Latest news with #Zawiyah
Zawya
5 days ago
- General
- Zawya
Town hall: Zawiyah residents call for political change, share feedback on political process proposals
Zawiyah residents expressed frustration with the deteriorating political and security situation and called for action at a town hall-style meeting Monday, organized by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya. More than 150 people attended the meeting, which was hosted by the Mayor of Central Zawiyah, including community members from Zawiyah Center, Zawiyah West, Zawyiah South, Sorman, Sabratha, Al OIjeilat, Al Jemell Almanshaba, Zleten Al Assa, Abu Serra, Nalut, Wazen, Kabo, Yefren Zwara, and Regdaleen municipalities. Participants ranged from youth to elders. The meeting is part of the Mission's efforts to engage the community about the best way to take the country to elections and unify state institutions. Similar town hall-style meetings are planned in cities across the country. Alongside its ongoing meetings with political parties, civil society organizations, security actors, cultural components, and women's and youth groups, UNSMIL will also soon launch an online public poll. 'The recent armed clashes and the subsequent large-scale protests in the western region are testimony to the unsustainability of the status quo,' said Special Representative to the Secretary-General Hanna Tetteh, relating the mission's deep sadness over the loss of lives in the 12 and 13 May clashes, the suffering of the injured and the plight of civilians terrified by gunfire in their neighborhoods. 'It is more urgent now than ever to push to reach a consensual roadmap towards elections and unified institutions.' Noting that each comes with its own set of challenges, SRSG Tetteh briefed the crowd on the four options the Advisory Committee proposed in May to forge a consensual roadmap forward. They include: Conducting presidential and legislative elections simultaneously with adjustments to contentious issues in the current electoral laws; Conducting parliamentary elections first, followed by adopting a permanent constitution, and then by conducting presidential elections; Adopting a permanent constitution before national elections; or Establishing a political dialogue committee, according to article 64 of the Libyan Political Agreement, to temporarily replace all institutions, finalize electoral laws and select a temporary government. The Advisory Committee is a 20-member group of Libyan legal, constitutional and political experts that UNSMIL tasked to analyze the issues blocking progress toward a political resolution, including disagreements about the sequencing of events and contentious issues within the electoral laws, SRSG Tetteh said. UNSMIL will consider the community feedback collected on the proposals as it considers how to take the political process forward. Many who commented demanded a new government, emphasizing their desire for a peaceful solution. They call on UNSMIL to listen to the voice of the people Several expressed support for Option 4 and the immediate dissolution of the current political institutions, providing the opportunity for the Libyan people to build their state. Others argued for simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections, saying it was the most feasible. A few community members also raised the idea of forming a new government to be headed by the head of the Supreme Court, to be in power no more than 120 days, as a way to unite the east and west. During the meeting, residents also lamented a prolonged lack of security, calling, in impassioned speeches, for 'no more widows.' They called to end corruption and nepotism and raised concern about maintaining Libyan sovereignty and the presence of foreign fighters. SRSG Tetteh reiterated the Mission's support for strengthening the fragile truce following the May clashes and advocating against unilateral actions that could derail the political process. 'The era of resorting to violence for political or territorial gain must come to an end,' she said. Thanking the residents for their comments, SRSG Tetteh emphasized the criticality of community engagement in the political process. 'We must build consensus on the way forward, ensuring all perspectives are considered, with mutual agreement,' she said. 'These are your communities, your homes, your brothers and sisters. You must be the ones to direct the way forward.' Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).
Daily Mail
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Trump insiders reveal the surprising continent illegal migrants will soon be deported to
President Donald Trump may use military flights to deport migrants to Libya for the first time this week. The flights could take off as soon as Wednesday, although the official schedule is still in flux, Reuters reported. It was unclear how many migrants would be sent or which nationalities would qualify for removal to northern Africa. The new front in Trump's deportation war highlights the expansive purview of the White House's efforts to send migrants in the U.S. to far flung corners of the world. The Pentagon declined to comment on the latest move. The Daily Mail has reached out to the White House and State Department for comment. Millions of migrants from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe, in addition to those from South and Central America, poured across the U.S. southern border under Joe Biden. Libya has had two major factions warring for control of the country for years. Unlike El Salvador, another country the U.S. has struck a migrant prison deal with, it does not have a cutting edge prison system. llegal immigrants are seen at a detention centre in Zawiyah, 45 kilometres west of the Libyan capital Tripoli, on June 17, 2017 The State Department has a 'do not travel' notice for Americans seeking to visit Libya 'due to crime, terrorism, unexploded landmines, civil unrest, kidnapping, and armed conflict,' according to its website. A 2021 report from Amnesty International likened the detention centers in the north African country to a 'hellscape' and some detainees 'faced torture and other ill-treatment, cruel and inhuman detention conditions, extortion and forced labor.' 'We are working with other countries to say: We want to send you some of the most despicable human beings, will you do this as a favor to us,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week. 'And the further away from America, the better.' The chatter of a prison deal seemed to come as a surprise to Libya itself. The country's Government of National Unity said Wednesday that it is not speaking with the Trump administration, adding they are against the use of their lands for U.S. deportations. Khalifa Haftar, leader of the Libyan National Army, yhe other faction grappling for power of the country, also rejected the deportation proposal. The notion of a prison deal between the U.S. and Libya, if finalized, will certainly raise alarm among Democrats. Already they have outspokenly condemned the Trump administration for deporting migrants to Guantanamo Bay and El Salvador's CECOT. In the instance of Salvadoran Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the outrage over his removal to CECOT due to an 'administrative error' during his case, has prompted Democrats to fly to Central America to advocate for the man's release. Trump's team has also been in contact with Rwanda to see if the country is open to receiving migrants deported from the U.S. Rwanda's Foreign Affairs Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe has said his country is in the 'early stage' of negotiations over a potential deal. DHS announced last week that in Trump's first 100 days over 152,000 migrants were deported, many of them to prisons in El Salvador, Cuba and Panama. The Trump administration also announced a program that would pay migrants to self-deport. Offering a free flight to any country of their choosing and a $1,000 cash stipend upon arrival to that country, DHS announced a program to incentivize illegal aliens to remove themselves from the country rather than wait to be deported. DHS Sec. Kristi Noem explained the method would save money and help protect migrants and law enforcement officers. Trump adviser Stephen Miller told reporters the plan could save up to $1 million per migrant family over time.
