The government's "Volcano of Wrath" operation in Libya published video footage of what it said was the flight of warplanes belonging to the Russian "Wagner" mercenaries, supporting the forces of retired Major General Khalifa Haftar in Tamanhat and Sirte.

The "Volcano of Anger" operation had announced its monitoring earlier, drilling work for Wagner mercenaries, believed to be laying a pipeline to transport oil from southern Libya towards its north, and then shipping it by sea.

Operation Volcano of Fury, in a post on its Facebook page, referred to previous statements issued last June by the former Interior Minister, Fathi Bashagha, in which he considered that the Wagner mercenaries 'control of the Sharara field with a group of Sudanese Janjaweed is a dangerous precedent for foreign mercenaries' control of Libyan oil. And control over the country's wealth, which, according to him, is a serious threat to the Libyan national security.

Agreement on a "constitutional base" for the elections

On the other hand, the Libyan Legal Committee agreed, after a meeting in Tunis on Friday, on the constitutional base necessary for the upcoming legislative and presidential elections, indicating its direction to present it to the Forum for Political Dialogue for a decision.

This came in two separate statements to Anadolu Agency made by Fatima Zahra Lekhi and Abdelkader Hawili, members of the Constitutional Committee of the Forum for Political Dialogue, after the conclusion of the committee's 3-day discussions.

A member of the Constitutional Committee emanating from the Forum for Political Dialogue, Fatima Al-Zahraa Naqi, stated that "a constitutional rule has recently been reached that regulates the relationship between the executive and the legislative branches."

She added, "We will refer the base as it is to the dialogue forum, despite the existence of a slight disagreement within the committee regarding the presidential elections."

She explained, in a statement to Anadolu Agency, that "the differences were over whether the presidential elections would be held directly by the people, or by the House of Representatives."

For his part, a member of the committee, Abdul Qadir Hawili, told Anadolu Agency that "there is relative agreement and disagreement on some issues."

He explained that "the difference lies in the conduct of the presidential elections, directly or indirectly, and the constitutional entitlement (the referendum)."

He pointed out that whether or not to refer to the constitution is up to the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum to decide on it.

He stated that "the constitutional rule consists of 63 articles, most of which were agreed upon, and some differed."

However, "We did not allow time to discuss electoral laws," without details.

In turn, the committee said - in a statement - that it had concluded its meeting by agreeing on the constitutional rule necessary to hold the December 24 elections, and that it will present it, along with its final report, to the forum as soon as possible for consideration.

The committee was established on December 17, according to Article 4 of the Road Map approved by the Forum for Political Dialogue, and includes 17 members of the Forum (75), whose mission is to lay down a constitutional base for the elections.

On November 15, the work of the UN-sponsored Political Forum concluded in Tunis, setting 24 December 2021 as the date for holding parliamentary and presidential elections in the country.

Libya suffers from a split in the legislative and executive bodies, which resulted in an armed conflict that claimed civilian lives, as well as massive material damage.

Finally, the Libyan crisis witnessed a breakthrough after the two parties managed to ratify a unified transitional authority, which took office on March 16th.

Libyans hope that the unified authority will contribute to ending the years of armed conflict, as a result of the militia’s dispute of retired Major General Khalifa Haftar, the internationally recognized government, over legitimacy and authority in the oil-rich country.