Libya, the infernal trap

Libyan lawmakers are split over the unity government, but also over the question of whether the latest no-confidence vote was valid. The row raises questions about a UN-backed election.

In the run-up to the national elections in exactly three months, rival Libyan politicians seem to be putting a vote seen by many as a chance for peace in acute danger.

Libya's Interior Ministry said hundreds of migrants were detained in "anti-drug" raids. Rights groups expressed concern over the mass detentions that includes women and children.

War crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Libya since 2016, a United Nations investigation has revealed.

At least six migrants have been killed after guards opened fire at an overcrowded detention facility. It is the latest violence against migrants following recent mass arrests.

Libya’s national team slid in the ranks in the group stage for the World Cup qualifiers after suffering a 3-0 defeat against Egypt on Monday. Fans packed squares in the country’s east and west, heartbroken as a defeat on the home front was sealed by a third goal from Ramadan Sobhi in the second half. Egypt scored twice near halftime in Benghazi through Ahmed Fotouh and Mostafa Mohamed, the team’s second straight win over Libya at the start of new coach Carlos Queiroz’s tenure.

The U.N. human rights office called on Tuesday (October 12) for a "prompt, thorough, impartial and independent investigations" into the use of disproportionate force by Libyan authorities against migrants and asylum seekers. Armed forces in Tripoli began a series of mass arrests a week earlier, detaining more than 4,000 people in overcrowded detention centres, U.N. rights spokeswoman, Marta Hurtado told a news briefing in Geneva. "Women, children and men were arrested and handcuffed. Security forces used unnecessary and disproportionate force to detain them, including shooting and beating those who resisted or tried to escape. As a result, at least one person died, five were injured, and more than 4,000 were detained," she said.

Libya has not managed to emerge from the conflict that preceded dictator Moammar al-Gadhafi's death on October 20, 2011. Parliamentary elections scheduled for December have been postponed.

A huge portrait of Moamer Kadhafi marks the entrance of Bani Walid: 10 chaotic years since the Libyan dictator's death, residents of the desert town still hanker for his rule.

91 illegal migrants from Nigeria are being repatriated back to their home country, in what security officials say is a voluntary return from Libya's International Misrata Airport to the Nigerian capital Niamey.

French President Emmanuel Macron hosted a conference on Libya that saw world powers back December elections. The participating countries threatened sanctions for any actors who might seek to derail the plans.

France is hosting an international conference to help Libya prepare for elections at the end of 2021. The oil-rich nation is ruled by a fragile unity government put in place after nearly a decade of civil war. European leaders are especially keen to stabilize the country.