According to UN reporting presented on 15 February, AQIM (‘Al-Qaida in Libya’) secures transportation routes to cities for transit or as hideouts in the southwest of Fezzan, collaborating with some Tuareg individuals. The report notes that AQIM is present in and around the cities of Awbari, Ghat and Uwaynat, and the border with Algeria, from Ghadames to the Salvador triangle (Algeria – Libya – Niger) passing through the Akakus Mountains. AQIM uses southern Libya to transport fighters to Al-Qaida groups in Mali.
The reports state that both ISIL-Libya and AQIM exploit the situation in Libya to increase their involvement in the smuggling of drugs, weapons and migrants to finance operations.