# Libya
This year
2023
# Operation Irini
LÉ William Butler Yeats to be sent to Mediterranean as part of arms embargo on Libya
Opposition TDs had raised ethical concerns about the mission’s work with the Libyan Coast Guard.
# Crimes Against Humanity
UN investigation finds migrants stuck in Libya are being tortured and forced into sex slavery
Nearly all the survivors interviewed did not lodge official complaints out of fear of reprisals, arrest, and extortion.
Last year
2022
# third conspirator
Man accused of being Lockerbie bombmaker in US custody
The alleged ‘third conspirator’ in the downing of Pan Am flight 103 is now in the custody of the US.
# Defence Forces
Inside Operation Irini: Smugglers, social media clues and the high seas search for illegal arms
In our second piece on Operation Irini, Niall O’Connor examines the broader strategy of the EU mission.
# Italy
Operation Irini: With Irish forces inside a mission to end arms smuggling to Libya
Our first article in a two part series on the work of the Irish Defence Forces in dealing with arms smuggling in Libya.
# trade off
‘Empty bellies’: Unweaned calves left without milk for long periods on journey to Europe
Department audit finds some operators not complying with feeding intervals, Noteworthy reveals.
# trade off
‘A slow, terrible death’: The fate of Irish cattle exported outside of the EU
Noteworthy finds the State has little to no control over what happens to animals once they leave Ireland.
THE MORNING LEAD
'Export loophole’: Irish cattle shipped from Spain on ‘substandard’ vessels
Thousands of cattle exported on vessels that do not meet standards required under Irish laws.
Thousands of cattle exported on vessels that do not meet standards required under Irish laws
Niall Sargent of Noteworthy reports that unwanted males from the dairy industry are among those exported
Destinations include Egypt where ‘appalling’ slaughter techniques are common
# Tripoli
At least 32 dead, 159 wounded after violent clashes in Libya's capital
The UN’s Libya mission has called for “an immediate cessation of hostilities” as fears of a wider war grow.
All time
# Migration
Bodies of 28 migrants found on Libyan coast
Libya has become a key departure point for people from Africa and Asia attempting to migrate to Europe.
# Tripoli
Court says Gaddafi's son can contest Libya's presidential election, overturning disqualification
Seif al-Islam, once the heir-apparent to his father, had been barred because of past convictions for violence against protesters.
# Mediterranean
Pope urges governments to cease returning migrants to detention centres in Libya
“So many of these men, women and children are subject to an inhumane violence,” the pope said.
# Tripoli
Libya's interior minister survives attempted assassination
The minister’s motorcade was attacked in the country’s capital.
# Weapons
United Nations report finds Trump ally violated Libya arms embargo
A private security contractor supplied mercenaries and weapons to a Libyan commander who fought to overthrow the government.
# Arab Spring
Celebrations in Tripoli as Libyans mark 10th anniversary of uprising that led to overthrow of Gaddafi
The oil-rich country has for years been split between rival administrations.
# Rescue
Rescuers pick up hundreds of migrants near Libyan coast
More than 350 migrants have been rescued off the Libyan coast in two days.
# Report
UK government pressed over victims of IRA attacks linked to Libyan explosives
A report on compensation to UK victims of Gaddafi-sponsored IRA terrorism was delivered to government last year.
# LE Aisling
Department twice failed to act on UN letter asking how former naval vessel ended up being used in Libyan Civil War
The LÉ Aisling was sold by the Department of Defence in 2017 for €110,000 to a Dutch company.
# open arms
Migrants jump off rescue boat in bid to reach Italian island
Some of the people on board have spent months or years in Libyan detention camps, suffering torture and sexual abuse.
# Capsized
Over 80 people feared dead after migrant boat capsizes off Tunisia
The tragedy comes after 44 migrants were killed in an air strike on their detention centre in Libya.
# Libya
UN Security Council fails to condemn fatal attack on Libya migrant centre
Meanwhile, Tánaiste Simon Coveney has condemned the attack.
# Tripoli
Nearly 40 people killed after airstrike hits migrant centre in Libya
At least 70 were wounded in the raid on the Tajoura suburb, an emergency services spokesperson said.
# trade partners
Ireland considered sanctions on Gaddafi's Libya over IRA support but was worried about beef
Ireland had built up a valuable beef export partnership with Libya.
# Tripoli
Three dead as gunfire and explosions rock Libya's foreign ministry building
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
# Scotland
Questions remain over Lockerbie bombing as memorials are held to mark 30th anniversary
270 people were killed in the attack 30 years ago today.
# salman abedi
Suicide bomber who killed 22 in Manchester Arena was rescued by British navy in Libya
British bomber Salman Abedi had been visiting Libya during a year off before university.
# Miracle
Irish nurse helps deliver baby boy on board rescue ship
The mother had been kidnapped in Libya and was subjected to regular beatings before she escaped.
# rapid response
'It's a job like no other': Irish experts who help respond to humanitarian crises
Irish people have responded to emergencies in Iraq, Libya and Africa, to name a few.
# custody
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy in police custody over campaign financing
Sarkozy is being questioned over suspected Libyan financing of his election campaign in 2007.
# Crimes Against Humanity
UN probe video of apparent slave auction in Libya
A video showing the apparent trade surfaced last week.
# Conflict
Bodies of hundreds of Islamic State fighters kept in refrigerated containers in Libya
The corpses have been stored there for the past year awaiting a final decision on their fate.
# Mediterranean Sea
Two humanitarian groups suspend migrant rescues due to threats from Libya
Germany-based Sea-Eye said it made the decision to halt its water rescues “with a heavy heart,” but for the sake of its crew’s safety.
# migrant crisis
The EU is to curb sales of rubber boats to Libya to stop them getting to smugglers
Sales of outboard motors will also be cut back.
# manchester attack
Police arrest teenager at Liverpool airport over Manchester bombing
Twenty-two people were killed on 22 May attack at an Ariana Grande concert.
# Rescued
Irish Navy rescues over 700 people off Libyan coast
A baby girl was born on the LE Eithne.
# Libya
Gadhafi's son and one-time heir released after five years
A statement by his captors, the Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Battalion, said Seif al-Islam was released on Friday.
# Human Trafficking
'An industry built on human misery' - in an uncertain world people smugglers are making billions
The waves of desperate people slipping across international borders every year has created a massive moneymaking opportunity for unscrupulous human traffickers.
# Investigation
Manchester bomber 'asked his mother for forgiveness in final phone call'
Meanwhile, the investigation into the blast widened.
# Profile
'Such an unlikely person' - who was Manchester bomber Salman Abedi?
22-year-old Abedi, a business degree dropout, was the suicide bomber who killed at least 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester on Monday night.
# Torture
Migrants trying to reach Europe being sold as slaves for as little as €200
The slaves are forced to call their families, and beaten while on the phone, to get money demanded for their freedom.
