A UN report earlier this year charged that Haftar’s forces are being backed by a contingent of mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner Group.

Map: Perry-Castañeda Library

Photo: Libya Observer

HRW warns that "The laws of war strictly prohibit attacks that target civilians or civilian structures, including mosques… indiscriminate attacks, which fail to distinguish between military and civilian targets, and disproportionate attacks, in which the civilian casualties or damage to civilian buildings is excessive considering the military advantage gained."

HRW senior researcher Hanan Salah called for the Libya government to conduct a transparent and effective investigation of the incident: "Planting bombs outside a civilian mosque, in particular when the timing is likely to inflict maximum casualties among civilians, is a war crime… Civilians in Benghazi are unacceptably bearing the brunt of this conflict… Authorities in eastern Libya should conduct a transparent and effective investigation into the incidents, and to the extent possible, prosecute those found to be responsible for criminal attacks."

Map: CIA

But recognition of Yennayer was still controversial among Arab nationalists, who dismiss it as an "invented tradition." The debate extends to theories about the origins of word Yennayer, with some scholars claiming it derives from the Latin Ianuarius (January). Berbers hold that it derives form the words yen (one) and ayer (month) in their language, known as Tamazight.

Bouteflika's announcement of the Yennayer celebrations closely followed Berber protests in December, calling for the government to assign state funds for the protection and recovery of the Tamazight language. (Middle East Eye, Jan. 14; Al Jazeera, Jan. 12; Morocco World News, Dec. 28; Libyan Express, Dec. 17)

Neighboring Libya also saw its first official Yennayer celebrations last week, although not on a national scale. The locally ruling Amazigh Supreme Council declared the holiday within the Berber self-governing zone in the country's western Nafusa Mountains. Any open expression of Amazigh language or culture had been strictly banned under the Qaddafi dictatorship.

But there are signs of backsliding toward this intolerant stance elsewhere in the country. The Amazigh Supreme Council issued a statement protesting that a Berber activist in Benghazi, Rabee al-Jayash, had been arbitrarily detained by forces of the city's reigning warlord, Khalifa Haftar,  for public speaking and writing in the Tamazight tongue. Al-Jayash apparently remains detained in Benghazi. (Amazigh World News, Libyan Express, Jan. 9)

Morocco, which has generally had more tolerant position toward Berber culture, still has no official Yennayer celebrations, and Amazigh leaders there, inspired by the developments in neighboring Algeria, are now pressing for recognition of the holiday. In late December, several Amazigh organizations signed a statement addressed to Prime Minister Saad Eddine el-Othmani, urging him to declare the day a national holiday in Morocco. 

In Morocco, Yennayer is celebrated by both Arab and Berber communities, with some Arabs calling the festival Aam Alfilahi or Haguza, which means "agrarian year." Moroccan Berbers call it Id Suggas, meaning the "night of the year." (Al Jazeera, Jan. 12)

Photo: Amazigh World News

On the night of the 2012 attack, Khatallah apparently ordered his men to carry out the attack by first striking the US Special Mission in Benghazi. The men, armed with AK-47s, grenades and other weapons, invaded the building. US Ambassador Christopher Stevens and government employee Sean Smith died of smoke inhalation. A second attack at a CIA annex resulted in the deaths of Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty. According to government evidence, Khatallah maintained contact with his group before, during and after the attack.

Khatallah faces statutory maximums of 15 years in prison on each of the two terrorism offenses, 20 years for territorial jurisdiction violations, and life imprisonment for the firearms offense. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

From Jurist, Nov. 29. Used with permission.

The Army Special Forces in Benghazi, under the command of Wanis Bukhamada, are linked to the LNA, which is commanded by Gen. Khalifa Hiftar. The LNA is allied with the Interim Government, one of the three governments vying for legitimacy, international recognition, and control of territory in Libya.

On August 15, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for al-Werfalli for the war crime of murder. He is wanted by the court for his alleged role in the killing of 33 people in seven incidents that took place in and around Benghazi between June 2016 and July 2017. The Interim Government should take immediate steps to facilitate the surrender of al-Werfalli to the ICC, Human Rights Watch said.

"The posted videos suggest that LNA-linked forces committed a series of grave war crimes over many months," said Eric Goldstein, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at HRW. "The ICC warrant for al-Werfalli is a wake-up call to other abusive commanders in Libya that one day their serious crimes could land them in a prison cell in The Hague." (HRW, Aug. 16)

The GNA's Presidency Council insisted it had nothing to do with the massacre—despite the fact that the Third Force militia had recently been intergated into the 13th Battalion of Libyan Army, under direct command of the GNA's Defense Ministry. (Libya Herald, May 19; Libya Observer, Libya Herald, May 18)

The Benghazi Defense Brigades also made gains along the coast, capturing the oil ports of Es Sider and Ras Lanuf. (Al Jazeera, March 4)

The leaders of the two major factions in Libya's civil war—Fayez al-Sarraj, head of the Tripoli-based "official" government, and the eastern warlord Khalifa Haftar—reportedly agreed to hold new elections after meeting in the UAE last week. The elections, aimed at finally unifying the country, are said to be tentatively scheduled for March 2018. (MediaLine, May 4) An "accord committee" of the new Constitution Drafting Assembly has meanwhile been holding meetings at locales around the country to discuss a draft for the country's long-awaited charter. But the draft, drawn up under the supervision of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), has been meeting with harsh criticism. (Libya Observer, April 22)

Women's rights activists have angrily taken to Twitter and other social media after the CDA apparently backtracked on a major issue. While a previous draft of the new constitution had allowed women to pass on their nationality to their children, the latest version has removed that provision, sparking online outrage. (Al Bawaba, May 1)

An April 30 meeting by CDA members with the Libyan Amazigh High Council (LAHC) in the western town of Zuwara was especially conentious. The CDA is trying to convince leaders of the Amazigh (Berber) people to join the drafting process, which they are now boycotting, accusing the body of having an undemocratic structure. The LAHC has urged Libyans not to recognize any draft devised by the CDA. (Libya Observer, April 30)

The LAHC has issued its own statement declaring the language of the Amazigh people, Tamazight, as an "official language" in the cities and districts inhabited by the Amazigh in Libya. "This legal status that was given to the Amazigh language is the first step that will preserve the Berber identity and culture without awaiting the actions of the state institutions, which are undergoing political upheaval and legal deterioration," the statement said.

LAHC member Siham Bentaleb added that the Amazigh language will be studied in public schools, and used in official documents and on road signs. "We will keep on pushing until we get the language the legal status it deserves by the new Libyan constitution," she pledged, while disavowing any separatist aspirations. (Libya Observer, Feb. 22)

Leaders of the Toubou (Tebu) people in Libya's south also rejected the draft as a threat to their community, and accused the CDA of acting in chauvinistic manner toward them.  (Libya Observer, April 24)

In the face of growing sectionalism, some Libyans are calling for a return to the pre-Qaddafi 1963 constitution, which divided the country into three entities on federalist principles: Tripolitania in the west, Cyrenaica in the east, and Fezzan in the south. Others strenuously reject this as a step toward the country's balkanization. (Libyan Express, March 29)

From Jurist, March 22. Used with permission.

Note: Despite its name, the Libyan National Army is actually controlled by Khalifa Haftar, who is loyal to the "unrecognized" government in Libya's east, not the Tripoli-based "official" government.

Haftar, who is supported by Libya's Tobruk-based parliament, last month refused to meet GNA Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj at a scheduled meeting in Cairo, Egypt. (Libyan Express, Feb. 14) Sarraj this week visited Moscow, where Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pressured him to establish an “inclusive national dialogue” including Haftar. (Libyan Express, March 4) Haftar himself met with Lavrov in Moscow last November. (Libya Express, Nov. 30)

In January, Haftar was hosted on a Russian aicraft carrier in the Mediterranean, leading European diplomats to launch an effort to dissuade Moscow from its apparent plans to start assisting the warlord.