The Libyan Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that it won’t allow mercenaries and criminal gangs to take advantage of oil fields and energy resources in Libya.

The Ministry of Defence of the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) said it will continue in its moves to recapture the eastern city of Sirte from the forces of renegade General Khalifa Haftar despite the warning of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi that the city represents a “red line” …

The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Defence, Salah Al-Din Al-Namroush has said the ministry has suspended payment of salaries to military personnel fighting alongside Haftar in his aggression on Tripoli.

The Defence Ministry has said that statements of the spokesman for “Haftar’s militias” regarding the imposition of an air embargo, were to gain more time and raise the spirit of his “defeated” forces.

Khalifa Haftar’s march on Tripoli on April 4 was a paradigm-shifting event whose importance remains lost on the global diplomatic community. Haftar’s actions closed the door on the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) and on attempts to amend it, including a series of negotiations between Haftar and Government of National Accord …

The Public Sector Employees’ Registration Committee of the Administrative Control Authority has suspended the salaries of some 28,000 employees because of duplication of functions in state entities and the failure of public bodies to follow-up the financial files of their employees.

Between September 2017 and last month, Egypt hosted seven rounds of talks aimed at unifying the military establishment in neighbouring Libya. Participants were representatives of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, from eastern Libya, and their counterparts from the Government of National Accord (GNA), based in Tripoli.

Turkey’s defense minister on Monday held meetings with Libyan officials in the capital Tripoli.

“The daily life of Libyans is just a matter of survival,” says Abdullah. He speaks with a tense voice, as if the fear of being heard never leaves him in the few minutes that the internet connection allows us to talk at the phone.

As chaos reigns in Libya, with competing authorities continuing to vie for power, the battle for Tripoli has started once again. The latest round of clashes in Libya’s capital have left at least 50 people dead, including 18 civilians, and over 130 people injured.