounded in the air raids.

UN, world leaders call for de-escalation

Amid growing alarm, human rights groups and a chorus of international powers called for a cessation of all hostilities, warning that civilians could suffer possible abuses if the fighting escalated.

Such a flare-up also threatens to torpedo a UN-led national reconcilation conference scheduled for next weekend aiming to hammer out a plan for the elections.

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The UN envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, who met Sarraj on Saturday, said he was determined that the conference scheduled for April 14-16 would be held on time.

In his televised address, Sarraj said that the reconciliation meeting offered the only way out of the country's political crisis, Abdelwahed said.

He added that said Sarraj had called on the international community to differentiate between "aggressors and those who are defending themselves, between those who want a military country and those who want civilian rule".

Haftar, who casts himself as a foe of "extremism" but is viewed by opponents as a new authoritarian leader in the mould of Gaddafi, has vowed to continue his offensive until Libya is "cleansed" of "terrorism".

Activisits accuse Haftar's forces of committing human rights violations, with Human Rights Watch saying in a statement on Saturday that LNA fighters "have a well-documented record of indiscriminate attacks on civilians, summary executions of captured fighters, and arbitrary detention".

But the right group's statement also noted that militias affiliated with the GNA and based in western Libya "also have a record of abuses against civilians".

The warning came after the G7 - a bloc comprised of the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom - and the UN Security Council called on Friday in separate statements for all parties to the conflict in Libya to end military activities.

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2019-04-06 21:19:00Z
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