Western 8 Nov 16

Nov 8, 2016 | International actors

The U.S. military has conducted a total of 367 airstrikes since August 1, according to the last press release issued by the U.S. Africa Command. According to media reports, no American airstrikes have taken place since 31 October however there are conflicting claims about why this is. Some reports say it is because President Obama has not reauthorized strikes for this month, while others say the Pentagon still has authority to launch airstrikes in support of the GNA if required.

The highly controversial economic meeting held in London on 31 October – 1 November and jointly led by UK and US foreign secretaries, has complicated rather than ameliorated political tensions. It is still unknown if the meeting achieved its objective of facilitating the payment of the budget for Quarter 4 of 2016. The budget payment had not been disbursed due to a rift between the GNA and the current Central Bank of Libya (CBL) governor Sadiq al-Kabir, whose mandate expired more than a month ago. The outcry by anti-GNA factions against the meeting threatens to significantly undermine the stability of Libyan financial institutions. There are hopes of a new meeting taking place between key stakeholders in Malta later this month to discuss a new political solution.