Libya: Security Council Live - Drone Strikes and Political Impasse in Libya

Dabanga Sudan/Google Maps
Satellite view of Khartoum airport.
18 August 2026
UN News Service

The Security Council is meeting on Libya Tuesday as the country faces a political impasse delaying long-planned elections alongside heatwaves, tensions and violence, including drone strikes last week that left a major oil refinery ablaze. UN News app users can follow here.

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What you need to know

  • The Security Council established the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) in 2011 following six months of armed conflict, with its mandate extended until October 2026 to support an inclusive political process and broader stabilisation efforts
  • Libya's current stalemate between rival administrations traces back to the collapse of Muammar Gadaffi's regime in 2011, which fractured State institutions, left security structures divided and triggered recurring struggles over legitimacy, authority and the oil-rich economy
  • The present split emerged after planned December 2021 elections were postponed indefinitely as the UN-recognised Government of National Unity in Tripoli continues to resist efforts to replace it - while the rival authority in the east, backed by the House of Representatives and Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army, pushed for a unified interim executive

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