Libyan Visa Update (15)

15 January 2014

Tourist Visa

• The Ministry of Tourism has finally decided to start issuing tourist visas to foreign nationals wishing to visit Libya. The decision was taken in a meeting between the minister of tourism and Tripoli's immigration officials on the 26th of December 2013 [68]. Officials at the ministry of tourism have confirmed the news to us on early January 2014. The good news was also confirmed by the ministry's media coordinator to Libya Herald [66].
  
  
• In a separate development Solidarity Press has reported [67] an agreement between the Libyan and Tunisian ministries of tourism to begin the activation of tourism in Libya and Tunisia. The agreement came after the Libyan minister visited Tunisia in December 2013 and agreed with her counterpart a number of measures including cooperation in the fields of tourism marketing and training. The representative of the Tunisian Office of Tourism in Tripoli, Mr. Ezeddin Alqarami, was reported to have said that the agreement relates to the preparations made for the year 2014, which will be a "promising year" for both countries [67].
  
  
• The new visa procedure is almost identical to the old one. Your chosen operator or visa provider needs to receive a scanned copy of your passport's bio page and also a list of the sites to be visited ('the route'). The visa approval will be available within 48 hours of the application being presented to the tourism ministry (if all goes well). During the old procedure the application is presented to the immigration department for approval, but now the application must presented to the tourism ministry. The ministry processes the application then transfers the request to the immigration department. Finally the visa approval is collected from the immigration department. Like before, the approval can be used to obtain the actual visa stamp on arrival without the need to visit the embassy. The visa stamp will be valid for four weeks from the date of issue; renewable on request and pending approval. It is understood that there will be a simplification of the entry procedure at all the entry points including the land borders. As we have reported in our earlier updates, the compulsory tourist guide is no longer required; and the passport Arabic translation was abolished in 2010 by the previous government. The only obstacle remaining to tackle is safety, which is now worse than ever before.
  
  
• There seems to be a sudden change in the ministry's policy regarding tourist visa. According to the earlier news released on the 19th of June 2013 the Libyan tourism minister Ikram Imam "said she did not expect foreign holiday makers to return for another two years" [2] – that is until June 2015; as further confirmed on the 28th of October 2013, when she told LANA [6] that due to the deterioration of security in Libya the tourism ministry does not aspire to have foreign tourists this year [2013] nor in the following year [2014]. Nothing has changed in relation to security and safety, and therefore all visitors are warned that the assassination campaign that was targeting Libyans in the past has now began to affect foreign visitors too (see below for details).
  
  
• On the 8th of January 2014 the tourism ministry's staff went on strike, apparently protesting against the ministry's "waste of state funds" – in reference to the money spent by the ministry on attending international tourism fairs, as we have reported in one of our earlier updates. There are however other points of concern, such as the ministry's lack of approach to cooperative management; meeting with Arab tourism officials from dictatorial states; poor website; and the ministry's failure to implement a proper administrative structure across all its regional offices.
  
  
• The strike coincided with a protest by a group calling itself the "Women Against Corruption", reportedly protesting against the alleged financial and administrative corruption at the ministry of tourism [70], and demanding the removal of the minister of tourism from her office. Such demands reflect the current chaos inflicting Libyan politics where people can appear anywhere, with or without weapons, demanding the removal of government officials and closing down oil terminals and other essential installations required to run a country!
  
  
• Among its recent projects the ministry said it has started work on a range of tourist projects including those in Tellil (in Sabratha) and in the Green Mountain (Cyrenaica) [6]. It has also activated the Emsaad Tourism Information Centre on the 26th of June 2013, when the deputy assistant of the tourism ministry, Mr. Khalid Khlifa Hsien, visited a number of areas east of Tobruk, reportedly to gather information about the areas in preparation for establishing tourist investment projects in the area [1]. He also met with the members of Emsaad Local Council and other tourist companies and organisations to officially activate Emsaad Tourism Office. It is hoped that the office will present its tourist investment projects to attract visitors and tourists to the area. Of course, the real disaster affecting Emsaad is the "lack of border security", without of which there can never be tourism in Emsaad or anywhere else in Libya.
  
  
• Libyan economy deputy minister, Dr Abdelkarem Mgeg, was refused British visa to attend a business meeting in preparation for the so-called "Foreign Direct Investment Libya Focus conference" [3]. Apparently since his Schengen visa was issued from Poland Dr. Mgeg needed to enter Europe via Poland before he could travel to other Schengen countries.
  
  
  

Fake Visas

• We have mentioned in one of our earlier updates that suspending some types of visas encourages criminals to exploit the vacuum created by taking monopoly of fake visas, as well as abusing the allowed visas for purposes other than those permitted. For example, the expensive business visas are widely provided by visa offices for business men and women, journalists, transit travellers and tourists alike.
  
  
• It was recently reported that criminals have resorted to various methods for smuggling blank visas between countries, including using clothes parcels. The following three incidents – all from the month of October (2013) – were chosen to illustrate the scale of the disaster the authorities still reluctant to recognise; not to say anything of the officials who were reported to have been issuing genuine identity numbers and official documents including birth certificates and passports to non-Libyans (presumably once they have been smuggled into the country on either fake visa or across the porous border [27]). On the 24th of October 2013 the Egyptian authorities intercepted a 16-kg clothes parcel containing 4923 blank Libya visas and 9600 duty stamps, apparently sent to Falcon Trading Company (شركة صقر تريدنج) from "Dubai-China" [24]. Six days earlier, immigration officials at Misrata airport deported 171 Egyptian nationals back to Egypt on the same plane after arriving with fake Libyan visas [25]. The same source also said that  450 fake visas were intercepted in the previous week alone. While on the 18th of October 2013, Egyptian officials at Cairo airport have confiscated 695 blank Libyan visa forms "concealed inside a consignment of Chinese tea" [26]. And on the 1st of December 2013 officials at Misrata airport returned 360 passengers to Egypt after arriving with fake Libyan visas onboard two separate planes [53].
  
  
• 10 June 2013: the Maltese foreign affairs ministry is investigating an alleged "racket" profiteering from issuing expensive Maltese visas in Libya. According to Malta Today [31], "Reportedly, the Maltese Consulate in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, is charging up to €3,000 for visa applications which cost €70 (120 Libyan Dinars)." Although the source relates that the ministry was investigating the alleged crimes for "weeks", such incidents were in fact reported since March 2012 (see our Visa Update 7).

Checkpoints

• As reported earlier, attacks on checkpoints and the setting up of fake checkpoints continue to take place in freed Libya. Travel at night is not recommended, and camping in deserted places remains a risky adventure in today's Libya, especially after the dead bodies of one British engineer and a New Zealand woman were found by the beach in Sabratha in December 2013.
  
  
• According to Solidarity Press, the government authorised Libya Shield Forces to set up a number of checkpoints across the capital Tripoli in an attempt to clamp down on the terror activities carried out by the mystery terrorists in black vehicles (without number plates and with tinted glass) [9].
  
  
• The announcement (if it amounts to anything in practice) came after the spat of violence that plighted the capital Tripoli in recent months. For example, exactly seven days before the announcement was made a fake checkpoint was set up by an armed gang of "mystery men" in Aarea 27 West of Tripoli, confiscating "modern cars" from their owners while shouting abuse [10].
  
  
• 6 September 2013: a group of mystery men attacked a checkpoint in the town of Sousa, Cyrenaica. No serious casualties were reported, but one guard and two of the attackers were injured during the ensued exchange of fire [11]. By January 2014 the same checkpoint was attacked five times.
  
  
• 8 November 2013: a checkpoint with a small guards building near Benghazi was flattened to the ground in a massive bomb blast. The same check point was bombed earlier in the year.
  
  
• 14 November 2013: Mr. Ahmed Hamouda, a special forces officer from Benghazi, was shot dead whilst performing his duties at a checkpoint in the Gardens Area [47].
  
  
• 16 November 2013: three men in grey BMW fired at a check point in Benghazi outside the "7 October Hospital". The point was manned by the Mushat al-Bahria Brigade [49]. This is one of the very rare occasions in which the culprits were later arrested – two men and one woman.
  
  
• 25 November 2013: LANA has reported that unknown assailants attacked a checkpoint at the entrance to Derna's seaport with a suitcase-bomb. LANA said the bomb blast was heard across the town of Derna, causing massive devastation but no human casualties [50]. However, on the following day, Solidarity Press reported that according to the port's manager, Mr. Ibrahim Alousta, the news circulated by the media is far from true [51].
  
  
• Libya's First Suicide Bomber Strikes in Bersis: Libya declared a 3-day official mourning on the 22nd of December 2013 for the 13 people killed in Libya's first suicide bomb in history. The suicide terrorist struck at Bersis checkpoint [69], east of Benghazi; thereby officially putting freed Libya on par with liberated Afghanistan and  democratised Iraq!

Land Borders

Emsaad land border continues to be unpredictable, with the usual closures and occasional trouble. Ras Ajdir and Wazen appear to enjoy a relative stability in recent months, with the occasional incident that often results in closing the border for a few days. If you do have an entry visa to Libya then you would be allowed to enter and exit via these land borders. Remember, if you are allowed in via Ras Ajdir, for example, then you should be able to exit at the other end (Emsaad).  After the recent development tourist visa on arrival is now possible at Ras Ajdir and Emsaad border, as before, providing the visa approval was secured in advance.

Security: according to the spokesman of the Libyan air force in the eastern region only 50% or 60% of Libyan borders are covered by the air force, leaving nearly half of Libya's borders totally unprotected. It seems certain that the borders are controlled by mysterious forces operating under the cover of "criminal gangs" ever since the Libya War began in 2011. Such forces continue to distribute Libyan weapons across the region, as well as flood Libya with drugs, tranquillisers, fake goods, outdated and poisoned foods, explosives (200 suit cases loaded with explosives were found in one single lorry near Tobruk), and of course illegal immigrants (nearly 2 million migrants have been reported by LANA, so far).

According to an Algerian source quoted by LANA [39] the border between Libya and Algeria is under the control of extreme Salafist militias, and that 14 armed militias which do not belong to the central authority in Tripoli are in charge of the border area. Despite the fact that the Algerian government has deployed nearly 20,000 soldiers along its borders with Tunisia and Libya, reports continue to emerge of Libyan weapons (including missiles and anti-tank rockets) being found in Algeria [40; 41; 42]. It seems certain that Algeria too may soon fall to what the Berbers led to believe is an "Arab spring".

Emsaad (Amsaad):

• 19 June 2013: Benghazi: the headquarters of the border guards in Benghazi's Boudzira area was attacked by unknown assailants who threw hand-made explosive devices at the building. No human casualties were reported. In a separate incident on the same day, a patrol unit belonging to the border guards was also attacked while on duty in the area of Rah'ba [36]. It was widely believed by many Libyans that the organisation(s) responsible for the illegal border activities are behind the attacks on the border points and border guards and offices.
  
  
• 01 July 2013: Salloum Border: the road to the border was blocked by protesters (or by those who say they are protesters), for the usual reasons that are reported before.  A few days later, on the 5th of July 2013, the Emsaad border point with Egypt was closed on orders from the Libyan government. According to a special forces commander, the border point was closed after it was found manned by civilians dressed in military uniform who do not belong to any official body [34].
  
  
• 20 July 2013: the Egyptian army fires bullets at unauthorised gangs practicing illegal activities along the Libyan-Egyptian border, injuring a number of people [31]. Reports from Libya continue to speak of complete chaos and total lack of law at the Emsaad border point.
  
  
• 21 July 2013: Solidarity Press first reported the rumours regarding the border point of Emsaad being destroyed with explosives by armed groups acting outside the law [4]. This came two days after the Egyptian army was reported [5] to have been involved in clashes with outlaws from the Egyptian side of the border. It seems both governments are unable to deal with the determination of such mystery cells operating outside any known law, with the Libyan government claiming weak and helpless to protect such strategic border point – given the amount of weapons and immigrants that are flowing in both directions via this particular border point, in addition to the numerous other points strewn along the thousands and thousands of miles of Libya's unsecured borders.
  
  
• 28 July 2013: the Egyptian authorities announced today that the border with Libya will be closed after 72 hours. The decision came after the total collapse of security at the border point between the two countries following the 30th of June military coup in Egypt [22]. Smuggling of goods, drugs, weapons and illegal immigrants became rife during the past few weeks. On the same day, the Libyan prime minister Ali Zidan announced the deployment of police, army and customs officers to Emsaad to secure the border point; as he also revealed the formation of a "security room" to secure Emsaad border, and a similar room for Ras Ajdir [21]. The Libyan border was in fact closed from the previous day (the 27th of July 2013) on orders from the prime minister, apparently to prevent the assassins responsible for the latest assassinations in Benghazi from escaping to Egypt [23].
  
  
• 03 August 2013: according to the commander of the 1st Infantry Battalion, Almahdi Alawwami, services at Emsaad have returned to normal, after the battalion was appointed to secure the border point following the recent trouble [19]. On the 3rd of July 2013, a group of outlaws attacked members of the battalion at the border point, damaging a number of government vehicles. The attackers have attempted to steal one of the vehicles, but they were defeated and fled the scene [20].
  
  
• 19 September 2013: chaos and total absence of law were reported by a number of people who traveled through the Egyptian-Libyan border. According to some travellers there were no Libyan officials at the Libyan border of Emsaad, and that after spending hours looking for any border official to check their documents the procedure is often "strange" and unofficial. There was no news of the "security room" setup by the prime minister in July. On the other side of the border, at Salloum, some travellers complained that the border point is manned by civilians from Salloum, some of whom charge up to two hundred Libyan dinars just for the stamp [18].
  
  
• 19 October 2013: the ministry of interior issued a decree commissioning colonel Abdulrazaq Mohammed Aldrouqi director of the National Security Directorate for Emsaad land border. The head of Emsaad Local Council told LANA that Colonel Aldrouqi had assumed his new duties with utmost seriousness and determination [13].
  
  
• 21 October 2013: the Egyptian authorities re-open Salloum border for Egyptian and Libyan passengers only. The point was closed three days earlier after nearly 50 Egyptian lorries were held for six days by protesters in Ejdabiyah. The protesters were protesting against the imprisonment of their relatives in Egypt. All the Egyptian hostages were released unharmed [12].
  
  
• 24 October 2013: according to Solidarity Press, the commander of the 1st Infantry, Col. Mahdi Mabrouk, announced the withdraw of his unit from Emsaad border. The army unit was in charge of the border point since July 2013. Solidarity's source also said the withdrawal was due to the lack of "means" and the lack of "support from the local people". Chaos at the border was due to the fact that transit commerce was disorganised, Colonel Mabrouk told Solidarity Press [52].
  
  
• General Sisi, the head of the Egyptian coup that toppled elected Morsi, was reported recently to have warned that Egypt's border with Libya is the greatest strategic danger currently facing Egypt. However, many Egyptians feel it is Sisi himself who is the greatest danger to Egypt after robbing them of victory and thereby plunging Egypt in great turmoil.

Ras Ajdir:

• 01 July 2013: Ras Ajdir Border: long delays from the Tunisian side, with no apparent reason. Libyan officials wave all travellers leaving Libya (mostly Libyans) quickly, after carrying out the usual checking procedures, but once they reach the Tunisian side the traffic comes to a stand still [35].
  
  
• 9 July 2013: the Tunisian consulate in Tripoli was attacked by some angry Libyan assailants, in a protest against the Tunisian border authorities whom they say seized their goods and cash [33].
  
  
• 28 September 2013: Ras Ajdir border was reopened today after an agreement has been reached by both sides [17]. The border was initially closed on the 24th of September after the Tunisian authorities fired in the air to disperse the Tunisian crowed that gathered around the Tunisian border point in Bengerdan. Reports [15] state that trouble erupted between Libyans and Tunisians after a Tunisian national was attacked and stabbed by Libyans inside Libya, to which the Tunisian authorities responded by firing in the air to disperse the crowed. In response to this, the Libyan authorities closed the border point at Ras Ajdir. However, according to a number of accounts from Zuwara Media Centre [16], a Tunisian man, named Adel Tabet, was attacked and stabbed in Zelten (a small Arab village between Zuwara and Ras Ajdir), before some Libyans intervened and took him to the shared border between Libya and Tunisia. When the injured Tunisian arrived in Bengerdan, many Tunisians were reported to have began attacking Libyans inside Tunisia, with one group even attacking the Tunisian border point in Bengerdan, which prompted the Tunisian authorities to fire in the air to disperse the crowed. According to another account, Adel Tabet was in Zelten to sell 10,000 dinars worth of pasta, which he brought with him from Bengerdan, and that after he completed the deal he left Zelten, before he was stopped by assailants in a black Chevrolet car (with a long antenna) between Zelten and Abukemmash, stabbed him and took all his cash before fleeing the scene. It was other Libyans who took him to the hospital before the news reached Bengerdan, when his relatives began attacking Libyans.
  
  

Southern Borders

• As covered in our earlier updates, on the 19th of December 2012 the temporary prime minister, Ali Zidan, declared the southern region of Libya a "military zone", and stated that the Libyan air force is out to blast outlaws taking advantage of Libya's southern borders. Ten months later, the situation on the ground is ten times worse, and to illustrate the weakness of his government the Libyans say the PM staged his own kidnapping – albeit for a few hours. Of course, it would not be fair to blame neither the Libyan government nor the Libyan people (the protected civilians).
  
  
• According to a recent report by Libya Herald, illegal immigrants are crossing the border at Madama (near Tumu – the Libyan official border crossing station) without being asked for any documents, and that according to the head of Murzuk's military security, Colonel Barca, around "600 illegal immigrants cross the border every day" [14]. The more disturbing news is that the colonel said the authorities in Tripoli never bothered to reply to their requests for materials including vehicles and weapons. The same reluctance was reported from Emsaad and from Ras Ajdir.
  
  
• The Libya Herald report goes on to speak of an al-Qaeda terrorist camp in Isseyne, at the border between Ghat and Algeria, and that when Hassan Massafer ("a member of Katiba 206 in Obari") informed the authorities in Tripoli, he was told by the authorities: "‘Don’t do anything. You don’t see it. You don’t look at it!’" [14].
  
  
• Such bizarre response, or allegation, is difficult to explain; but according to the same report, Tuareg civil authorities accuse "Tripoli of using the [terrorists] argument in order not to process their request to give Libya[n] national ID numbers to 14,000 Tuareg families" [14]. It is important to note here that the Berber Tuareg's ID issue goes back to Gaddafi's era, when a number of Tuareg families were living in Libya without Libyan IDs. One of the reasons was that the Libyan government made it a condition for Tuareg families to live in newly-created settlements (or camps) in order for them to be issued with Libyan identification cards so that the government can build hospitals, schools and other essential amenities, which otherwise it cannot provide if families choose to stay nomads (as they have always been). In response, some Tuareg sources (at the time) said Gaddafi's move intended to Arabise their society, as was the case in Algeria, where many Tuareg communities were abandoned in the desert after refusing integration into the state's camps. It seems the same issue continues to be a source of trouble for the native Berbers of the Great Sahara (now divided into Libya, Algeria, Niger and Mali).

Terrorism in (New) Libya

• The Western media today openly speaks of Libya being a dangerous place, plagued with terrorists and outlaw militias that refused to lay down their weapons, without saying who really was behind the training and coordination of such deadly militias in the first place – when the world was united to destroy Libya's central authority with an iron fist and without an exit strategy. The true implications of such regime change were obscured by the media's propaganda regarding the success of the violent intervention; the success of the bungled elections (hurriedly organised while the Libyans were kept busy blasting each other in the background); and the disasters of the unjust constitutional declaration that sent Libya back to square one. To be fairer to the truth, at least the Independent did make the effort to scratch the surface in its "Special report: We all thought Libya had moved on – it has, but into lawlessness and ruin", though without pinpointing the cause of it all.
  
  
• During Gaddafi's dictatorial grip on power Libya was among the safest destinations in the world. During the UN-authorised bombing campaign warnings were voiced regarding  radical flicker being amongst the rebels of Cyrenaica, but no one really cared about the consequences Libya made to suffer. NTC's rebel prime minister Mr. Mahmood Jibril warned during the bombing campaign that the weapons sent to Libya by some dictatorial states were reaching radical groups in Cyrenaica, but no one wanted to know. Terrorism is now well established in (Free) Libya, especially after the UN's 5,900 bombing missions were announced "complete with precision".
  
  
• Two years ago, most Libyans were assured that Libya will never become like democratised Iraq, where nearly 1.4 million Iraqis died after the hanging of Saddam in the Big Feast, but today it is almost impossible to have a single day without a terrorist act shocking the Libyans already disoriented by the devastating war. It took Libya's chief of the Special Forces two years to say there was a "conspiracy" to plunge Libya into civil war; with Libya itself becoming the safe haven for radical groups and the centre for world terrorists, complete with Tesco - the largest arms black supermarket in the world.
  
  
• The biggest problem Libya faces today is the tragedy of Libyans being divided into two opposing groups: the loyalists and the rebels – ignoring for the time being the "climbers", "defectors", "federalists", "Berberists" and the assisted "radicals". All Libyans are urged to lay down their (given) arms and remember that only those who encourage civilians to use violence to achieve peace would benefit from seeing people kill each other. Violence is not the answer and will never be the answer, no matter what others say. The loyalists need to know that punishing the Libyan civilians and in the process destroying Libya itself is exactly what their true enemies would love to see.
  
  
• The Black Chevrolet mentioned in a number of terrorist incidents has become a common feature of Libyan terrorism. Such vehicle (often with tinted glass and without number plates) was reportedly involved in countless incidents all over Libya, from Ras Ajdir to Misrata and from Sirte to Derna. Are they loyalists intent to foil the uprising, as the obscure government says? Are they gladios preparing the climate for further foreign intervention, as propounded by some sources in the West? Are they sponsored radicals intent to destabilise Libya, as some Libyan officials say? One thing for sure, they are well-organised, persistent, very active, totally invisible, very sophisticated, and never fail. No ordinary criminal could host such a collection of "special" qualities without ever being caught or fail, and hence many Berbers, from Azawad to Zuwarah, often refer to such groups by the name of "mystery cells". Many of the clashes, assassinations and border activity were associated with such mystery groups, with the government always unable to identify nor arrest any of the mystery terrorists. For example, the recent deadly clashes of the 15th of November 2013 in the capital Tripoli, which left nearly 40 dead and 400 injured, were reportedly started by mystery shooters [48]. Similar masked shooters, as reported by Aljazeera, appeared in Egypt immediately after the military coup against Morsi, shooting at Sisi's army to provoke a response against the otherwise peaceful protesters.
  
  
• A number of foreign men were arrested in Libya during the past few years, but detailed information released by the government remains rare. On the 6th of June 2013, a 200-seat boat was found empty near the coast of Zuwarah. According to Hafed Alqeffaz, the manager of marine affairs at the seaport of Zuwarah, his team was instructed by the Libyan navy to pull the empty boat to the port. He also said that the boat (named مار إيام) was found empty because its occupants were previously arrested by Libyan forces and taken to the city of Zawiya, leaving the boat behind [37]. Mr Alqeffaz revealed that the documents found inside the boat show the occupants to be Syrian navy officers, and that a number of flags belonging to different countries were found inside the boat. He also speculated that the boat may had an illegal accomplice inside Libyan territorial waters.
  
  
• According to Reuters  "four American military personnel" [58] were arrested in Libya, apparently not by government forces but reportedly by the militias operating in and around Sabratha. Solidarity Press said the group consisted of "five foreigners" who attempted to escape when they were ordered to stop at a checkpoint between Sabratha and  Lajilat in western Libya, and that according to eyewitnesses the men had "light weapons" and one of the cars that attempted to escape was chased to the area of Tawila after which it was found burnt [59]. LANA said the four military men were members of the American embassy's security team [60], who, according to the New York Times, were in the area of Sabratha because they "were believed to have been reviewing potential evacuation routes for diplomats" [61]. The American ambassador Deborah Jones visited Sabratha just a few weeks earlier where, according to Libya Herald, she discussed "potential cooperation" with the local council [63].
  
  
• On the 2nd of January 2014 the media reported two more Americans being arrested inside Benghazi University's campus, before they were taken by the Libyan special forces to the headquarters of the Libyan army in Benghazi. Initially Reuters said their identities were not "immediately clear" and that the American embassy "could not be reached for comment" [58]. Other sources said the two were in Libya to play basket ball, but Solidarity Press [65] said the two suspects, one American and the other from Cameroon, were arrested filming near the campus and that during questioning they insisted on being basket ball players despite the fact that they do not belong to any sport club nor to any other organisation in Libya.
  
  
• On the 3rd of January 2014 the bodies of a British man and a New Zealand woman were found by the beach near the Mellitah gas complex, near Sabratha. LANA said the dead bodies showed signs of being shot with bullets [64]. A few days later, the body of the British victim was identified to be that of Mr. Mark De Salis, a power manager who was bringing electricity generators to Libya and who was (in the past), according to Sky News, an RAF member. The female body was identified to be that of Lynn Howie, who according to Libya Herald was in Libya for a visit.

Attacks on Hotels & Hotel Bombs

For the first time in Libya's history big hotels have become a terrorist target. This means that it is probably safer to stay in the smaller hotels than go for the luxury resorts. All the hotels attacked so far are 5-star hotels:

• Radisson Blu Hotel: 7 November 2013: heavy armed clashes nearby the hotel have resulted in the hotel being hit a number of times. The building was damaged, with "a lot of broken glass in the lobby", a member of staff told Libya Herald. There were no casualties reported, but the guests were relocated to the basement [43]. The clashes started between Waddan bridge and the planetarium after the commander of "Misrata Nosoor Battalion", Mr. Nuri Friwan, was murdered on the 5th of November. In retaliation his forces and/or supporters in the capital attacked a number of local brigades in Tajoura and Suq al-Juma [44], resulting in 29 injuries and 2 deaths [45]. The fighting was reported to have spread to a number of areas including Algeria Square, Ben Ashur and Alshat street, involving heavy machine guns, RPGs and snipers.
  
  
• Waddan Hotel: 7 November 2013: initially Waddan was not mentioned during the 7th of November clashes, but later it emerged that a number of important building were hit including the Waddan Hotel, the Turkish and the Italian embassies, the ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the ministry of Planning. One diplomatic source, who was staying at the Waddan Hotel at the time, had confirmed to Libya Herald that, "An armed group entered the Waddan, [PM] Zeidan said, and terrorised guests, including senior diplomatic staff. Possessions and money were apparently taken at gunpoint" [46].
  
  
• Radisson Blu Hotel: 29 July 2013: a car-bomb was successfully defused outside the 5-star hotel, apparently after "an unknown person" reported the vehicle [28]. The car bomb was said to consist of "eleven explosive devices" and "ten seven-litre containers of petrol”.   Security barriers were installed in the hotel to prevent unauthorised vehicles parking near the hotel after a "bomb threat" was received on the 26th of April 2013 [29]. The 29th of July car bomb was left near one of the newly installed security barriers.
  
  
• Corinthia Hotel: 23 July 2013: a mortar narrowly missed the 5-star hotel and instead hit a block of flats nearby. The missile was launched from a vehicle that was parked in a car park behind the Corinthia hotel. According to Libya Herald, a loud explosion was heard by guests inside the hotel, while workers on the 16th floor of one of the Dat Elemad towers "heard the blast and reported that the building shook" [30].

Overall Advice

Although tourist and business visas are currently being issued to foreign visitors wishing to visit or transit Libya, we strongly advise against all but essential travel to Libya. Armed gangs and militias can appear anywhere and strike without warning. Regardless of what the government and its foreign allies say, terrorism is now well established in Libya, with bomb blasts gradually becoming more familiar to the Libyan civilians, and the assassination campaign that was previously targeting Libyans is now affecting foreign nationals, some of whom were shot on the spot. Visitors are advised to avoid driving at night, venturing into isolated areas alone, and camping in deserted locations. The Berber Tuareg of the Sahara say it is safe for tourists to visit the desert, despite the continued violence in and around Sabha and Kufra.

References

1. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/25569/
2. reuters.com/article/2013/06/19/libya-tourism-idUSL5N0ES0KW20130619
3. Libya Herald, article: /2013/06/19/no-uk-visa-for-minister-for-london-trade-conference/
4. presssolidarity.net/news/ONENEWS/7950-أنباء_عن_هدم_بوابة_مساعد/
5. presssolidarity.net/news/ONENEWS/7506/
6. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/34475/
7. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/34549/
8. qurynanew.com/56351
9. presssolidarity.net/news/ONENEWS/13936/
10. presssolidarity.net/news/ONENEWS/11751/
11. Libya Herald, article: /2013/09/06/checkpoint-attack-at-sousa/
12. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/33961/
13. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/33862/
14. Libya Herald, article: /2013/09/20/souther-borders-wide-open/
15. presssolidarity.net/news/ONENEWS/24270/
16. facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=571711752876467&set=a.225595200821459.50202.224694334244879
17. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/32348/اعادة_فتح_المعبر_الحدودى_رأس_جدير
18. presssolidarity.net/news/ONENEWS/23209/
19. presssolidarity.net/news/ONENEWS/11324/
20. presssolidarity.net/news/ONENEWS/10417/
21. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/27771/
22. presssolidarity.net/news/ONENEWS/9748/
23. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/27677/
24. qurynanew.com/56213 
25. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/33826/
26. Libya Herald, article: /2013/10/18/cairo-customs-seize-blank-libyan-visas/
27. Libya Herald, article: /2013/09/20/beida-protest-against-fake-citizenship-documents/
28. Libya Herald, article: /2013/07/30/car-bomb-defused-outside-radisson-blu-hotel/
29. Libya Herald, article: /2013/04/26/bomb-threat-to-libya-movie-awards/
30. Libya Herald, article: /2013/07/23/mortar-attack-misses-corinthia-hits-oap-flat/
31. maltatoday.com.mt/en/newsdetails/news/national/Visas-racket-in-Libya-under-investigation-ministry-20130610
32. presssolidarity.net/news/ONENEWS/7506/
33. Libya Herald, article: /2013/07/09/tunisian-consulate-attacked-by-angry-libyan-smugglers/
34. presssolidarity.net/news/ONENEWS/4487/
35. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/25923/
36. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/24987/
37. qurynanew.com/52214
38. Libya Herald, article: /2013/11/02/women-friendly-cafe-in-benghazi-bombed/
39. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/34111/
40. worldtribune.com/2013/11/01/al-qaida-said-storing-huge-arsenal-of-sams-in-algeria/
41. Libya Herald, article: /2013/10/27/algerians-seizes-large-libyan-arms-stash/
42. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/28075/
43. Libya Herald, article: /2013/11/07/fighting-continues-in-tripoli-hotel-hit-guests-evacuated-to-basement/
44. Libya Herald, article: /2013/11/08/misrata-breaks-with-rogue-militia-after-worst-violence-tripoli-seen-since-revolution/
45. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/35332/
46. Libya Herald, article: /2013/11/14/damaged-embassies-upset-by-last-weeks-clashes/
47. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/35881/
48. Libya Herald, article: /2013/11/15/first-shots-fired-at-ghargour-protest-from-unknown-place-bishr/
49. Libya Herald, article: /2013/11/17/three-arrested-in-benghazi-after-checkpoint-shooting/
50. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/36725/
51. presssolidarity.net/news/ONENEWS/38855/
52. presssolidarity.net/news/ONENEWS/38657/
53. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/37193/
54. ahram.org.eg/NewsQ/240077.aspx
55. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/34275/
56. drugs.com/pro/tramadol-tablets.html
57. gate.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/4/6/424089/حـوادث/تقارير/مدير-المرور-المركزي-ضبط--سيارة-مسروقة-وأسلحة-وذخائ.aspx
58. reuters.com/article/2014/01/02/libya-killings-idUSL6N0KC28C20140102
59. presssolidarity.net/news/ONENEWS/43254/
60. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/39269/ (توقيف 4 عسكريين أميركيين من طاقم امن السفارة الأميركية لفترة وجيزة في ليبيا)
61. nytimes.com/2013/12/28/world/africa/libya.html?hpw&rref=world
62. [ ]
63. Libya Herald, article: /2013/12/28/us-embassy-security-staff-released-after-arrest-near-sabratha/
64. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/39699/
65. presssolidarity.net/news/ONENEWS/44134/
66. Libya Herald, article: /2014/01/04/libya-to-start-issuing-tourist-visas/
67. presssolidarity.net/news/ONENEWS/43988/
68. https://www.facebook.com/LIBYANTOURISM.LY
69. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/38839/
70. Libya Herald, article: /2014/01/09/womens-group-stages-anti-corruption-demonstration-outside-ministry-of-tourism/

End of update (15).

Libyan Visa Update (14)

22 May 2013

The overall advice is: stay away from Libya for the time being. As noted previously, adventure travellers, taking risks by nature, may enjoy a mix of anxiety and tranquility to nurture their desire to experience the real thing; so long as they are insured and warned of the lurking danger. Armed gangs or militia outlaws could appear anywhere and strike without warning.

Tourist and transit visas still are suspended by the Libyan transitional government; and all our visa services remain suspended until the ban is lifted. Please note that due to the volume of enquiries we may not be able to respond to all the emails we receive.

(1)

• Security & Safety: the security situation is worsening, despite the government's claim to the contrary; and the bombing campaign that was affecting mainly Benghazi has now reached the capital Tripoli. The Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zidan, in his recent press conference (aired by Libya.tv, via Alwataniya), said his police and security forces have defused a number of car bombs and that the diplomatic community was informed.
  
  
• Attack on Foreign Visitors: the Libyans' worst fear is here – the attack on foreign visitors including women was officially acknowledged to have taken place in Benghazi [21], when a British family was violated by an armed group acting outside the law [22]. It is such outlaws that are now roaming "liberated Libya", seemingly and practically unstoppable by the law.
  
  
• Checkpoints: generally speaking checkpoints are manned by armed officers working for the government, but there is also the possibility of being stopped by an armed gang or rebels at a fake checkpoint. Undercover cameramen from Solidarity Press traveled from Tripoli to Benghazi to investigate the conditions in which checkpoints operate. The team have discovered that there are 18 checkpoints between Tripoli and Benghazi, as follows: 5 points in Misrata, 2 in Sirte, and 1 point for each other town between Benghazi and Tripoli. They have also discovered that there was no proper search for identity documents in any of the checkpoints, except in Misrata where checkpoint officers conduct vigorous checks on identities and vehicle documents, as well as search the vehicles for concealed weapons [23]. The correspondents said the security forces manning the checkpoints were from the Security Support Units & Military Police (جهاز الإسناد الأمني وإدارة الشرطة العسكرية).
  
  
• As reported in one of our previous updates, the Libyan prime minister Dr. Ali Zidan has assured Libya Herald on the 31st of January 2013 that, “in a few weeks security will be fine and companies will be back” [11]. A few weeks later, the Prime Minister himself was called by the GNC for questioning over the failure of his government to provide security for the GNC, let alone for the whole of Libya. And a few months later, security worsened, when for the first time in Libya's history Libyan children were "blown to pieces". Without any official body to state the law, the Libyans cannot understand how any decision can be implemented, let alone followed-up. The government however says they are aware of these outlaws, they know who they are, and that they are gradually building the apparatus to deal with "outlaws". No doubt the government is having difficulties finding a way out of the chaos, mainly due to lack of exit strategy. 
  
  
  

(2)

• Libyan Tourism: the Tourism Committee at the GNC continues to discuss the ministry's development plan for 2013. However, it is not known what the ministry can achieve with a budget of one million dinars (around £500,000) – the amount assigned to the Ministry of Tourism by the current 2013 Budget of 66.8 billion Libyan Dinars. Libya Herald says the amount given to the tourism ministry is, "the lowest sum awarded to any ministry this year" [24]. 
  
  
• On Saturday the 9th of March 2013 the minister of tourism, Ikram Imam, held a meeting in Benghazi with the managers of a number of tourism companies and tourist offices from Cyrenaica, to discuss the current state of tourism in Libya. The meeting was attended by deputy head of the local council of Benghazi Saad Saaiti; deputy minister of tourism Abdasameea Mahboub; assistant deputy minister of tourism Khaled Hussein; and director of the Tourism Office in Benghazi Ashref Ghrour. Like the minister's earlier meetings with similar organisations and companies in Tripolitania and Fezzan, the ministry reviewed the "action plan" of the ministry to create "the necessary atmosphere" for the development of sustainable tourism in Libya, such as "updating" the institutional structure of the ministry "in preparation for the start" to take the necessary steps to activate or stimulate domestic tourism and raise the quality of tourism services in the region. And like most other ministers, the tourism minister did refer to the "difficulties" the ministry had endured under the rule of the previous transitional government, such as the non-activation of the General Board for Tourism (as reported by Temehu.com long before the new ministry was created) and also the government's withdrawal of the Board's direct terms of reference (or وسحب مجموعة من اختصاصاتها المباشرة بقطاع السياحة), leading to, the minister said, obstructing the work of the ministry in relation to the "supervision" and "follow-up" of its projects.
  
  
• A number of managers have expressed their "dissatisfaction" with the ministry's performance, and accused the ministry of not providing the necessary support and services required to enable Libyan tourism companies and organisations to fulfil their role in "activating" this vital  sector of Libya's promising economy – just as the ministry itself blamed the previous transitional government for not doing enough to re-activate tourism in Libya. They have also demanded from the minister to provide "opportunities for young Libyans" to effect and run Libyan tourism investment projects abroad, in order to benefit from the opportunity to develop their abilities and expertise in the field of tourism – just as foreign companies (including some from dictatorial states) are eagerly urged to participate and even lead. Why not, they asked, why not? At the end of the meeting, the minister expressed her "understanding" of the complaints put forward, and confirmed that the ministry "will strive to address" all the "obstacles" and proposals [17]. Understandably the minister goes away, meeting with other tourism officials from other towns, regions and states, re-reviewing her "plan" for activating tourism that never gets activated.
  
  
• There is no doubt that tourism companies and organisations in Libya had suffered from the day the war began.  Without any due support or compensation from the government to offset the loss sustained during and after the war, many Libyan tourism companies were forced to close and lay their staff, due to their inability to cover the incurred costs. Many Libyan tour operators gathered at the tourism board and demanded news regarding the saga of the "Libya Visa" and activation of tourism, without of which they cannot survive. In contrast, the Libyan transitional Prime Minister, Dr. Ali Zidan, had confirmed on the 21st of February 2013 that Libya will compensate the Turkish companies that were forced to stop their activities during the war, and that these companies will be offered "incentives" to encourage their return to Libya [10] – something most Libyan companies patiently still are waiting for.
  
  
• Tourism companies, civil society organisations and charities interested in tourism from Fazzan (southern Libya) have expressed their deep disapproval of the current policies of the Tourism Ministry, which they say do not benefit the nation at this particular stage, and even condemned the current policies of the ministry as a "waste of state funds". In a protest staged in Sebha, on Thursday the 14th of February 2013, they demanded from the GNC's Tourism Committee and from the Ministry of Tourism to stop wasting Libyans' money by participating in international exhibitions that do not serve the interests of the public at the present time, and instead called for the government to focus on the "inner workings of the country" [7]. They have also spoken of "financial transparency" and the establishment of a "Higher Council for Tourism" to oversee the development of tourism infrastructure in the southern region, which they said was previously neglected. Such calls for transparency were voiced before by the Board of Tourism itself, as reported in one of our earlier updates, but nothing was heard of the matter since.
  
  
• Compensation For Future Loss: on the 20th of May 2013 Reuters reported a bizarre case of a Kuwaiti company claiming 930 million US Dollars from Libya as compensation for the canceling of its planned tourist resort before the uprising broke out in Libya [25]. The irony is that most of the damages claimed are to cover estimated "future losses" covering the next 90 years. That is asking for cash for a project that was never built, does not exist in the real world, and for a whole 90 years (worth of revenues) from the future. Officials at Kharafi (the Kuwaiti Group in question) "were not immediately available for comment", Reuters wrote [25]; while Libya Herald reported that a Libyan senior government official had warned that "if the award, with its key component for loss of future income, were allowed to stand, it would be “a disaster”. Libya could be faced with claims running in to hundreds of billions" [26]. The Chinese however are not only asking for compensation incurred during the war, but also for the "increased costs of construction" since the uprising began [27].
  
  Apparently, Reuters said the news were also reported by al-Qabas and al-Jarida newspapers, according to which the Kuwaiti company signed a deal with deposed Gaddafi in 2006, and that the group had invested on "feasibility studies", "design" and "management contracts up until 2010, until Libya cancelled the deal" [25]. It is not categorically clear if this means that the deal was cancelled by Gaddafi or Gaddafi's government in 2010, but if it is so confirmed, then Libya would appear under no obligation to take any further action, since the NTC categorically stated that it will honour the contracts struck by foreign companies with Gaddafi, and not those cancelled by Gaddafi before the uprising began.
  

(3)

• Land Borders: the president of the Department of Cooperation and Relations at the Immigration Department, Nasreddin Ghellab, has revealed on Thursday the 7th of February 2013 the creation of an electronic system to document the entry and exit of all foreigners. The system was said to be linked to all land, sea and air entry points as well as to the Libyan embassies. The new system will enable any patrol unit to confirm within seconds  whether the provided documentation is legitimate or not. Work is also under way to link this system with the "residency system" to confirm the legality of any foreign resident in Libya. The projects are the personal efforts of the engineers, the technicians and the officers of the Immigration Department, he said [1].
  
  
• However, a month later – on the 7th of March 2013 – senior EU and Interpol officials were reported to have arrived at Tripoli airport on the 6th of March 2013 to launch the EU-funded border security system at Tripoli airport. The system will allow Libyan border authorities to verify any given passport against the Interpol Database, which holds records of 36 million missing passports worldwide [16].
  
  
• Interim Deputy Ministry of Labour, Abdel Razak Altamtam, has announced on Thursday the 7th of February 2013 the suspension of all procedures relating to import of foreign labour into Libya, except those relating to companies already in contract with the state of Libya to develop and rebuild the infrastructure of the dilapidated state. He added that these measures are temporary and that there will be an urgent action in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior, the Immigration Department, and other ministries to regulate the foreign labour market in Libya [2].
  
  
• Libyan border officials from Emsaad met with their Egyptian counterparts on the 11th of February 2013 to discuss procedures relating to cross-border movement, better security, and prepare the border for commercial traffic and tourism. The meeting was attended by the Libyan committee appointed by the Minister of Interior to re-organise and prepare the border; some members of the local council of Emsaad; regional coordinator of information security; and representatives of some of the agencies operating at the border. From the Egyptian side the meeting was attended by the director of the Salloum border point; head of the Egyptian customs and a number of security departments and operators from Salloum [5].
  
  
• Local Egyptians have blocked the road leading to the Libyan border in a protest against the new visa regulation, which requires from all Egyptian nationals to obtain Libyan visa from the Libyan embassy in Cairo before heading for the border [8]. According to Egypt Independent [9], local Egyptians say the decree was announced on Tuesday (the 19th of February 2013), and that in response, "demonstrating Egyptians are preventing Libyans from entering Egyptian territory" and that around "820 vehicles are currently gathered in and around the Salloum crossing awaiting entry to Libya". Prime Minister Dr. Ali Zidan has announced that Libya and Egypt will establish consulates in Salloum and Tobruk respectively. The announcement was made in Cairo during the PM's visit to Egypt on the 8th of March 2013.
  
  
• Of course, the story has another dimension. The local Egyptians living near the border are related to the Libyan tribes living in Cyrenaica by the Libyan border. During Gaddafi's reign, the Egyptians required visa to enter Libya except those living by the border. But the current Libyan transitional government re-introduced the visa without exception. This apparently has angered the local Egyptians, even though the same procedure applies to all Libyans and to all other nationals, and even though Local Egyptians were reportedly implicated in illegal cross-border trade, and according to many eyewitnesses, it is Awald Ben Ali who are smuggling weapons across the Libyan border.
  
  
• According to LANA, the movement across the Emsaad border has returned to "normal" on the 7th of March 2013, after the Egyptian drivers were issued with temporary Libyan visa (lasting for 10 days), while at the same time maintaining the earlier requirement of Libyan entry visa to be obtained from the Libyan embassy in Egypt from all other Egyptians [15].
  
  
• However, on the 30th of March 2013, after weeks of violence along the border and at the Libyan embassy in Cairo, LANA has issued a warning to all Libyans to avoid travelling to Egypt via the land border, and instead urged all traveller to fly to Egypt [19]. The warning came after violence broke out again in the Egyptian side, when protesters destroyed one of the custom offices [20]; leading to a number of Libyan families being stuck at the border (inside Egypt), unable to return to Libya after they were prevented from doing so by some Egyptian groups that do not belong to the Egyptian authorities, unless they raised the green flag and called Gaddafi's name, Solidarity Press said [21].
  
  
• Wazin-Dehiba: the border crossing was temporarily closed on the 10th of March 2013, after clashes broke out between Libyans and Tunisian "traders", reportedly in relation to smuggling and lucrative cross-border trade [18].
  
  
• The Libyan Foreign Ministry was reported by Solidarity Press to have barred visitors who cary Iranian visa in their passports from entering Libya [3]. New Quryna initially reported the Lebanese newspaper Alakhbar to have said that the Libyan authorities have informed the Lebanese foreign ministry of their decision, and that the UN's envoy to Libya, Tarik Metri, said the Libyan authorities banned specific employees (requested by the UN to work in Libya) due to their background. But New Quryna [4] later said that the UN envoy denied he made the announcement attributed to him by Alakhbar in relation to Libya barring Lebanese nationals who had Iranian visas from entering Libya.
  
  

References:

1. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/13489/
2. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/13499/
3. presssolidarity.net/وزارة-الخارجية-تمنع-دخول-إي-جنسية-تحمل/
4. qurynanew.com/48734
5. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/13930/
6. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/14097/
7. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/14201/
8. qurynanew.com/49212
9. egyptindependent.com/news/egyptians-protest-libyan-border-over-new-visa-rules
10. presssolidarity.net/ليبيا-تعتزم-دفع-تعويضات-لشركات-تركية-ع/
11. Libya Herald, article: /2013/01/31/in-a-few-weeks-security-will-be-fine-and-companies-will-be-back-prime-minister-ali-zeidan/
12. Libya Herald, article: /2013/02/21/protestors-forced-out-of-congress-attempt-to-besiege-pms-office/
13. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/15729/
15. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/16150/
16. Libya Herald, article: /2013/03/07/interpol-database-passport-checks-start-at-tripoli-airport/
17. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/16307/
18. Libya Herald, article: /2013/03/11/tunisian-libyan-southern-border-crossing-closed-following-clashes/).
19. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/18349/
20. qurynanew.com/50526
21. lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/18250/
22. Libya Herald, article: /2013/03/28/kidnap-and-sexual-assault-of-aid-convoy-britons-in-benghazi/
23. presssolidarity.net/البوابات-الأمنية-بوابات-بلا-تفتيش-وعم/
24. Libya Herald, article: /2013/04/16/congress-committee-on-antiquities-and-tourism-meets/
25. reuters.com/article/2013/05/20/uk-kharafi-libya-idUKBRE94J06C20130520
26. Libya Herald, article: /2013/05/22/libya-told-to-pay-kuwaiti-group-1-billion-for-90-years-earnings-loss-on-scrapped-tourism-project/
27. Libya Herald, article: /2013/03/05/chinese-delegation-arrives-to-discuss-resuming-work-and-war-compensation/
    

Libyan Visa Update (12)

10 January 2013:

1: Visa

(1.1): Tourist Visa

Tourist visa is still suspended. Some Libyan companies are "talking" about the likelihood of the tourist visa being reinstated very soon, and although there is no official confirmation of the rumours, the Libyan minister of tourism, Ikram Imam, had revealed on the 5th of January 2013 that there will be an "adjustment" and a "simplification" of the visa and tourist procedures [1]. Let us all hope that the saga of the "Libya Visa" is simplified and adjusted to stay that way for good this time.

Upon her return to the capital, she further held a meeting with the departments of the tourism ministry from across Libya, on Monday the 7th of January 2013, to explore the means for them to commence implementing the "work plan", or the "strategy", proposed by the Tourism Ministry to the GNC.

The strategy apparently includes creating a "distinctive" tourist identity to put Libya on the map of international tourism, and to provide quality service according to the values and traditions of Libya [2]. According to Solidarity Press [3], there are 23 offices in Libya which are currently implementing the programs of the tourism ministry.

(1.2): Business Visa

The expensive business visa is still available for those wishing to do business in Libya. However, it was reported that the number of business visas processed by the immigration authorities in Tripoli shortly after the suspension of tourist and transit visas has shot up to 200 business visas per day. As a result the authorities have introduced strict procedures to process the business visa on arrival.  By the end of 2012 it became apparent that the one-month business visa on arrival has been suspended, and now it is available only via Libyan embassies.

(1.3): Fake Visas

History is abundant with examples of  products and services banned by the law only to proliferate underground, where corruption, greed and absence of law empowers the emerging warlords. The member of Benghazi's Local Council, Tareq Bouzriba, told Solidarity Press that the problem starts at the Libyan embassies, especially those in Egypt, Tunisia and Chad. By refusing the visa application the  embassies force workers to pay 6,000 pounds for the visa elsewhere, instead of the 50 Egyptian pounds they need to pay the embassy [6].

He also pointed out that the ease with which some Libyans secure legal permits to establish certain projects, for which they receive 6,000 Dinars from the government to cover the cost of importing 20 workers, had resulted in some Libyans setting up fictitious companies to import the workers. Since the fictitious companies do not provide any jobs for their workers after arrival in the country, the immigrants end up jobless in Libya, likewise many Libyans who were previously sidelined to live on "handouts" -- apparently not for being unemployed but for "lack of work".

The illegal network appears to involve flying out blank visas from Libya to be sold where others are ready to pay. In one of the recent incidents the Egyptian authorities arrested a Libyan passenger at Cairo Airport after arriving with 492 blank visas [7]. Another group, reported on the 26th of December 2012 to have been arrested by the Supreme Security Committee (SSC), appears to have made a copy of the official "plate seal" and also copies of the stamps used to approve Libyan visa approvals [8].

On the 24th of October 2012 three Libyans were arrested with 684 fake passports  in Bangladesh [9]. Three African women were arrested in Tripoli on the 3rd of January 2013 for possessing a fake Ministry of Health "stamp", used to issue forged "health certificates", required by immigrants in order to enter Libya [10]. And on the 8th of January 2013, LANA reported that an armed group attacked the "Work & Training Bureau" in Ejmeil and stole the official stamp of the bureau, after intimidating staff [21].

Rivalry between Manpower Agencies and other unknown groups competing for the inflicted chaos has also resulted in a number of reported scams, some of which had attempted to implicate the Libyan consulate in the illegal trade; eventually leading the Libyan government to stop issuing visas to Bangladeshi workers from Tuesday the 4th of December 2012 [11]. To further tighten security, the immigration department has announced it will create a new branch inside Tripoli Airport itself.

Strict procedures were also applied to Egyptian applications, and according to the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Egyptian nationals were warned not to enter Libya without a visa or without a passport, due to "the risk of road accidents, “which has resulted in the deaths of a number of Egyptians recently” [12].

(1.4): Work Visa

The chaos of work visa and the illegal trade in migrants has resulted in a number of incidents and border clashes with slave bandits trafficking in African and Arab migrants from all sides of Libya. The most bizarre story we have come across is the story of "Sudanese For Sale". On the 30th of August 2012 al-Ahram revealed details of the "Hell-Journey" undertaken by Sudanese get-rich "dreamers", and operated by armed-groups who sell their lured victims in a market reminiscent of medieval "slave markets". The disturbing report then continues by saying that the "slaves" were displayed in the market for the buyers to select for the mere price of 150 Libyan Dinars, and that the "bought-slaves" end up working all day without getting paid [4].

Presumably many of the illegal immigrants would stay and work in Libya, while others will ultimately continue their adventure to Europe across the Libyan sea, with some drowning in the way, and with some being left to drown in the sea.

It was also reported that many of them have returned home according to their own will; while according to the latest statistics from the Libyan committee for the prevention of illegal immigrants the number of illegal immigrants deported so far during the second half of 2012 is 13,100 immigrants, including 2813 from Niger, 4583 Egyptians, 1007 Sudanese, and 4052 other Africans, while surprisingly only 23 immigrants were deported to Tunisia [5].

2: Land Borders:

The land borders of Libya have been hit with "frequent closures" and the occasional "trouble" ever since liberation day. Each "closure" seems to have a different reason including transporting vehicles across both borders without any documentation; transportation of humans without IDs or passports; clashes over personal and social matters; and trafficking in alcohol, narcotics, petrol and weapons as well as in outdated and poisoned food. In conclusion, it is impossible to predict what will happen next, or when the borders will re-turn to their pre-war state – or shall we say: pre-UN-protection state!

(2.1): Western Borders: Ras Ajdir

The Ras Ajdir border has been through quite a number of closures in the past 14 months, the last of which has ended on the 10th of December 2012, when the border was reopened once more. The border was closed again on the 13th of December 2012, only to be partially re-opened on the 15th of December 2012.

After his meeting with the Tunisian Prime Minister, Hamadi Jebali, on Monday the 7th of January 2013, the Libyan Prime Minister Dr. Ali Zidan had ordered the border to be fully re-opened. The earlier partial closure was applicable only to lorry and truck drivers. However, according to Radio Tataouine [20], violence continues in Bengerdan – a Tunisian village close to the Libyan border, for the third day running, and that the border is still closed as of the 8th of January 2013 despite the aforementioned decision to re-open the border by the Libyan PM.

Initially the road was closed from the Tunisian side to prevent Libyans passing through, and there were reports of Libyans being attacked and "robbed" of their belongings. The attacks followed strict border controls that were applied by the Libyan authorities to cross-border trade. Apparently some lorry and truck drivers wanted to operate freely without paying any attention to health regulations concerning food importation, and without paying any custom duties. 

On the 21st of November 2012, the forces of Libya Shield had arrested an armed group stationed at a fake check point between Ras Ajdir and Zuwarah, near Zulthen (not to be confused with Zliten); stopping foreign visitors and Libyans and confiscating their passports and personal belongings. The Libya Shield was alerted when one Libyan telephoned the forces to verify the legality of the check point [13].

(2.2): Eastern Borders: Musaid

The situation at the other end of the coastal highway is not much different. On the 17th of December 2012 the Egyptian government closed its border with Libya after a confrontation between locals and Egyptian police. Seven people were injured in this latest incident. The reason, apparently, is the same as the reason causing the trouble at Ras Ajdir border with Tunisia, namely the refusal to pay the custom duties required from cross-border traders. The traders were reported to have attacked the Egyptian police with stones, leading to the latter retaliating with tear gas [14]. Attacks on Libyan drivers inside the Egyptian border were also reported a number of times. The Libyan border point itself came under attack several times including being shot-at by "arms" criminals and "human" traffickers. Land travellers using the long road from Tobruk to Ejdabiyah are warned to take extra care or to avoid the road altogether, as Solidarity Press reported [15] that the Libyan authority had arrested two members of a gang which was carrying out armed attacks  along the Tobruk-Ejdabiyah road.

(2.3): Southern Borders: Fezzan

The transitional government had declared south Libya a "military zone" and temporarily closed its borders with Sudan, Niger, Chad and Algeria. (See below for more on this.)

3: Safety:

Generally speaking Libya is far more safer for visitors than it is for Libyans, and it would appear that the government has what it calls a "plan" for 2013 to state its authority and exert control over the country. As it stands, Ghadames and Nafusa, as well as Sabratha, Tripoli and Leptis Magna should be Okay to visit; but Cyrenaica and the Sahara are definitely not recommended.

(3.1): General Safety

Still without a constitution and without an elected president, an army or an effective police force, the situation remains "fluid" and "unpredictable". So far three transitional governments had exchanged seats and shook hands for the responsibility they stepped forward to take, and yet Libya is to see the promised prosperity or the illusive and all inclusive peace.

It has now been more than fourteen months since the presumed liberation of Libya and yet there is no sign of law or order taking place; just the usual "leaders" and the "people" blaming each other for their mistakes, and for the chaos, violence and corruption flourishing before their eyes while suspended in a state which the Libyans call الإنفلات الأمنى ('total-failure & collapse of security').

According to Libya Herald, Danish Trade and Investment Minister, Pia Olsen Dyhr, "has challenged traditional stereotypes of Libya as a hostile environment for foreign businesses, saying that Tripoli is no more dangerous than Tunis" [16]. She was also reported by the same source to have thought that, "there is a different picture" in her country’s media to the reality in Libya. Whereas according to Tripoli's Security Directorate, foreign companies are unwilling to return to Libya to complete their programs due to the spread of chaos [17].

Of course, Tripoli is no more dangerous than Tunis, but Libya is not just "Tripoli"; and in fact that is the whole point the Libyans are trying to make across Cyrenaica and the Sahara. No doubt, progress was (being) made, but the slightly improved security in Tripoli, the seat of all 'decisions' and power, has witnessed an increase in violence in Cyrenaica -- the region seemingly being punished for attempting to share power with the capital; while Fezzan has been declared a "military zone" by the leaders of "liberated" Tripoli in December 2012, when at last the transitional prime minister gave the stark warning to "blast" outlaws taking advantage of Libya's tragedy along the southern borders [18].

To further bolster Libya's authority, on the 25th of December 2012, the Ministry of Interior's spokesman, Mr Majdi Alerfi, had revealed his ministry's "plan" to dismantle illegal militias and withdraw heavy weapons from the streets of  Libya [19]. Similar pledges have been heard before, and it is more likely they will be heard again.

References:

• [01]: presssolidarity.net/باشا-إمام-تعقد-اجتماعا-مع-أصحاب-الشركا/
• [02]: facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.470429562993101.97717.413549328681125&type=1
• [03]: presssolidarity.net/باشا-إمام-تجتمع-بمديري-المكاتب-السياح/
• [04]: gate.ahram.org.eg/News/245685.aspx
• [05]: presssolidarity.net/إدارة-الهجرة-ترحل-13100-مهاجر-خلال-النصف-ا/
• [06]: presssolidarity.net/بوزريبة-مشاكل-العمالة-في-ليبيا-تبدءا-م/
• [07]: presssolidarity.net/ضبط-راكب-ليبي-بحوزته-492-تأشيرة-دخول-ليبي//
• [08]: Libya Herald, article: /2012/12/26/ssc-arrests-passport-counterfeiters/
• [09]: Libya Herald, article: /2012/10/24/three-libyans-arrested-in-dhaka-with-684-fake-passports/
• [10]: presssolidarity.net/إدارة-الهجرة-تقبض-على-افريقيات-يقمن-بت/
• [11]: newstoday.com.bd/index.php?option=details&news_id=2330144&date=2012-11-29
• [12]: dailynewsegypt.com/2012/12/19/egyptians-urged-not-ot-travel-to-libya-illegally/
• [13]: presssolidarity.net/درع-ليبيا-قسم-بوابات-الساحل-الغربي-تضب/
• [14]: presssolidarity.net/السلطات-المصرية-توقف-عمل-منفذ-السلوم/
• [15]: presssolidarity.net/القبض-على-عصابة-تقوم-بأعمال-قطع-طريق-بي/
• [16]: Libya Herald, article: /2012/11/22/tripoli-no-more-dangerous-than-tunis-says-danish-government-minister/
• [17]: (Libya Herald, article: /2
• [18]: youtube.nocookie.com/v/7ghPXUpxOkk?hl=en_GB&version=3&rel=0"
• [19]: lana-news.ly/ar/art.php?a=31838012/12/26/ministry-of-interior-preparing-plan-for-weapons-withdrawal-and-dismantling-of-illegal-battalions/
• [20]: www1.radiotunisienne.tn/tataouine/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8172:2013-01-08-19-05-16&catid=190:2012-07-26-08-24-50
• [21]: lana-news.ly/ara/news/view/10735/
• [22]: presssolidarity.net/المؤتمر-الوطني-يقرر-تشكيل-قوة-أمنية-تت/
• [23]: Libya Herald, article: /2013/01/02/first-deputy-head-of-gnc-condemns-sscs-demonstration-tactics-as-unreasonable/
• [24]: presssolidarity.net/الاعتداء-بالضرب-على-عضوي-المؤتمر-الوط/

Libyan Visa Update (11)

5 July 2012:

Unexpected development: on the 4th of July 2012 the Director General of the Immigration Department in Tripoli has stopped approving visa applications submitted by Libyan companies. There is no official statement regarding this matter. It is not exactly known why this sudden suspension of visa -- coming a few weeks after it was re-opened, and just three days before the elections.

This means that all our tourist and transit visa services are suspended, once more.

Armed Assailants Attempted to Takeover The Building of The Tourism Department

26 June 2012:

The Libyan Tourism Department held an emergency meeting on the 25th of June 2012, to discuss the current issues facing the department under the transitional government. Earlier in the week the building of the department was raided by a group of 40 people, 20 of whom were armed, in an attempt to take over the building. The armed group presented a letter, allegedly signed by the deputy defence minister, authorising them to use "force" to evacuate and take over the building. The employees of the tourism department defended their headquarters and refused to leave. When the minister arrived later, he informed the employees that he had no knowledge of the authorisation. The assailants failed to intimidate the staff and left shortly afterwards.

The meeting was held to clarify the incident and discuss a number of important issues facing the tourism department in current Libya. To this day Libya still does not have a tourism ministry, despite Libya's massive tourism heritage  and in spite of the potential of tourism becoming Libya's main source of income in the future. The department made a number of legitimate demands including:

• Implementing "transparency" requirements by all the managers and heads of departments at the Tourism Department.
• Freezing all the procedures of the managers and the heads of departments at the Tourism Department.
• Initiating an enquiry regarding the spending of "budgets" during the "revolution".
• Investigating the department's officials for "squandering the general wealth".
• Investigating all the previous contracts struck in the past.
  
  

Temehu Tourism Services.

Libyan Visa Update (8)

22 April 2012:

(1)

Visas:

Tourist Visa: good news: the new "Tourism Department" in Tripoli has confirmed that "tourist visas" are back. However, the reopened visa will be granted only for tourists who intend to travel along the coast  for the purpose of tourism. Southern destinations are still closed and therefore Nafusa Mountain and Ghadames remain unavailable for the time being. The procedure for tourist visa stays the same as before (see our tourist visa page for details). The overall situation is improving steadily, and as we have reported in our last update there were hardly any reports of tourists or foreign visitors being harmed by Libyans. Having said this, it seems possible that clashes between rival militias and loyalists could erupt anytime and at any place; and therefore all visitors are advised to check with their insurance providers to make sure they are fully covered when it comes to visiting areas considered as "war zones".

Business visa is still being issued.

Transit visa is still being issued.

Work & Fake Visas: with the backlog of work visa applications at the Libyan embassy in Cairo and with applicants camping outside the embassy in the hope of securing a work visa to Libya, criminals in Cairo had attempted to cash in by issuing fake visas. The Egyptian immigration had intercepted one such visa at Cairo Airport on the 19th of April 2012. The detained man was reported to have confessed to paying 1000 Egyptian pounds for his fake visa.  Some private companies too seem to cash in by charging Bangladeshi job-seekers up to $4,500 per job application. Some job-seekers said they had paid the fees to recruitment agencies, but officials at the Bangladeshi embassy in Tripoli were reported to have confirmed only 1,500 job applications out of nearly 15,000 applications the recruitment companies claimed to have processed for their clients. According to one Libyan source, the number of illegal immigrants who entered Cyrenaica without a visa in 2012 has now reached 1200 Arab, African and Asian immigrants. Fake Libyan passports and birth certificates, used for smuggling illegal immigrants into Libya, were also in sale in Egypt by a gang consisting of three Libyans and five Egyptians. The cell was arrested by the Egyptian authorities  on Saturday the 21st of April 2012.  Seven hundred passports, fifteen certificates and 13,000 Egyptian pounds were found at the site.

(2)

Airports:

Sabha Airport: according to an announcement made on the 10th of April 2012 by the Prime Minister's Office, the airport of Sabha has "reopened" for business and that all services have returned to "normal".

Tripoli Airport: finally, after nearly eight months, the control over the airport was handed over to the transitional authority on Friday the 20th of April 2012. The airport was under the control of  militia fighters from Zintan since August 2011; and now is under the control of  the interior, defence and transportation ministries.

Libyan Visa Update (6)

15 February 2012:

Visa: the "invitation letter" or "the Name of Sponsor in Libya" and the approval of the immigration department are still required for all types of visas. The immigration approval is also known as "Visa reference number (from Libya)". Business Visas are being issued via the usual procedure, but, as before, legally and technically speaking they do not allow one to travel as tourist. We can also confirm that Transit Visas were issued in 2012. The issue of "Tourist Visa" however remains "fuzzy" as ever, as Libyans still are waiting for the NTC to publish their promised "visa policy", which way back in September they said will come "in place soon".

Due to lack of "visa policy" Libyan embassies were left to use their "discretion" to grant visas, as confirmed by Libya's ambassador to Malta Saadum Suayeh early on. Some parts of the old law remained effective, others were suspended, while government departments are seldom immune to the administrative "confusion" further complicated by lack of clear instructions. Tunisians and Turks can enter Libya without a visa, while more than 6,000 Syrians arrived in Libya because they said they did not need a visa.  Also there are those who managed to enter Libya without neither a tourist visa nor an invitation letter, mostly through land borders when they were mainly guarded by armed groups. As a result the NTC has announced recently that it is illegal for all foreigners to enter Libya without confirming their visas.

Journalist Visa: the CPJ (the Committee to Protect Journalists) says some journalists were told by the Foreign Ministry that a new visa policy has been set, but embassies do not seem to be aware of it. The CPJ wrote a letter to the interim Prime Minister Abdurrahim al-Keib regarding the difficulties journalists had encountered when they attempted to obtain Libyan visa. In an article titled "New Libyan rule halts delivery of journalist visas". Read the full letter at: cpj.org/2011/12/new-libyan-rule-halts-delivery-of-journalist-visas.php  .

Air Travel & Airports: there were some incidents that took place in and around the airport early on, such as Tripoli's Souq al-Juma group that surrounded the Tunisian passenger jet on the 26th of November, which led to Tunisair suspending its flights to Tripoli. But generally speaking security now has improved and the Libyan Air Force is operational. Many international airliners have already resumed their flights to Tripoli, and many more said they will resume flights by March 2012, while British Airways will not start their services to Libya until May 2012.

Tourism: contrary to some recent claims, tourism in Libya was effectively established in the last century -- 1990s. The industry however had its limitations, like the "guide", lack of infrastructure and a proper banking system, and the mandatory "tourism police" (required only for groups of five or more travellers, and never for individuals as some had reported). The previous ministry during the ousted government was called "The General Board for Tourism and Traditional Industries". It was completely useless and made no serious attempt to document the priceless heritage of Libya, and even failed to protect this priceless heritage from "looting" and "vandalism" (as reported elsewhere in this site). Some of the previous government websites have continued to operate under the loyalty of the NTC, but most of them have vanished including the website of the Tourism Board. 

On the 22nd of November 2011, the NTC had announced their second Transitional Government, chaired by el-Keib. The cabinet contained 24 ministries, but not one of "Tourism". Many sources across the Internet and the media say Libya will re-establish tourism in New Libya, but without a "Tourism Ministry" and without a "tourism policy", one is left to wonder how tourism would function and under which department. There is no doubt that this is a transitional period and tourism can wait until safety and security were restored 100%. But the work within the country must never stop, as there is so much to do to the destroyed infrastructure that will take years and years to complete. Voluntary work however has already began to clean the tourist sites in Libya and re-activate tourism in the country.

On the 14th of November 2011, tour operators were invited to a meeting at the General Board for Tourism, in the capital Tripoli, to discuss means of activating and promoting  tourism in Libya. The organisers announced the formation of a new organisation: "Tripoli Chamber of Commerce", as an independent entity of the old "Tripoli Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture" (P.O. Box 2321 Tripoli, Tel. 21-33755, Telex (0901) 20461). The meeting was "chaotic", with many attendees unable to understand how they can memorise a 40-article document read to them by one of the organisers. When some of them asked for a copy to read, at leasure, they were told to visit the Chamber's Facebook page, but the page had absolutely nothing to read. Emails and telephone numbers were taken to keep the operators updated, but no calls were received since.

On the 19th of October 2011, the "Libyan Society for Tourism Activation" (الجمعية الليبية للتنشيط السياحي  lsta.org.ly) was founded by a group of tour operators upon the decision (رقم 819.9.4) of  the "local council" in Tripoli; but without any funding from the local council or the central government. Their aim is to promote tourism in Libya, develop local tourism skills via training, organise exhibitions and tourist festivals, establish awareness of the natural beauty of Libya, campaign to keep Libya clean, coordinate with the concerned authorities to preserve the local heritage and establish new museums, and other activities relating to promoting and developing tourism in Libya. The society however lacks the resources it requires to achieve its intended goals and hence the need for support, donations, and participation from all other operators as well as from the ministry of tourism (if any).

Tunisian Border: there were a number of skirmishes at the Libyan-Tunisian border after Libyans were repeatedly attacked inside Tunisia by Libyans still loyal to the old regime and by Tunisians as well. Reports from Zuwarah say the Libyans were attacked while the Tunisian police and army stood watching. Both authorities eventually intervened and closed down the border point for two weeks. On the 15th of December the border was reopened after an agreement was reached between the Libyan army and the Tunisian authorities. However, two weeks later Berbers from Zuwarah continued to be attacked inside Tunisia, especially near Bengerdan area. The border has since returned to normality, but one cannot rule out violence erupting again. On the 2nd of February 2012 a small incident took place at Ras Ajdir, leading to the border being closed temporarily once more.

Overall advice: we still advise against all travel to Libya. All our services are suspended. The atmosphere is still charged, militias occasionally fighting each other, danger from celebratory fire, terrorist attacks from "loyalists" and "sleeper cells" are possible and expected, and land mines and unexploded munitions still are a problem.