13 February – 19 February: US express concerns over events in southern Libya

Feb 19, 2019 | International actors

On 14 February, the US State Department released a statement outlining its concern over “ongoing tensions” in southern Libya and the closure of oil infrastructure. The statement called for the creation of a “mutually acceptable security arrangement” between all actors that would enable the resumption of operations, supervised by the Government of National Accord (GNA) and managed by the National Oil Corporation (NOC). The statement also reiterated the US’s commitment to fighting terrorism in Libya, highlighting the desire to deny al-Qaeda and the ISIS safe havens “at the request of and in coordination with the Government of National Accord.”

On 16 February, it was reported that the GNA’s Minister of Interior (MoI) Fathi Bashaagha had met with FBI senior officials in Washington to discuss counter-terrorism capacity development for MoI officers the week prior. The US reportedly responded saying they were willing to provide training for the personnel.

On 18 February, after a series of important meetings with key international figures including Vice President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini and AFRICOM head Thomas Wauldhauser, UN envoy Ghassan Salame arrived in Benghazi to meet with Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar.