Viewing posts from: ISIS in Libya

19
Mar
2019

8 years ago, President Obama approved airstrikes against Libya

In an article published with Politico on 19 March, Andrew Glass revisits US President Obama’s decision to approve airstrikes against Libya on 19 March 2011. Glass presents the narrative supporting President Obama’s decision, a narrative based on the urgency to intervene to protect Libyan pro-democracy protesters against the violence of Libyan leader Gaddafi. Citing Alan J. Kuperman, an associate professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, Glass moves on to criticizing the consequences of the international intervention in Libya, noting:

In retrospect, Obama’s intervention in Libya was an abject failure, judged even by its own standards. Libya has not only failed to evolve into a democracy; it has devolved into a failed state. Violent deaths and other human rights abuses have increased severalfold.

Click here to read the article.

18
Mar
2019

Tensions in Southern Libya risk further marginalisation of ethnic groups

In an article for the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) published on 15 March, Umberto Profazio argues that tensions between Libyan rival administrations risk reigniting ethnic tensions and jeopardise fragile agreements. The author refers to the campaign launched by Eastern-Libyan General Haftar in Southern Libya in early 2019, noting that both General Haftar and rival administration the Government of National Accord (GNA) are attempting to court ethnic groups for political or territorial advantages. Profazio analyses that the result of such upheavals could be the further marginalisation of Southern communities. In conclusion of his article, he highlights the increasing isolation of Fayez Al-Sarraj, head of the GNA, and warns about potential shifts in international alliances:

In comparison to France’s assertive support for Haftar, the US stance could be interpreted as extremely cautious, but it does seem to be a reflection of changes on the ground. Haftar’s advances have certainly raised doubts in Washington, which is reconsidering its relationship with Sarraj. He is a weakened partner who is not only losing the confidence of his major foreign allies, but also the support of militias in the capital and finds himself increasingly undermined by his own colleagues in Tripoli.

Click here to read the analysis.

13
Mar
2019

Gang connected to ISIS arrested in Tripoli

On 7 March, a gang of five men suspected of having connections to Islamic State (ISIS) were arrested as they reportedly attempted in to ‘infiltrate’ Tripoli. Reports suggest three of those arrested were dressed as women. Throughout the last three weeks, reputable sources have warned of an impending ISIS attack in Tripoli. No attack has materialised so far, with suggestions that local security forces thwarted an attempt recently. However, the potential for an attack remains moderately high. The Government of National Accord (GNA) does not control a single consolidated security force in western Libya. The militias aligned to the GNA do not directly follow its directions and in many cases actively work to undermine security governance. This has created a fractured security landscape, allowing ISIS to operate in the gaps and launch successful attacks on key institutions. Based on ISIS’s previous attacks in Tripoli, any potential attack is likely to target the headquarters of key state institutions. The Central Bank of Libya, High Council of State and the United Nations headquarters could be the focus of ISIS attacks in Tripoli in the near future given the ease of attack and attractiveness as high impact symbolic targets.

11
Feb
2019

The Islamic Group’s progressive development in the Sahel

On 10 February, Baria Alamuddin discussed in an article published with Arab News the threat posed by the terrorist organisation Daesh (IS) in Africa. Alamuddin notes that while some voices are proclaiming the end of Daesh following the defeats of the terrorist organisation in Iraq and Syria, segments of the organisation are progressively conquering terrorities across Africa. For Alamuddin :

Across a huge swath of the Sahel states — from Mali and Libya through Nigeria and Chad to Egypt, Somalia and Kenya — vast desert and rural regions are either in extremist hands or vulnerable to depredations by these groups.

For the journalist, Daesh groups in Africa are developing a strategy enriched by the Iraqi and Syrian experciences which is based on progressive state building, the integration of local people and avoiding international attention. Regarding Libya, Alamuddin notes that failure to address the crisis has allowed the terrorist group to disperse and take root across the country.

Click here to read the article.

29
Jan
2019

Has the UN failed Libya?

In an article published with Arab News on 26 January, Hafed Al-Ghwell discusses political stagnation in Libya and the role of the UN Special Mission to Libya (UNSMIL). Al-Ghwell argues that despite being present in the country since 2011, the UN and its special mission have failed to bring Libya closer to complete its transition. The current Special Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame, who was appointed in 2017 amid hopes that he would be able to push forward solutions to the crisis, appears to repeat the usual UN modus operandi which the author characterizes as « piecemeal efforts ». For Al-Ghwell, the solutions pushed forward by the UN, and the international community, do not allow for significant progress. According to the author, one of the main issue is that the initiatives continue to target the same political elite who is responsible for the political deadlock.

Click here to read the article.

10
Jan
2019

Demining Benghazi

On 9 January, a film documentary was released on DW on the men working in Benghazi to clean the city from the hundreds of mines planted by ISIS during its occupation of the city. Libyan journalist and cameraman Osama Al-Fitori accompanied the mine clearers going about their dangerous work for two years, documenting how the men searched for, found and neutralized explosives without metal detectors and wearing no protective clothing. The documentary insightfully portrays the challenges by ordinary citizens in Benghazi as they try to reclaim the city territory.

Click here to watch the documentary.

27
Dec
2018

ISIS attack targets Tripoli-based Foreign Ministry

On 25 December, four ISIS fighters undertook a suicide attack on Libya’s foreign ministry in Tripoli, killing three people and wounding at least 21 more. The assault began when a white Hyundai sedan exploded outside the ministry’s back gate, killing the driver. Two attackers died when they detonated their suicide vests on the building’s second floor while another was shot dead by security guards. ISIS’s Amaq website claimed responsibility for the attack on 26 December.

The three victims have been identified as: Abdulrahman Mazoughi, the spokesperson for the Tripoli Revolutionaries Brigade; Ibrahim Sheiby, director of the ministry’s Islamic Affairs Department; and Hend Arnaouti, a ministry employee.

Despite national and international efforts, tensions resulting from the lingering presence of the terrorist organisation persist in Libya. For analysts, the internal chaos in Libya creates the environment for terrorist organisations to strive.

Click here to read the report.

19
Dec
2018

‘Lost in Trans-nation : Tubu and Other Armed Groups and Smugglers along Libya’s Southern Border’

On 19 December, Jérôme Tubiana and Claudio Gramizzi published for Small Arms Survey’s Security Assessment in North Africa (SANA) in co-production with Human Security Baseline Assessment for Sudan and South Sudan (HSBA) and Conflict Armament Research a very interesting report on Southern Libya. Entitled ‘Lost in Trans-nation : Tubu and Other Armed Groups and Smugglers along Libya’s Southern Border’, the report builds on ‘Tubu Trouble: State and Statelessness in the Chad–Sudan–Libya Triangle’, written by the same au­thors and published by the Small Arms Survey and Conflict Armament Research in June 2017 (Tubiana and Gramizzi, 2017). The report explores the issue of lawlessness in Southern Libya and provides an analysis of the different groups evolving in this area and their strategies. It is based on field research carried out in Niger in February–March 2017 and April 2018, as well as interviews conducted in Chad in May–June 2017 and January 2018, and in Europe in 2017–18.

The relevance of the report is high given the increasing tensions and violence in Southern Libya and the difficulty to understand the motives of the different actors and the issues at stake in the area. For the authors, Southern Libya is characterized by its ‘lawlessness’ and the presence of ‘autonomous, yet fragmented ethnic militias in control of southern Libya’s border’. The strategic nature of the area then ‘prompts northern Libyan forces as well as the governments of neighboring and European states to pursue alliances with them’, analyse Tubiana and Gramizzi. Among their main findings, the authors note that :

By pressuring Niger to criminalize migrant smuggling and block migrants in or on their way to southern Libya, European states have contributed to a series of destabilizing dynamics. Specifically, their policies have:

  • aggravated risks for migrants, as trafficking is now concentrated among fewer, more abusive actors, especially in Libya, where migrants from West Africa and elsewhere are systematically kidnapped for ransom, or forced into debt bond­age, labour, or prostitution;
  • caused migrant smugglers to ply more treacherous routes or engage in more dangerous activities, such as drug trafficking, jihadism, and insurgency;
  • fuelled corruption among Nigerien forces and exacerbated tensions between Niger’s government and its northern communities, which are largely dependent on migrant smuggling for their livelihoods; and empowered Libyan and Sudanese militias.

The authors develop their argument in four sections. First, the authors build the profile of the Tubu militias, situating the Tubu within the broader international political context as well as in Libya’s complex politics and history. Then, the authors focus on Libya’s southern neighbors and the strategies they have developed in the area. Drawing on, they provide an analysis of the strategic area of the Agadez-Fezzan corridor, the route between the Sahel and Libya and a place of important illegal trade and migration. Lastly, the fourth section presents data and analysis of regional weapons flows to support  some of the findings discussed in the previous sections.

Click here to read the report.

26
Nov
2018

UNSMIL condemns ISIS attack in Southern Libya

On 25 November, the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) issued a statement condemning the terrorist attack on a police station in Tazirbu, Southern Libya, on 24 November. ISIS latter claimed responsability for the attack which left at least 8 civilians killed and 9 wounded. Reports also suggest that approximately 12 people were kidnapped by the terrorist group. In its statement, UNSMIL called for the immediate release of the civilians abducted and for all Libyan parties to work together against the terrorist threat in Libya.

Click here to read the statement.

01
Oct
2018

ISIS’s progressive resurgence in Libya

On Sept 29, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) issued for News Hour a video report on Libya. In the report, journalist Christopher Livesay investigates the resurgence of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Libya. He interviews members of Libya’s counter-terrorism forces in Sirte, as well as analyst Frederic Wehrey and UN Special Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame. The conclusions of the report are that ISIS continues to exist in Libya despite the 2016 intervention by Libyan and allied forces. The terrorist group has regrouped in desert areas and has perpetrated several violent attacks this year. However, according to experts, it still lacks the ability to control majorities.

Click here to watch the documentary.