Libya news that does not pertain to US Ambassador Stevens death.... - Russia wants ICC to probe post- Gaddafi War crimes , Milita rul in Bani Walid and what is the status of the Libya Investment Authority and its 100 billion in assets ?

Russia wants ICC to probe post-Qaddafi “war crimes” in Libya

Sergei Lavrov suggested that war crimes had been committed in Libya since the fall of the Qaddafi regime.

Tripoli, 27 October:

Russia has demanded that “war crimes” in Libya committed since the fall of the Qaddafi regime be investigated by the International Criminal Court.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that Moscow believed that all those responsible for killing civilians had to be held accountable.

Referring to last year’s decision by the Security Council to refer Libya to the ICC, he said: “All the decisions were made that those responsible for bloodshed, murders of civilians, violation of the laws of war and international humanitarian rights must be punished. We don’t hear any news on how this has been doing upon the crisis in Libya.”

He was speaking at a press conference with visiting Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter.

Explaining Moscow’s position, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich later said that such a probe had to focus on crimes committed since end of the Qaddafi regime in October last year.

The call follows a move by Russia in the UN Security Council on Tuesday to table a motion about the crisis in Bani Walid. The draft, which was blocked by the US, would have expressed “grave concern” about the situation in the town and what it called the growth of violence towards the civilian population, and called on the Libyan government to take urgent action to resolve the situation by peaceful negotiations.

Western diplomats accused Russia of duplicity in promoting the draft. They claimed that Moscow wanted to show that Libya was in a mess because of the revolution (and NATO’s role in it), and that it should never have happened. Russia was a key supporter of Qaddafi, having brokered arms contracts with the former regime worth billions of dollars.

Russian media have been claiming a massacre in Bani Walid in which as many 600 people  have been killed and over 1,00 injured.

and they should add Bani Walid war crimes to the list......

( where did the nerve gas and white phosphorus bombs  come from and where is the so called Government ? )

Siege of Bani Walid: Foreign fighters, phosphorus bombs and nerve gas – RT sources

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Published: 27 October, 2012, 14:40

TAGS:
Arms, Children, Conflict, Military,Scandal, UN, Politics, Human rights,Terrorism, Paula Slier, Libya, Gaddafi,War, Security, Army, Clashes, Violence

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Libyan conflict

(Reuters / Ismail Zetouni). WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGERY.

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The besieged Libyan city of Bani Walid has been plunged into chaos. RT sources say that the former Gaddafi regime stronghold is under attack by militias bolstered by foreign mercenaries, and they used banned weapons like white phosphorous.

The sources denied reports of the last few days that Bani Walid was retaken by the Libyan government. Residents said that militia forces have continued their assault, while preventing the refugees who fled from reentering the city. 

A man who claimed his relatives are trapped inside the besieged city spoke with RT, saying, “There is no food; there is nothing to support the life of people. And the militia does not allow anyone to come back to their homes.”

“They are demolishing homes with machinery and tanks. There is no communication or internet so people are not able to connect with each other,” the source said. He is currently in Egypt, and refuses to reveal his identity over fears of personal safety.

He believes the real reason for the inoperable communications is that many people have been killed inside Bani Walid by the forces besieging the city and now they are trying to prevent information about the killings to be leaked outside. 

The militia attackers have claimed they are battling ‘pro-Gaddafi’ forces, but the source slammed that motive as a “lie and a dirty game.”

“They use foreign snipers, I think from Qatar or Turkey, with Qatar covering all the costs,” he said. He claimed that a ship with weapons and other equipment recently docked in the port city of Misrata, where the assault on Bani Walid is allegedly being directed.

“There is no government in Libya. Groups of militia control everything. They don’t care about Libya, they don’t care about the nation,” he said, adding allegations that the majority of militia fighters have dual citizenship or passports from other countries.

“We ask the envoy [Special Representative] of the Secretary-General of the United Nations [for Libya] Mr. Tarik Mitri – where is he now?” he said. “Where is the United Nations? Where is the EU? Where is the Human Rights Watch? We ask for an intervention now as soon as possible – please!”

In an October 23 UN session, the US blocked a statement on the violence in Bani Walid drafted by Russia, which condemned the ongoing conflict in the city and calling for a peaceful resolution. 

RT Photo from Bani Walid. RT source. The photo could not be independently verified.

Witnesses claim militia used chemical weapons in Bani Walid

“I can confirm that pro-government militias used internationally prohibited weapons. They used phosphorus bombs and nerve gas. We have documented all this in videos, we recorded the missiles they used and the white phosphorus raining down from these missiles,” Bani Walid-based activist and lawyer Afaf Yusef told RT.

“Many people died without being wounded or shot, they died as a result of gases. The whole world needs to see who they are targeting. Are they really Gaddafi's men? Are the children, women and old men killed – Gaddafi's men?”Yusef said.

The forces attacking Bani Walid have been ordered to use “all means necessary” in their assault on the city, RT’s Paula Slier reported.

“To all parasites and leaches, a message to all of them across Libya, wherever they are: Whoever you are, however strong you are, and whoever your back is – the revolution should win,” a militant said in the TV report.

RT Photo from Bani Walid. RT source. The photo could not be independently verified.

Looming humanitarian catastrophe in Bani Walid

The humanitarian situation outside Bani Walid is reportedly nearly as dire as that within the besieged city. Those who managed to flee the violence now find themselves stranded on the desert roads outside the city.

Thousands of Bani Walid residents have reportedly tried to reenter the city, but were stopped at makeshift militia checkpoints composed of pickup trucks armed with mounted machine-guns.

“Look at the people over there, they got a gun and they’re shooting at people with it,” a Bani Walid resident said, pointing in the direction of a checkpoint. He claimed that those who fled the city had been forced to stay in the desert for more than a week.

“Where is the government?” he said.

Photo from Bani Walid. RT source. The photo could not be independently verified.

Photo from Bani Walid. RT source. The photo could not be independently verified.

http://www.tripolipost.com/articledetail.asp?c=1&i=9388

Militias Appear Taking Revenge Over Captured Bani Walid 27/10/2012 10:08:00

Hours after taking control of Bani Walid, a former stronghold of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Libyan militias from the rival city of Misurata reportedly fired ferociously at its empty public buildings amid shouts of "Allahu akbar (God is greatest) and "Today Bani Walid is finished.” It seems that the fighters sought to make their mark with gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades on a town they say still provides a refuge to many of the overthrown Libyan leader's followers,Reuters has reported, adding that the central streets were empty except for the fighters who filled them with their violent celebration. It also quoted a Misurata fighter by the name of Ali Mahmoud saying: "The Gaddafi fighters are out of Bani Walid, they have gone. Some people here still wanted Gaddafi, we have to show them that he is finished." The town was taken over by militias known as Libya Shield aligned with the defence ministry after days of shelling on Wednesday. It sent thousands of families fleeing from the hilltop town in scenes reminiscent of last year's civil war. The latest fighting, in which over 20 people were killed and hundreds wounded, erupted over a government demand that Bani Walid hand over those who had kidnapped and tortured Omar Shaaban, the former rebel fighter from Misurata who had been credited of catching Gaddafi in his hometown of Sirte last year. Shaaban died in a Paris hospital last month from injuries inflicted during two months of captivity in Bani Walid. He had been abducted in July. Many of the 70,000 residents of Bani Walid - 170 km south of Tripoli - belong to the powerful Warfala tribe, which was mostly loyal to Gaddafi. The town and its now-displaced inhabitants, long isolated from the rest of Libya, fear retribution and wonder what fate awaits them in the post-Gaddafi era. While the government has set up committees to tackle security, services and the return of refugees to Bani Walid, militia commanders say they will stay to keep the town "secure". Claudia Gazzini of the International Crisis Group said that such groups have a background and a certain vision of what Libya should be and it doesn't always necessarily match that of the elected officials at the (ruling) General National Congress, GNC. "This risks pushing back the reconciliation attempts that could have been fostered better in a peaceful manner between Bani Walid and the rest of Libya," she said. "The other problem here is that we have a military action to free men who were arbitrarily detained by Bani Walid, but at the same time we have the same situation in other cities, Misurata first of all," Gazzini said, adding that she believed that the BNC has sort of followed this intense lobbying attack by the Misuratans and by groups of Bani Walid revolutionaries who were kicked out of Bani Walid/ Army officials said they had freed several detainees in Bani Walid and captured some fighters who used to belong to a brigade commanded by Gaddafi's son Khamis. Human rights groups have urged the authorities to make clear that looting, beatings and destruction will be prosecuted, with Fred Abrahams, special adviser at Human Rights Watch saying that the government and forces under its command should protect residents in Bani Walid and reject acts of revenge. Meanwhile, Saleh Gaouda, a Benghazi congress member is reported saying that the priority of the authorities was to give Bani Walid residents the security to be able to return to their homes. "It is important to make people inside Bani Walid believe in February 17th," he said, referring to the name given to the 2011 rebellion against Gaddafi. "This can be done through the media, talking, giving them a chance to be part of society." and......

http://www.tripolipost.com/articledetail.asp?c=1&i=9385

Requesting to Know What Happened To The Billions In Oil Money That Gushed Out Of Libya 27/10/2012 09:30:00

With the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha this week, most businesses in Libya, along with much of North Africa, are taking a few days off to celebrate the public holiday. But at the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), the sovereign wealth fund set up under Colonel Gaddafi, it has been quiet like this since before the war that killed him and his four-decade regime a year ago. Writing in The Independent John Armitage pointed out that in London, the fund that some claimed was as big as $100bn (£60bn) at its peak invested Libya’s oil wealth from an office in Mayfair into a vast range of hedge funds, banks, properties, hotels and stock markets. Money gushed out like oil from the wells that created it. Bankers, executives and politicians from the Western world and Africa cosied up to dip their beaks in the money pot. Then came the brutal suppression by Gaddafi of the opposition, which triggered war and the sanctions in March last year that have been only partially lifted. The cash tap ran dry. So much for new investments. But what of the existing ones? Essentially, hundreds of companies’ dealings with the fund are now in something of a state of flux. John Armitage goes on to mention the example of Mr Pearson, the Financial Times owner where the LIA built up a 3.27 per cent stake. He said that there, the fund’s shares have remained frozen - unable to be traded - for 19 months now. Two dividends (totalling £10.5m by my calculations) also remain frozen, although after a relaxation of the sanctions by the UN and the UK Treasury in September 2011, the two most recent dividends, totalling £11.4m, have been made.Pearson can handle this minor irritation. But elsewhere the situation is less well ordered. Some governments have been taking advantage of the ongoing instability in Libya to try to wrest control of assets bought by the fund.  In Zambia, the President nationalised the LIA’s $257m stake in the local telephone company. In Niger, the parliament voted to nationalise its phone business, breaking promises to sell it to the LIA. John Armitage indicates that in Italy, the financial police seized LIA-owned assets on the grounds that the LIA is a Gaddafi-controlled entity. These include stakes in UniCredit Bank, the oil giant ENI, Fiat, and even Juventus Football Club. The seized assets total some $1.39bn. The Italian position seems unfair to the new head of the LIA, Mohsen Derregia. The former Nottingham University professor argues, with some justification, that the LIA’s assets are the property of the new Libyan government, and should be returned for use by the people. However, you can kind of see why the Italians may be concerned. The LIA was famous for its close ties with Gaddafi’s London-educated son Seif. The political situation in Libya, while not as appalling as some predicted at the time of the conflict, remains extremely challenging. It was only this week that government-aligned forces “liberated” the town of Bani Walid from alleged Gaddafi loyalists. Much paranoia remains about the whereabouts of Gaddafi family survivors amid claims they could return with another civil war. Most experts say this is just that: paranoia. The Gaddafi family has been routed. But nevertheless, there is still no effective government yet in Libya. So, to argue that the LIA’s assets are the property of the Libyan government remains unsatisfactory. Meanwhile, it’s unclear what the eventual government, when it does emerge, will want to do with the vast fund. John Armitage also mentions what he describes as another desert-sized headache for Mr Derregia, that is, that the LIA was run amid mismanagement and alleged corruption on a huge scale. He and his team are combing through billions of dollars of investments to locate exactly where the assets are, and how much they are worth. No easy task.

Libyans had feared that the money would largely have been squandered or stolen during the chaos of war and its aftermath. But Mr Derregia reckons the situation is not as bad as all that, estimating over the summer that $50bn to $60bn remained.

As is now blindingly obvious, Western businesses should never have got involved with the LIA, Armitage says. Not only due to the distasteful nature of Gaddafi’s regime, but because the fund was so opaque. Details of its investments were sparse, financial accounts hard to access or impossible to interpret. The concept of “know your customer” must have been pretty much absent in all dealings with the fund.

An investigation last year by Libya’s transition government found “misappropriation, misuse and misconduct of funds” . It said $2.9bn was missing. A subsequent Financial Times investigation found widespread mismanagement and waste, and even employees admitted to a shambles.

Unpicking the hundreds of investments will take Mr Derregia many, many months. Arguing with expensive lawyers from its former business partners even longer. Among his battles include losses made in investments with Goldman Sachs and Société Générale in 2007 and 2008. Fighting these kind of institutions is never cheap.

Goldman famously lost 98 per cent of the $1.3bn the LIA invested with it. Wonderfully vivid stories emerged later about how the Goldman rainmaker Youssef Kabbaj was dispatched to Tripoli to explain.

Armitage says that so scared was he after being balled out by the then-LIA chairman, Mustafa Zarti, in Tripoli that he reportedly hired bodyguards for the rest of his stay. Little wonder: Mr Zarti shouted at him “like a raging bull”. Mr Kabbaj was probably well aware that his unhappy customer was a close friend of both Muammar and Saif Gaddafi.

We should wish Mr Derregia all the best as he seeks to unpick the LIA’s knotty problems. And hope Western firms and governments who dealt with the organisation don’t try to rip him off. The Libyan people need every penny if they are to rebuild their shattered country.

Oil industry needs expat workers to return

John Armitage goes on to say that a year since the war, and Libya is, of course, nothing like a working, stable economy. Far from it. But its people should be applauded for not allowing the country’s infrastructure totally to collapse. The all-important oil industry is perhaps the finest example. He says that has been told that production is pretty much back up to the 1.5 million to 1.6 million barrels a day levels of before the conflict, and adds that this is a tremendous feat by the mainly local employees of the likes of BP and other big firms. Whether it can keep up at those levels far into the new year remains to be seen, however. Running an oil field is like spinning plates – you constantly have to keep maintaining, upgrading and drilling to keep the operation going. Hew concludes by saying that the trouble for Libya is that most of this servicing is done by smaller contractors who have yet to return to the country. Local Libyans deserve praise for their efforts at the oilfields, but expats must return if their hard work is to be fully rewarded in the longer term.