West 'can't fight Isis in Libya without a unity government'

Islamic State (Isis) in Libya has become a threat to all of Europe and western military intervention may now be required, but only so long as the Libyans can first form a coherent national government, Sir Peter Ricketts, David Cameron’s former national security adviser, has warned.

Ricketts, who has just ended a stint as UK ambassador to France, said there was a “very remote” chance UK combat forces would be used, and said airstrikes on their own would be of no use.
Western powers have been considering whether any military intervention, such as training Libyan security forces, can help prevent Isis gaining a permanent foothold in the oil-rich country.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4, Ricketts described Libya as an ungoverned space. “It is a threat to all of us in Europe because Isis is moving in so there is a case to do everything we can to help them produce stability in Libya, but they have got to do it. The likelihood of British combat forces being deployed seems to me very remote, but supporting the Libyans to do a more effective job in governing their own space, I can certainly see a case for that.”
UN-led efforts to form a national unity government in Libya following the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 have foundered. Two rival administrations have formed and militias have proliferated across the country. The UN has so far failed in efforts to reconcile differences between the governments, which are based in Tripoli and Tobruk.
Discussions are continuing in the west as to whether a force could be assembled to help defeat Isis, but the lack of a unity government is allowing Isis space and time to expand.

The number of Isis fighters in Libya has reportedly increased to 5,000. The group currently holds sway in the port of Sirte, and is trying to move into the Libyan oilfields.
Isis is said to be under growing financial pressure in Iraq as it loses access to oil, so Libya would be a major strategic prize for the group.
The UK foreign affairs select committee has been examining the merits of the western intervention in 2011 and what the west could have done to prevent the country collapsing into chaos.
Ricketts, who was national security adviser at the time, said the intervention was right “because it stopped a bloodbath in Benghazi and it gave the Libyan opposition groups a chance to get together to form a coherent government with a coherent security structure and basically reinvent their country. They failed to do that, which is a great disappointment.”

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He also ruled out airstrikes. “We can only do anything if there is an emerging security structure that we can support, because we cannot bring security to Libya ourselves.”
Martin Kobler, the UN special representative in Libya, has expressed his frustration at the disputes between the groups, telling Der Spiegel they “discuss commas in agreements and bring legal arguments into play. Isis does not discuss commas, it is capturing new territory each day. If things keep going like this they will soon capture the oil terminal Ras Lanuf. But the awareness that people need to be coming together to counter the threat is still lacking. My fear is the political process is not going to go as fast as the military process.”
The UK ambassador to Tripoli, Peter Millett, has also warned that the number of gunmen had multiplied since the end of the war because the Libyan central bank has been forced at gunpoint to fund the militias. “There is a real problem with the proliferation of militias,” he said. “The fact is that all main militias are still paid for by the central bank. Bored young men can join a militia, then they have a salary and something to do.”
Asked why the central bank was continuing to fund the different militias – including factions who are at each other’s throats – Millett said: “I am told that in 2012, a gun was held to the minister of finance’s head and he was told ‘sign that cheque’. They were told that the easiest thing was simply to buy off the militias.”
Estimates of the number of militia men in Libya have gone from around 30,000 at the time of the anti-Gaddafi revolution to as high as 140,000 now.
Millett said “If you do not have a government, what can you do about Isis? I do not think we have an answer. If the whole thing collapses we will be into a very difficult situation. It will be difficult to deal with Isis without a formal request from the Libyan government.”
Jeremy Corbyn has written to Cameron seeking assurances that no British troops will be deployed in Libya without the agreement of the Commons. It is possible the UK government could argue that the troops were not being sent in a combat role and the relatively recent tradition of seeking Commons prior approval does not apply.  Thanks for reading

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‘FG spent N248bn on travels in three years’

Between 2012 and 2014, the Federal Government spent N248bn on foreign travels embarked upon by officials in Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government.
The N248bn spent within the three year period, according to a statement by the Federal Ministry of Finance, represents 18 per cent of the total overhead expenditure for the period.
The statement signed by the Special Adviser to the Finance Minister, Mr. Festus Akanbi, said in a bid to reduce the amount spent on travels, a meeting had been held with local and foreign airline officials to secure discounts for travel expenses.
It said that given the large amount spent on travel, and consequently the significant potential for savings, it was imperative that the Efficiency Unit prioritises travel as a key focus area for cost cutting and generation of savings.
For instance, the statement said with an average of N83bn spent annually on travels, a five per cent discount could generate over N4bn savings on annual travel costs.
It reads in part, “The Federal Ministry of Finance has disclosed that discussions with local and international airlines to secure discounts for travel by government officials are yielding positive results.
“A review of Government overhead expenditure for the period 2012 to 2014 showed that travel was the largest single expenditure item.
“A cumulative total of N248bn, equivalent to about 18 per cent of total overhead expenditure, was spent on travel during the period. This translates to N83bn per annum.
“At a conservative discount of five per cent on ticket prices, the estimated savings per annum is approximately N4bn.”
As part of measures to reduce travel costs, it said the Efficiency Unit has engaged in negotiation  with local and international airlines for discounts commensurate with the large number of ticket purchases made by Government annually.
The savings generated, it added, would increase funding available to the government for capital investment.
“In addition to reducing government spend on travel, the Efficiency Unit has made proposals to the appropriate government authorities for the introduction of guidelines that will reduce the need for travel by localising the activities that necessitate travel, where feasible, and encouraging the use of Information and Communications Technology.
“Other overhead expenditure items including insurance, advertising and fuel, where the government’s bargaining power can be leveraged are also being reviewed,” it added.
In the same vein,the statement said administrative controls are being strengthened through the issuance of circulars detailing appropriate guidelines and the implementation of measures to enforce compliance. Thanks for reading.

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UK denies plan to send troops to support new Libyan government

The government has said it has no plans to deploy British troops to provide security for Libya’s newly-appointed national unity government.
The denial came in response to a letter to the foreign secretary from Crispin Blunt MP, the chairman of the Commons foreign affairs select committee, seeking a statement to parliament in advance of any military action.

Blunt had argued that the first formal move of a new Libyan government was likely to be to ask Britain and its allies to conduct airstrikes against Islamic State targets in the country, according to Blunt.
Isis, with strongholds in Syria and Iraq, has expanded its presence in Libya, taking over the town of Sirte and other areas, taking advantage of the absence of a government and of increasing unrest.
Blunt said that the reported deployment of UK troops as part of an Italian-led force to Libya would be a matter for the Commons and Hammond should make a statement before defence secretary Michael Fallon agreed to such a deployment.
Fallon on Tuesday held a telephone conference with the defence ministers of Italy, France, Spain and Germany about the combined force.
The 5,000-strong force – though Blunt puts it at 6,000 – would be sent to train and advise the new Libyan army. Although all five countries insist the role would not be a combat one, there is always a risk of mission creep. The Libyan government might need to be bolstered in the event of an attack or the international force might be targeted by Isis.
The Italian government is trying to build as wide a coalition as possible so if more countries were to send troops the UK contribution could end up as fewer than 1,000.
But a government spokesperson issued an unusually strong denial: “What members of the foreign affairs committee heard on their recent visit is wrong on a number of counts. There are no plans to extend airstrikes to Libya nor are there plans to send British troops to provide security on the ground in Libya. It is therefore also wrong to suggest the defence secretary will agree any UK contribution this week.”
Blunt, who last week visited Tunisia and Egypt with the rest of the committee, said the formation of a new Libyan government – the government of national accord – was announced on Saturday and “we heard that the GNA’s likely first formal action will be to request that the UK and its allies conduct airstrikes against Isil [Isis] targets in Libya”.
The Ministry of Defence says it has no such plans for airstrikes, though it insists it has the capability in spite of already being in action in Iraq and Syria.
The US is already conducting sporadic airstrikes against Isis in Libya.
In his letter, Blunt said the international force of which the UK would be part will be deployed in the near future and the committee had heard it will have two objectives: to train the Libyan army and provide security for the new government in Tripoli.
“The pre-emptive deployment of UK military forces is now a matter for the House of Commons. I, therefore, request that you make a statement to the House on the state of the plan of for any deployment of UK military forces in Libya before the defence secretary agrees the UK component of any international force and explain how this deployment is consistent with our policy objectives,” Blunt wrote.
The Italian-led force requires first a formal invitation from the new government. Ministers from the Libyan unity government are expected to establish an office in Tripoli in the coming days, but their arrival is likely to be contested and could trigger fresh violence in the capital.
Western capitals predict the new government will give a green light to a future military training programme for a new Libyan army and back the US-led airstrikes against Isis militants already under way.
The list of proposed ministers has yet to receive a vote of approval from the House of Representatives (HoR), a UN-backed assembly in Tobruk, as had been envisaged in a political settlement agreed in Morocco in December. But western diplomats say the volatile and often violent nature of Libyan politics meant that many HoR members were not able to cast their votes. Instead, the presidency council chose to interpret the endorsement of about 100 HoR members as a “green light” to proclaim the new government.
It is widely accepted that the government will have no real legitimacy without moving to Tripoli, the seat of most state institutions, but that will not be easy. It is opposed by the leadership of the Islamist-dominated general national congress (GNC) and at least one hardline militia, the Samood Front. Even members of the negotiating group that produced the December agreement have voiced doubts on its legitimacy without a formal HoR vote.
However, negotiations are under way this week with other Tripoli militias prepared to accept the new government, if only because its arrival would resume the flow of foreign funds into the Libyan capital. Those talks are hoped to clear the way for the quiet arrival of at least some of the new ministers, including the prime minister designate and the head of the presidency council, Fayez al-Sarraj. That would establish at least a symbolic presence that the UN, US and Europe hope will bring the support of other power-brokers in Libya’s chaotic political and military landscape.
However, it is expected that the Samood Front, Isis and other hardline Islamists in Tripoli would seek to target the ministers, triggering a flareup of violence in the capital. The ministers would have to stay for the immediate future in a single heavily guarded location.

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Yellow fever kills 250 in Angola

A yellow fever epidemic in Angola has killed at least 250 people since the end of December and continues to spread, stretching limited resources, doctors and officials said Tuesday.
The head of the Luanda pediatrics hospital, Mateus Campos, said 27 children died there on Monday alone, with 900 suspected cases turning up each day.
“We don’t have the human resources to cope,” Campos added.
Health ministry spokeswoman Adelaide de Carvalho told AFP that the ministry registered 76 suspect cases and 10 deaths in three days alone this month, but gave no overall toll.
A week ago the World Health Organisation put the death toll at 250 but some doctors believe the situation may be far worse.
There is no specific treatment for yellow fever, a viral hemorrhagic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes and found in tropical regions of Africa and Latin America’s Amazon region.
Authorities launched a mass vaccination campaign in February and the government urged residents to sterilise stagnant water before drinking it.
Luanda remains the worst-hit area, with nine of every 10 deaths registered in the city over the last days.
Critics such as surgeon Maurilio Luyela have blasted authorities for failing to upgrade public health facilities or pay doctors good wages.
“Doctors who graduate from university don’t join the public health sector because there isn’t enough money to pay them,” he told journalists.
Yellow fever vaccinations are routinely recommended for travellers to Angola, though the country had not previously seen a significant outbreak since 1986.
World Health Organization figures show there are an estimated 130,000 cases of yellow fever reported yearly, causing 44,000 deaths worldwide each year, with 90 percent occurring in Africa.
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One gunman dead in Brussels anti-terror raid linked to November Paris attacks

One gunman was killed by police in a Brussels apartment on Monday evening after an anti-terrorist raid by Belgian and French officers investigating November’s Paris attacks was met with heavy-weapon gunfire that left four police officers wounded.
An official said the man’s body was found when police stormed an apartment at the centre of the raid where suspects had opened fire on police.
A joint French and Belgian anti-terrorism squad investigating the Paris attacks that killed 130 people had arrived to search an apartment building in the quiet neighbourhood of Forest in the south-west of Brussels at about 2.30pm.
The police came under gunfire from “heavy weapons”, according to the French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve. Three Belgian police officers were wounded in the initial shootout, with one in a serious condition after being hit in the ear and head according to Belgian media outlets. Another burst of gunfire reportedly took place around two hours later. Further gunfire was heard after 6pm. In total, four officers were wounded in the various shootouts.
During the afternoon, armed French and Belgian police had launched a manhunt in the quiet neighbourhood of Forest as they sought two suspected gunmen who were believed to have gone on the run after opening fire and wounding the officers.

A police sniper takes position on a rooftop during the operation. Photograph: Laurent Dubrule/EPA

“Police were fired at,” Eric Van Der Sypt, a spokesman for the Belgian federal prosecutor, told AFP, adding that the search was “linked to the Paris attacks investigation”.
“Two individuals apparently barricaded themselves inside a home,” Forest mayor Marc-Jean Ghyssels told local media.
In the mid-afternoon, a police spokeswoman told French television that gunmen were at large.
Dozens of armed police in balaclavas armed with submachine guns cordoned off the scene. Security services blocked roads and told residents to stay indoors. Two primary schools and creches close to the scene of the shooting were in lockdown until the children could be safely collected by parents. Journalists were asked not to publish videos or photos that identified police officers.
Police cordoned off a wide area and local trams were suspended. The incident took place across the street from an Audi auto factory and the train lines leading to the Gare du Midi railway station where Eurostar trains to London and Thalys trains to Paris run from.

In the early evening, on one approach to the scene, four police and one van blocked off the street, while two helicopters buzzed overhead.
The police cordons raised memories among commentators of the five-days of lock-down imposed on Brussels two weeks after the Paris attacks, when authorities warned of an imminent threat of violence in Brussels during the ongoing manhunt for suspects.
But beyond the wide security cordon, the broader area of Forest attempted to get on with their lives. In early evening, around 50 people had gathered but life carried on as normal. In nearby streets a couple sat in the laundrette and a woman walked her dog.

Locals were shocked to kind the sleepy neighborhood at the centre of a major police operation. “It’s always quiet here, it is peaceful, “ said Nathanael Dantas, a 21-year-old student, who said he was unable to return home. “I’ve never seen so many police here, against the blare of sirens. But police allowed one family with three small children to pass through the cordon and go home.
“It is a very calm peaceful area,” said one 17-year-old, standing in her parents’ shop. “This is a shock for everyone.” Outside television cameras crowded around the police cordon.
“Forest is a calm, peaceful place. I’ve never heard of gunfire in this neighborhood, said Maria, 29, pushing a buggy, as she waited outside the police cordon, unable to visit her mother who lives inside. “Now I am afraid, I am afraid for my little girl.”
The November attacks in Paris are believed to have been in part prepared and coordinated in Brussels.

Belgian security forces are still hunting suspects and associates of Brussels-based militants involved in the attacks in Paris on 13 November in which 130 people were killed.

But police confirmed that the raid was not connected to Salah Abdeslam, the 26-year-old French national who grew up in Brussels and is one of the prime suspects in the Paris attacks.
Abdeslam, believed to have played a key role in organising the Paris attacks, has been on the run since November. He left Paris in the hours after the attacks, shortly after his brother had blown himself up as part of the terrorist assault. Abdeslam fled across the border to Belgium, helped by friends. He is believed to have stayed for a time in Belgium but has not yet been found.
“The operation was not targeting Salah Abdeslam. It was aimed at people connected to one or several of the 11 Belgians who have been charged,” a police source confirmed to AFP. Eight of the 11 people charged are still in detention.
Abdeslam’s associate Mohamed Abrini, who like him grew up in the Molenbeek area of Brussels, is also still at large.
Abdeslam was reportedly holed up in an apartment in the Schaerbeek district in north Brussels for three weeks after the Paris attacks. In January, Belgian authorities said they had found two apartments and a house used by Abdeslam and other suspects in the run up to the attacks.
A fingerprint belonging to Abdeslam was found in the apartment along with traces of explosives, possible suicide belts and a drawing of a person wearing a large belt.
Authorities also found DNA traces from Bilal Hadfi, another of the attackers who blew himself up with a bomb vest near the French national stadium during the November attacks.
The other premises identified were a flat in Charleroi – a town south of Brussels where a major airport is located – as well as a house in the rural village of Auvelais near the French border.

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Fleeing driver kills pregnant woman, four children in Delta

Barely one week after an auto crash claimed the lives of fifteen persons on Ibusa Road, near Asaba in Delta State, another accident has claimed the lives of a pregnant mother and her four children.
The accident, which occurred along Ozoro Road in Oleh, Isoko South Local Government Area of the state, also claimed the life of a motorcycle rider identified as Chukube.
An eyewitness, Joyce Ejiro, said that the pregnant woman was waiting by the roadside with her four children to board a car after closing for the day when a driver, who was fleeing from his relatives, hit them.

It was gathered that the driver was trying to escape after snatching N200,000 deposited as part payment for the sale of land belonging to the deceased woman’s family.
Investigation revealed that members of the family had offered a piece of land to a buyer for N400,000 and the buyer, who accepted the offer, made a part payment of N200,000.
There was, however, a dispute among the family members over how the money would be shared. While some members insisted that the money would only be shared after the buyer completes payment.
In the course of the heated argument, the driver, who is a member of the family and distant relative to the woman, snatched the money and took off in a Hilux Van.
Upon realising that he was being chased by three other family members in a Camry, he suddenly swerved in a bid to overtake another car, but control and ran into the motorcyclist, who was riding towards the same direction, also hitting the woman and her children.
It was gathered that the vehicle dragged them and the motorcycle for some distance before coming to a halt after which the driver absconded.
It was gathered that the Camry somersaulted several times but the occupants made it out and attempted to escape before being apprehended by sympathisers at the scene of the accident.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mrs. Celestina Kalu, said investigation was ongoing.
Meanwhile, the bodies of the deceased, which were identified by their families, have been taken to the morgue at the Central Hospital, Oleh with the driver of the Hilux Van at large.

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Buhari condemns political violence in Rivers

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday condemned the recent political violence in Rivers, saying the killing of people over political differences was primitive, barbaric and unacceptable.

A statement issued in Abuja by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, noted that the President made this known at an interactive session with Nigerians living in Equatorial Guinea.

Buhari warned that “henceforth, government would deal decisively with perpetrators and sponsors of violence, irrespective of their status in the society.

“Violence in any form will no longer be tolerated before, during or after elections.”

On the possibility of allowing Nigerians abroad to vote in future elections, the President said that the Independent National Electoral Commission would be encouraged to explore it in the 2019 general elections.

While noting that some African countries had started allowing their citizens resident abroad to vote in national elections, Buhari said that he fully empathised with the desire of Nigerians in the diaspora to vote in national elections.

He, therefore, pledged to do all within his powers to fulfill that desire, adding that “I want all Nigerians to know that I respect them and their right to choose their leaders.”

The President, who was responding to complaints over the absence of direct flights from Nigeria to Equatorial Guinea said that establishing a new national airline was not currently on Federal Government’s list of priorities.

He declared that his administration’s main area of focus now was reducing the level of poverty in the country.

He added that developing the required infrastructure to boost production in all sectors of the economy and creating more jobs for young Nigerians, as well as other actions that would directly improve the living conditions of ordinary Nigerians would continue to be prioritised by his administration.

The President, however, assured that his administration’s war against corruption would remain relentless.

“We will be relentless in pursuing all those who abused public trust.

“Nigerians will see how some of the elite conspired to run the nation down.”

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