Rupert Wieloch

Yesterday a United Nations flight was refused permission to land at Tobruk airport, which has caused chaos and embarrassment among the House of Representatives.

All Tobruk flights must now land at Benghazi’s Benina airport, but this is a six hour drive through insecure areas to Tobruk, so it wastes a day’s work.   Last month the commander of the Libyan National Army closed the town’s port to all but local trade against the wishes of the people.

See Chapter 6 of Belfast to Benghazi to read about the British visit to Tobruk on 14th February 2012 when we were asked by the Libyan Air Force to rebuild the air base.

https://www.waterstones.com/book/belfast-to-benghazi/rupert-wieloch/9781861515667

The United Nations has described the European Union’s operation to patrol the coast of Libya as “inhuman”.

This strong criticism by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein, shows a remarkable split between the two international organisations most involved in the reconstruction of Libya.  In September, the UN recorded 7,000 migrants being held in camps, but as a result of the EU-backed clampdown, during which thousands of migrants were captured in the major trafficking hub of Sabratha, the figure has increased to 20,000 detainees.

At the beginning of November, UN human rights monitors inspected four migrant holding centres and were “shocked by what they witnessed”.  Thousands of emaciated and traumatised men, women and children were piled on top of one another, locked up in hangars with no access to the most basic necessities, and stripped of their human dignity.  The Commissioner said: “We cannot be a silent witness to modern day slavery, rape and other sexual violence and unlawful killings in the name of managing migration and preventing desperate and traumatised people from reaching Europe’s shores”.

Chapter 6 of Belfast to Benghazi explains how the UN was given the lead for reconstruction in Libya, but the EU did its own thing in 2012.

https://www.waterstones.com/book/belfast-to-benghazi/rupert-wieloch/9781861515667

 

 

The announcement that the British Embassy in Tripoli will re-open after a gap of three years is a welcome sign of diplomatic progress.  The chancellery and ambassador’s residence, burned by Qaddafi’s henchmen in 2011, occupies disputed land, so it will not be rebuilt.  The Embassy in Tripoli Towers was a place of new hope in 2012 and can assist the Libyans resume their important place in the International Community as a leading nation in North Africa.

See Chapter 6 of Belfast of Benghazi to read about the rebuilding work completed at the British Embassy in 2012.

https://www.waterstones.com/book/belfast-to-benghazi/rupert-wieloch/9781861515667

 

 

Three days after the discovery of 36 tortured and killed men near al Abyar, the UNSMIL chief Ghassan Salamé has made a belated public condemnation of the crime.  This happened in the Government of National Accord’s area of responsibility and is an important test whether they are capable of bringing those responsible to account.

The Libyan National Army is distancing itself from the atrocity, but the fingerprints of their Special Forces are all over this.  It’s time for the ICC and UN to act, not just to wring their hands.  The Libyan people deserve better from those in authority.

Tomorrow is the 72nd anniversary of the day the UN Charter came into force.  The UN in Libya needs all the strength it can muster to resolve the differences between the House of Representatives, elected in 2012, and the Presidency Council created two years ago as part of the Libyan Peace Agreement.

It is disappointing that the Libyan talks in Tunis, led by UNSMIL Chief, Ghassan Salamé, have ended without compromise.  Given the security improvements this year, it is important that the Libyan political leaders support the action plan that was approved by the UN Security Council last month.    See Chapter 6 of Belfast to Benghazi for the challenges leading to the 2012 Election.

https://www.waterstones.com/book/belfast-to-benghazi/rupert-wieloch/9781861515667

 

The commander-in-chief of the Libyan National Army, Khalifa Haftar, has claimed that he now controls 98% of the 17th largest country in the World.  However, this does not include the capital, Tripoli, nor the industrial port of Misrata.  It is unlikely that Haftar will force his way into these cities, but some of their militias might declare for the LNA.

Haftar’s victories over Islamic Terrorism brings him popularity among ordinary Libyans and takes him closer to the UN viewpoint, but his rivalry to the Presidency Council’s leader and close association with Russia may still prove to be obstacles to a unified solution.

https://www.waterstones.com/book/belfast-to-benghazi/rupert-wieloch/9781861515667

The House of Representatives, a key institution in Libya, has condemned Boris Johnson’s insults about Sirte.  The Egypt aligned HoR was elected in 2014 and has the backing of General Hafter’s Libyan National Army and Egypt.  It is a vital part of the UN brokered Peace Agreement.

The Foreign Secretary’s comments will make it very difficult for the British contractors who are being sent to the region to undertake de-mining activities with the recently announced DfID funding.   The Government needs to do something to ensure there is no retaliation for this insult.

 

 

Reports about the poor reliability of Foxhound are not surprising.  From 2006 to 2008, the MoD watered down the Technical Assurance rules and reduced the Reliability and Maintenance Group by over 100 system design engineers.

Authoring the UOR Coherence Study in 2007, I highlighted the need for good reliability to  ensure high availability, prevent equipment failures and reduce the need for spares and maintainers.  But there are no short cuts to reliability growth testing as we are now finding in Iraq.

In July, the LNA pushed Islamic State out Sabratha, but the power struggle in this important town continues.  The latest fighting between 48 Brigade and the Anti-Daesh Operations Room is now a week old.  Damage has spread from the town centre to Dahman district.

Sabratha controls the main route between Tripoli and Tunisia and sits next to the Zawiyah Oil Refinery.  That is why the local elders from Zintan, Zawiyah and Sabratha have been joined by those from Zuwara, Khoms, Zliten and Misrata in calling for an immediate ceasefire.

Our examination of Sabratha and the western coastal towns in 2011 is covered in Chapter 6 of Belfast to Benghazi.

http://www.waterstones.com/book/belfast-to-benghazi/rupert-wieloch/9781861515667

 

The recent move by Misrata to allow Tawerghans to return home has failed at the outset.  Reconciliation appears a long way away after four families, who returned to the ethnically cleansed town for a temporary visit, were assaulted by local militia, while they prepared a celebration meal.

In 2012, MSF pulled out of the Misratan jails after claiming they were keeping prisoners alive so the guards could continue to torture them.  See Chapter 6 of Belfast to Benghazi to read about the other nine strategic security risks in Libya after the death of Colonel Gadhafi.

https://www.waterstones.com/book/belfast-to-benghazi/rupert-wieloch/9781861515667