NTC Live Blog

2 weeks 1 day ago - Libya

Some weapons depots in Libya have still not been secured properly, and "much has already gone missing'' from unguarded sites, the top UN envoy in Libya said in an interview Sunday.

Preventing more weapons from being smuggled out of country will be difficult, considering the nature of the vast desert nation's borders, the envoy, Ian Martin, told AP news agency.

"That has to be a priority now, to secure what still remains in Libya," he said.  

"Over time, the international community can assist Libya and its neighbours with that, but I am afraid there is not a quick and easy solution to that problem.''

During the Libya's 8-month civil war, human rights groups and reporters came across a number of weapons depots that were left unguarded and were looted after Moammar Gaddafi's fighters fled.

Martin said the unsecured weapons remain a "very, very serious cause for concern.''

He said they include shoulder-held missiles, mines and ammunition.

"It's clear that much has already gone missing from unsecured locations and that there are still locations which have not been properly secured."

Martin noted progress concerning chemical weapons and nuclear material.

Last week, Libyan officials said they discovered two new sites with chemical weapons that had not been declared by the Gadhafi regime when it vowed several years ago to stop pursuing non-conventional weapons. Officials also said they found about 7,000 drums of raw uranium.

"That, too, has been secured," Martin said of the latest discoveries, noting that the main issue is now how to dispose of them.

[Associated Press]

Tags AP news agency, Ian Martin, NTC, UN
3 weeks 14 hours ago - Libya

Libya’s Transitional National Council (NTC) has elected Abdurrahim El-Keib as the country’s new transitional prime minister to replace Mahmoud Jibril.

El-Keib, a professor at university of Tripoli, garnered 26 votes out of the total of 51 votes, and will appoint a new cabinet in the coming days.

After earlier votes narrowed the field, the choice was between Mustafa Alrgbany and El-Keib.

Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the NTC chairman, did not run.

The new government is to run Libya in the coming months and to pave the way for general elections.

Tags interim prime minister, NATO, NTC
3 weeks 15 hours ago - Libya

Libya’s Transitional National Council is voting to choose transitional prime minister for the country to replace the de facto prime minister Mahmoud Jibril.

After excluding several names, the choice is now between Mustafa Alrgbany and  Abdurrahim El-Keib.

Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the NTC chairman, is not in the fray.

Tags Abdulraheem Alkieb, Mahmoud Jibril, Mustafa Alrgbany, NATO, NTC
3 weeks 15 hours ago - Libya

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi will not escape justice and should be tried in Libya for murder, corruption and "many things" before an international court questions him, the country's interim justice minister said on Monday.

Mohammed al-Alagi said he did not want Saif al-Islam, now on the run, to meet the same fate as his father, former leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was beaten, abused and shot after forces of Libya's National Transitional Council captured him on October 20.

But he said anything could happen if there was a battle when Saif al-Islam was found.

Tags Mohammed al Alagi, Muammar Gaddafi, NTC, Saif al Islam Gaddafi, Tripoli
3 weeks 2 days ago - Libya

 

European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek on Saturday held talks with Libya's interim Leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil and called for greater cooperation between Europe and Libya.

"We are very close friends and the cooperation seems to be quite natural but for improving our cooperation of course we need compatibility between Libya and European Union member states and European Union itself," Buzek told a joint news conference with Jalil in Tripoli.

Buzek, who arrived in Tripoli on Saturday, is the highest ranking official to visit the North African country since the killing of former leader Muammar Gaddafi. [Reuters]

Tags europe, European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, NTC
3 weeks 4 days ago - Libya

New Al Jazeera video on Sirte and how it's residents feel they are paying the price of the revolution.

 

Tags Gaddafi, NATO, NTC, Sirte
3 weeks 4 days ago - Libya

More than two dozen Libyans wounded in recent fighting are being flown to Boston and Germany for medical care, AP news agency reported.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced in a Pentagon statement late Thursday that 24 seriously wounded Libya fighters will be flown Saturday to Spaulding Hospital in Boston and six critical cases will go to Germany. They said the wounded suffer from conditions that cannot be treated in Libya.

The statement said the emergency medical evacuations were requested by the Libyan fighters' Transitional National Council. It said the US is offering the help as a small token of support because it is committed to Libya's future.

 

Tags Gaddafi, Hillary Clinton, NTC
3 weeks 5 days ago - Libya

The UN Security Council plans on Thursday to end its authorization for a 7-month-old NATO military operation in Libya that led to the ouster and death of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The plan to cancel the mandate comes despite a request from Libya's interim government for the Security Council to wait until the National Transitional Council makes a decision on whether it wants NATO to help it secure its borders.

The 15-nation council will meet at 10:00 am EDT [1400 GMT] to vote on a British-drafted resolution, obtained by Reuters news agency, that would terminate the UN mandate which set the no-fly zone over Libya and permitted foreign military forces to use "all necessary measures" to protect Libyan civilians.

If the resolution is approved, as expected, the UN mandate would lapse on October 31. - Reuters

Tags NTC, UN Security Council
3 weeks 5 days ago - Libya

NATO should stay involved in Libya until the end of this year to help prevent loyalists of Muammar Gaddafi from leaving the country, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the interim leader, has said.

NATO, whose air attacks backed National Transitional Council (NTC) forces that overthrew Gaddafi in August, is to decide on Friday whether to end its mission following his death and burial in the past week and a liberation declaration by the NTC.

"We look forward to NATO continuing its operations until the end of the year," Jalil said on at a conference in Doha on Wednesday.

Tags Doha, Muammar Gaddafi, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, NTC
3 weeks 6 days ago - Libya

NTC Oil and Finance Minister Ali Tarhouni has asked NATO to continue its air mission in Libya for "at least one more month," despite earlier statements from US and European officials that the death of ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi meant the mission could come to an end, the AFP news agency reports.

NATO has said it would wind down its mission and end it by October 31, in six days.

Tags mission, month, NATO, NTC

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