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.
Anti 29 Nov 2016
Prime Minister of the GNA Fayez Serraj said that the PC will not submit a new Cabinet line-up to the HOR until it has approved the LPA, while civil disobedience protests take place in Tripoli over liquidity crisis.
Action 22 Nov 16
BM forces are making slow but steady gains against ISIS in Sirte however they continue to suffer casualties and there are worrying signs that ISIS still has the capacity to resist and attack elsewhere, with ISIS posting pictures of checkpoints to the south of Sirte.
Western 22 Nov 16
Rome meeting on Libya’s economic situation ended in an agreement to make funds available for the PC, while UN envoy holds talks with anti-GNA HoR members in Egypt, hinting at rapprochement between UNSMIL and HoR.
Other 22 Nov 16
Last week, the LNA retook the symbolic Guwarsha gate in Benghazi and there have been regular air strikes on the south-western area of Ganfuda in which the jihadi fighters are now confined. However, three children were also killed in a car bomb explosion in the city. The LNA also claims to have apprehended Mokhtar Bel Mokhtar’s wife in southern Libya.
Anti 22 Nov 16
Tensions continue to grow between various anti-GNA, Islamist and pro-GNA factions across the country. The prospect of an Islamist offensive against the LNA in the oil crescent, supported by the GNA, remains possible, while in Tripoli, there are fears of imminent clashes between hardliners allied with the Mufti and pro-GNA Tripoli militias like RADA.
Action 15 Nov 2016
BM forces said last week that the area of Sirte controlled by ISIS fighters is now ‘less than the size of a football pitch’, while Trump’s anti-ISIS stance mean both pro-GNA and pro-Haftar forces are hopeful that they will receive support from the new US administration in their fights against ISIS and other jihadis.
Western 15 Nov 2016
A meeting held in Malta to discuss the political impasse in the LPA fizzled out without any significant results. The anti-GNA factions are waiting for the LPA to expire in December, hopeful that following Trump’s victory, a potential new international political order will favour their political ambitions.
Other 15 Nov 2016
Jihadi groups seemed to be on the back foot last week, perhaps rattled by Trump’s victory given his anti-jihadi stance. Clashes between the LNA and BRSC intensified in Benghazi, with the BRSC launching Grad missiles and issuing a statement claiming that victory against Haftar is near. In Derna, the LNA raided a significant DMSC weapons cache to the west of the city, while the DMSC declared a military zone in part of the city.
Anti 15 Nov 2016
PM Fayez Serraj and his allies are taking active measures to entrench the GNA’s de facto control in the capital by creating new security forces and appointing ministers, provoking fears in Eastern Libya that the GNA intends to ‘go it alone’.