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.
HoR member hosts militia leaders in Zawiyya
On 12 April, House of Representatives (HoR) member Ali Abu Zuriba held a meeting in his house in Zawiyya with the commander of the Tripoli Revolutionaries Brigade (TRB) Ayoub Abu Ras, the deputy commander of the Stability Support Apparatus (SSA) Muhammad Hassan Abu...
SSA-Rada tensions continue despite truce following Eid clashes in Tripoli
On 11 April, the Judicial Police – which is allied with the Special Deterrence Force (Rada), arrested two members of the Stability Support Apparatus (SSA) led by Abdul Ghani al-Kikli (aka al-Ghinaywa). The SSA then arrested two members of the Judicial Police. As a...
NGOs call on Maltese government to halt migrant pushbacks to Libya
On 10 April, twenty-two Maltese organisations and academics called on the Malta government to stop pushing back people at sea to Libya, following allegations that 83 migrants on a boat adrift in Maltese waters had been ‘forcibly intercepted’ by the Libyan Coastguard...
US ‘corrects’ reports on training of ‘armed groups’ in Libya
On 9 April, Africa Intelligence, Nova Agency and several other news sites reported that the American private military company Amentum had begun training the 444 Brigade (commanded by Mahmoud Hamza), the 111th (Misrata) ‘Halbous’ Brigade (the former brigade of Libyan...
Anti-Dabaiba sentiment rising in western Libya as militia leaders meet
On 12 April, Nasser Ammar, the commander of the Support Force of Operation Burkan al-Ghadab (Operation Volcano of Rage; formed to oversee the defence of Tripoli against the LNA attack in 2019- 20), indicated that a major military operation would soon take place in...
Security tensions persist amid clashes in Zawiyya and militia meetings in Tripoli
On 4 April, the Special Deterrence Force (Rada) held an Iftar in Mitiga to commemorate the repulsion of the Libyan National Army's (LNA) attack on Tripoli launched on 4 April 2020. Many militia leaders from Tripoli, Zawiyya and Zintan reportedly attended and agreed to...
Operation IRINI conducts three friendly visits and registers 10 suspicious flights in March
On 3 April, the Operation EUNAVFOR MED IRINI announced that (only) three ‘friendly visits’ to suspicious ships were carried out in March (without finding weapons or ammunition) and ten ‘suspicious flights’ were registered.
Ex-Irish forces accused of training Haftar forces despite arms embargo
On 3 April, the Irish Times reported that former members of the elite Army Ranger Wing within the Irish Defence Forces have been training troops under the command of Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar in contravention of the ongoing UN arms and...
US Defense Attaché delegation visits several security posts
A US Defense Attaché delegation travelled to Misrata and al-Khoms, where they ‘made productive visits’ to the Central Military Zone, Al Khoms naval base, and various important military and counterterrorism forces, stressing that the US ‘will continue to support...