Armed militias fail to storm NOC Tripoli headquarters

Libya’s state National Oil Corporation (NOC) confirmed that today there was an attempt by armed militias to storm its Tripoli headquarters.

The NOC confirmed media news that at noon today ‘‘some armed outlaw gangs attempted to forcefully enter the headquarters of the National Oil Corporation in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, and the Petroleum Facilities Guard, charged with protecting the Corporation’s building, was surprised by the arrival of armed vehicles in the opposite direction to traffic, making some chaotic movements, withdrew weapons and tried to break into the outer fence to the institution building’’.

Egypt accuses Qatar of undermining peace talks via support for Libyan government

Qatar has signed an agreement with the Tripoli-based Libyan government to build and train military forces in what some see as an attempt to undermine the current progress toward a political solution in Libya.

In what observers considered a new challenge for the 5+5 Joint Military Commission talks in Geneva and a desire to obstruct the peace endeavors between Libyan parties, Qatar signed a military agreement Nov. 13 with the Government of National Accord (GNA) based in western Libya to “train and build military capacities.” This step allows Qatar to boost its military presence on Libyan territories.

Funding Syria’s Reconstruction Could Upset China’s Other Ties in the Middle East

As dusk fell in Abu Dhabi on July 20, the LED screen affixed to the face of the 65-story headquarters of the emirate’s national oil company presented a peculiar sight: a photograph of Chinese President Xi Jinping stretching over 1,000 feet high, looming over the Persian Gulf. In nearby Dubai, the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper, was lit from top to bottom in the colors of the Chinese flag. Even by the standards of a country with little use for subtlety, the United Arab Emirates went all out to mark Xi’s state visit.

At a time when China seems poised to take on a more assertive role in the Middle East, such pageantry seems fitting. The Chinese government has been rolling out new agreements and commitments under the auspices of its sprawling international infrastructure initiative, known as One Belt, One Road, which is certain to have a profound geopolitical impact in the region. Xi’s trip to Abu Dhabi came just a week after he hosted the eighth ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in Beijing, where he pledged $20 billion in development loans to Arab countries.

As the Migration Crisis Evolves, the Wealthiest Countries Still Aren’t Doing Enough

Migration barely came up at the recent G-7 summit in France—a far cry from just two years ago, when Italy hosted the G-7 in Sicily, which has seen an influx of migrants and asylum-seekers given its proximity to North Africa. The most prominent mention of migration in Biarritz took place on the sidelines of the summit, when President Donald Trump’s adviser, Stephen Miller—the architect of the administration’s restrictionist immigration policies—defended Trump’s efforts to make migrating to the United States even more onerous than it already is.

Yet even if migration has fallen off the front pages, each member of the G-7, with the possible exception of Japan, still has to address it on a policy level. Managing immigration and dealing with influxes of refugees and asylum-seekers remain delicate issues, with political consequences at home and economic repercussions within and across borders.

ISIS Isn’t Defeated, and Trump Doesn’t Have a Plan for What’s to Come

During his presidential bid, Donald Trump hammered on about the threat posed to America by the self-styled Islamic State, and how he would defeat it. As an issue, it was perfect for him, since the Islamic State’s sociopathic brutality fueled fear and anger among his core supporters—emotions that candidate Trump was able to harness and use to his benefit.

Turkey’s strategic victory in Nagorno-Karabakh

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared on Tuesday that Azerbaijan and Armenia had signed a peace agreement, ending six weeks of fierce fighting between the two countries over Nagorno-Karabakh. The mountainous region is internationally-recognised as part of Azerbaijan but has been occupied and run by ethnic Armenians since 1994.

Mali: Décryptage : Où allons-nous ?

En Guinée-Conakry et en Côte d’Ivoire, les dernières élections présidentielles ont fragilisé l’équilibre social. Au Burkina-Faso, les électeurs s’apprêtent à voter ce dimanche, 22 novembre 2020 à la présidentielle. Au Mali, l’opération Bourrasque (FAMa, Barkhane, FAN…) porte des coups sérieux aux narcoterroristes avec la mort de Ba Ag Moussa, un des lieutenants d’Iyad Ag Ghaly du “GSIM”. Au même moment, pour ancrer son pouvoir dans la Sous-Région, le président de la transition, Bah N’Daw, fait la tournée de quelques chefs d’Etat ouest africains dont le Ghanéen Nana Akufo-Addo, président en exercice de la Cédéao. En Europe, la France, l’Allemagne, etc., sont de nouveau sous cloche pour limiter la diffusion du coronavirus. Les crises sont partout et s’accumulent. Mais où allons-nous ?