Libyan actors
Tracking developments of Libyan Actors in Libya’s security space including armed group activity, state security operations and political activities pertaining to Libya’s security.
May 31 – June 6: GNA divides Libya into Military Zones
The LNA took the Jufra airbase from the GNA-aligned BDB last week, pushing the BDB north towards Sirte. The GNA issued decisions dividing Libya into 7 military zones, igniting protests in eastern Libya.
24 – 30 May: ISIS fighters killed near Bani Walid
On 24 May, local militias clashed with ISIS fighters near Bani Walid. Four ISIS fighters were killed. In Tripoli, RADA forces arrested the father and brother of Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi. They claim Abedi and his brother are members of ISIS.
24 – 30 May: Egyptian airstrikes hit Derna and Jufra
Egypt conducted airstrikes on Derna and Jufra last week, in coordination with the LNA, supposedly in retaliation for an ISIS massacre of Christians in Egypt. The GNA criticized the strikes as a violation of sovereignty.
24 – 30 May: Ansar al-Sharia officially disbands
On 27 May, Ansar al-Sharia (AS) officially announced that it had disbanded itself. Interestingly, pro-ISIS media accounts celebrated AS’s disbanding as ‘inevitable’ and criticized the group for failing to unify its loyalties under the ISIS banner.
24 – 30 May: Anti-GNA militias evicted from Tripoli
On 26 May, pro-GNA Tripoli militias evicted rival anti-GNA militias from the capital, taking over key sites including Hadba prison. 52 people were killed in the fighting. The LNA recognised the pro-GNA militias’ efforts against ‘Islamist terrorists’.
The Role of 20th Century Jihadism in Manchester Attack
The Role of 20th Century Jihadism in Manchester Attack
In an article for Al Monitor, Jason Pack and Lydia Jabs discuss the role that suicide bomber Salman Abedi’s connection to, and his family’s long history within, Libya’s tight-knit activist Salafi movements may have had on radicalizing Abedi and facilitating last week’s attack in Manchester.
Non Military Perspective on Recent Developments in Libya
Non Military Perspective on Recent Developments in Libya
Rhiannon Smith has authored a report for NATO’s Open Perspectives Exchange Network (OPEN) looking at non-military perspective on recent developments in Libya. She outlines the current situation in Libya and analyses how different organisations frame their approach to the country, whether in humanitarian, development, or political terms, highlighting the challenges of creating concrete results on the ground.
Manchester Suicide Bomber is of Libyan Decent
The suicide bomber who detonated a suitcase bomb at a Manchester concert on 22 May has been identified as Salman Abeidi, a British-born Libyan. His parents were dissidents who fled to the UK during the Qadhafi period. Abeidi lived with his family in a quiet, middle-class neighborhood in Fallowfield in south Manchester. The family was […]
17-27 May: BDB fighter chants ISIS songs in Brak Attack
Footage found on the phone of a Palestinian man captured by the LNA, who was reportedly amongst BDB forces, depicts the Palestinian and his companions chanting an ISIS song as well as the execution of LNA soldiers.