Recap of 2014: By Libya Herald staff. January: 2. A British and New Zealander couple murdered near Sabratha; extremists suspected. 7. Protestors besiege Congress demanding it sack Prime Minister Ali Zeidan. 11. Deputy Minister of Industry Hassan Al-Daroue assassinated in Sirte. 12. Libya’s first mayors elected. 16. Political activist and former revolutionary Amer Saad Abdel assassinated in Derna. 20. South Korean Han Seok-Woo kidnapped by gunmen in Tripoli and freed two days later. 21. Justice and Development Party, the second largest political party in Libya, announces withdrawal of five ministers, including the Minister of Petroleum, from Prime Minister Ali Zeidan’s government 30. Benghazi Special Forces Commander Wanis Bukhamada’s son kidnapped at gunpoint. February: 5. Twelve children injured in Benghazi school attack. 7. Benghazi imam Sheikh Atif Al-Madouli assassinated. 14. Retired General Khalifa Hafter announces coup but nothing happens. 15. Some 90 inmates break out of Mager prison in Zliten. 20. Polling stations open across Libya for elections to the Constitutional Drafting Committee (CDA); station bombed in Derna. 21. Eleven people are killed in a Libyan military rescue airliner crash in southern Tunisia. 24. Seven Egyptian Christians executed in Benghazi and found on beach. March: 1. Assassination of the head of the Sirte security force, Makhlouf Ferjani, by unidentified gunmen. 3. Protestors storm the headquarters of the General National Congress (GNC), injuring two parliament members in the gunfire. 11. GNC sacks Ali Zeidan as prime minister. 12. Libyan Minister of Defense Abdullah Al-Thinni sworn in as interim prime minister. 30. Congress votes to replace itself with new House of Representatives April: 6. Workers in the public and private sectors, including oil workers, in Benghazi strike in protest of the deteriorating security situation in the city. 6. Libyan government agrees with armed groups to reopen closed oil ports. 7. Omar Mukhtar University closes indefinitely after security threats and vandalism. 8. Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines stop flights to Libya. 13. Thinni resigns as interim prime minister following attack on home. 15. Jordanian ambassador abducted in Tripoli. May: 4. Libyan businessman Ahmed Maetig asked to form a new government and sworn in as PM. 8. Assassination in Benghazi of Libyan intelligence director of the eastern region, Colonel Ibrahim Al-Sanussi. 13. Gunmen exchange kidnapped Jordanian ambassador for Libyan prisoner Fawaz Eitan 17. Casualties in Benghazi rise to 43 dead and dozens wounded in fighting between Islamist armed groups and retired General Khalifa Hafter. 18. Dissident forces supporting Hafter storm GNC building, announce the suspension of its activities and call for the Constitutional Drafting Committee (CDA) to take over legislative and regulatory authority. 19. Chairman of the GNC Nouri Abu Sahmain orders deployment of revolutionary groups in Tripoli to fight Hafter’s forces. 28. Benina International Airport closes indefinitely. June: 2. Sixteen killed in clashes between Libya army and Ansar Al-Sharia in Benghazi. 3. Thinni refuses to hand over power to Maetig, saying the latter’s appointment is illegitimate. 4. Gunmen murder Red Cross worker Michael Greub in the parking lot of the ICRC in Sirte. 9. Libyan Supreme Court rules Maetig’s GNC election “unconstitutional”; Maetig accepts and steps down. 17. GNC decides HoR will be in Benghazi. 25. Election of the House of Representatives 25. Human rights lawyer and activist Salwa Bughaighis assassinated in her home in Benghazi after participating in the 25 June election. 17. Former Derna Congresswomen Fariha Al-Berkawi assassinated. 26. US State Department announces closure of US embassy and begins evacuation of all staff because of deteriorating security situation in Tripoli. July: 2. Government creates new department within Ministry of Interior to deal with growing problem of illegal immigration. 4. Sufi Imam Tarek Abbas kidnapped in Tripoli. 9. UN withdraws staff over security concerns. 13. Clashes erupt around Tripoli International Airport, aircraft destroyed, resulting in closure of airport. 17. Assassination of former GNC member Fariha Al-Berkawi. 28. Massive fire breaks out at oil repository near Tripoli airport caused by clashes between Zintan militia and Libya Dawn forces. Government warns of potential environmental disaster. August: 2. United Nations announces withdrawal of employees from Tripoli and UK announces temporary closure of its embassy in the Tripoli. 3. Dozens of militants and civilians killed in fighting between Zintanis and Misratans for control of Tripoli International Airport. 4. Libyan House of Representatives (HoR) holds first session in Tobruk. 5. Ageela Saleh is elected HoR President. 12. Tripoli security chief Mohamed Souissi assassinated by gunmen. 13. HoR calls on the international community to take acti0n in Libya’s affairs to ensure protection of civilians in wake of the deteriorating security situations in Tripoli and Benghazi. 21. Egypt bans flights from Libya to Cairo. 23. Libya Dawn takes control of Tripoli International Airport, leaving 47 dead and 120 wounded. 26. A handful of former GNC members re-initiate the GNC and appoint Omar Al-Hassi as prime minister of the “National Salvation Government”. 29. Thinni-led Libyan Interim Government submits resignation to HoR as prelude to formation of a new government. 30. Fighting breaks out between Libya Dawn and Warshefana, triggering major humanitarian crisis. September: 1. Armed militias take over most government ministries in Tripoli. 20. Eighteen-year-old blogger and activist Tawfiq Ben Saud and 17-year-old activist Sami El-Kwafi assassinated in Benghazi by extremists. 22. HoR approves Thinni’s new, pared-down cabinet, comprising 13 ministers. 23. The United Nations and the European Union call for an urgent ceasefire in Libya and the start of a national dialogue. 28. Abdullah Al-Thinni sworn in again as Prime Minister by the HoR in Tobruk. October: 4: Derna’s Islamic Youth Council declares allegiance to Daesh. 11. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calls for cessation of hostilities in Libya during surprise visit to Tripoli. 11. Zintan tries to take Kikla as it pushes toward Ghariyan, causing a humanitarian crises in the Nafusa Mountains. 12. Twenty-three dead and 43 wounded in renewed fighting between rival militias in northern Libya. 18. Dozens killed in an attack by Hafter’s government-backed forces to wrest Benghazi from Ansar Al-Sharia’s control. 22. Thinni’s internationally-recognised government orders troops to move toward Tripoli to liberate it from Libya Dawn. 29: UN Special Envoy to Libya Bernadino Leon hosts 27 members of the HoR in political dialogue in Ghadames: 15 from HoR sessions in Tobruk and 12 boycotting members. 31 : Libyan National Army claims control of four barracks formerly occupied by armed groups after bloody clashes killing dozens of people. November: 4: Libyan authorities close Benghazi port because of fighting between government forces and Ansar Al-Sharia. 4: Tripoli’s iconic Ghazalla statue destroyed. 6: Supreme Court rules rules Congress’ decision in March to allow the method of election of a head of state to be decided by the HoR was unconstitutional. This is taken by supporters of Libya Dawn and others to mean that the elections and the HoR were also declared illegal. 8: Protestors stop oil exports from Hariga Oil Port in eastern Libya. 8: Two Ukranian doctors abducted from Benghazi released after two months of captivity. 8: Joint Misratan/Tuareg force takes Sharara oilfield, forcing out Tebu and Zintani Petroleum Facility Guards (PFG). 11: Three activists killed in Derna. 12: Five killed and 21 injured in Tobruk and Beida suicide bombings. 20: UN Security Council adds Ansar Al-Sharia to list of terrorist organisations. 25: Tripoli’s Mitiga airport briefly closed after air raids by Hafter’s forces. 29: Hafter vows to control Benghazi and Tripoli within three months. December 2: Six killed and dozens wounded in bombings along the western coast of Libya. 10: Government forces repel and attack by Libya Dawn on the Oil Crescent. 11: EU bans all fights from Libya. 20. Swine flu reported responsible for deaths in Libya. 21. Mayors set up Supreme Council for Municipalities. 21. One dead, three injured after rocket hits Benghazi mosque 25. Oil tanks set on fire in Sidra terminal attack. 25. Soldiers guarding Sirte power station shot dead by militants. 27. Car bomb at Tripoli diplomatic police HQ. 28. LNA planes attack Misrata. 29. Militants’ camp in Traghen attacked: report. 30. Car bomb at House of Representatives hotel in Tobruk. 30. LNA attacks Sirte airbase. 31 December 2014: The year 2014 brought many changes across Libya. As we stand upon the precipice of the year 2015, it is important to review where Libya has been and where it is going. Wled Bilaad
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 02:49:36 +0000
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