August 9-15: BM Chaperons Italian military visit to Sirte’s al-Qardabiyah Airport

Aug 16, 2017 | International actors

It was reported that on 13 August, a team of Italian military and security advisors visited Sirte’s al-Qardabiyah airport with units from the Misratan led, GNA-affiliated al-Bunyan al-Marsus (BM) forces to assess ‘reconstruction’ and rehabilitation requirements for the destroyed military airbase.

On 15 August, Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Mahmoud Mustafa Busayf al-Werfalli over his allegedly responsible for murder as a war crime in Libya. The warrant states that Werfalli is alleged to have ordered and participated in murder as a war crime in at least seven incidents, involving 33 persons, which took place from on or before 3 June 2016 until on or about 17 July 2017 in Benghazi or surrounding areas, in Libya. Werfalli is a Salafist commander in the Libyan National Army (LNA) who has gained notoriety in recent months for filming executions of LNA prisoners in Benghazi. He resigned under local pressure but was reinstated by Haftar shortly afterwards. This is the first ICC arrest warrant issued in the Libya situation for events that have taken place after the 2011 uprising.

There are reports that an armed security contingent for the UN, including approximately 150 personnel, military arms, vehicles and equipment is planned to offload in Khoms port. It will unload without opening or inspection in the port, and thereafter to be directly transported to Oya Village west of Tripoli. Sources say that the issue is yet to be fully resolved with the GNA foreign ministry, and could trigger some tensions in Khoms