France is Keen to open new war front against ISIS in Libya
By Amira Khair
The French intelligence agencies leaked out some of its reports on ISIS presence in Libya and the threats they pose to security in Europe if they succeed in tightening their grip on Libya. International press and websites emphasized the fact that French government is very worried about these threats and is closely following the developments currently taking place there and monitors the movements of ISIS in Libya through satellites.
The French reports considered Sudan as one of the most dangerous passages through which African fighters reach Libya to join ISIS, and it charged that Sudan disregards crossing of African and Sudanese fighters to Libya whether deliberately or because they are unable to control their borders.
I have no doubt that all efforts and attempts carried out to tackle the deteriorating situation in Libya have failed, and that the Libyan state suffers from the existence of scores of armed militias and two governments inside the country. These factors turned Libya into a failed state and prompted ISIS and other militant groups to enter Libyan territories and carry on their activities inside the State. It’s clear that ISIS looks at Libya as suitable place to seize power and expand the Islamic state. For more than a year ISIS is working to reinforce its presence in Libya and control some areas. It also worked to expand its military existence by drawing more fighters especially from jihadist movements in West Africa, in particular from State of Mali. I drew attention to this in previous articles indicating that it should be taken seriously and that the problem should better be tackled as soon as possible. We can also say that the French report exaggerates ISIS capabilities inside Libya, that the group is not yet able to achieve its plans in the state. Yet Libya state remains without government and still attractive for jihadist. So if the failed state attracts jihadists to carry out their activities inside its territories, it certainly motivates its citizen to create scores of armed militias and fight foreign jihadist to protect their own country. But, unfortunately, this is not happening.
Despite the resistance ISIS faced in Derna town, after the armed Libyan militias forced them out of the town and achieved victory ISIS is now back in Derna and partial in sert which is half way between Tripoli and Benghazi. Some analysts think the ISIS is trying to enlist ex-Gadaffi soldiers as they did with Saddam Hussein army men in Iraq.
Sert was the strong hold of Gadafi and ISIS is able to maintain its control over the town only after the support provided by Ansar Elshariaa forces which are present in the town and have declared their allegiance to ISIS. In areas surrounding Sert ISIS continue to carry out qualitative operations and leading sporadic attacks targeting oil pipelines, even though they have not been able to control any oil fields and ISIS is aware that the situation in Libya is different from Syria and that it will be difficult to smuggle oil outside Libya to boost their financial resources. Therefore till now they depend on financial support from Islamic state in Iraq and Syria. Nevertheless France has mounted air strikes last week in ISIS controlled areas to deter them from targeting the oil facilities.
Many of global intelligence agencies and media acknowledge the amount of threat posed by ISIS in Libya with regard to the security situation in Europe and Africa. However, they don’t agree with the French intelligent report, and they consider that it exaggerate the events on ground. Therefore some of them began to publish contradictory information on ISIS existence in Libya. However contradictory these reports are the Libyan situation is clearly posing a real threat to Europe and Africa. It was recently a cause for concern to the US president Barack Obama and French president François Hollande when discussed the issue in details in the summit meeting they held in the aftermath of Paris terrorist attacks last November. They agreed in the summit that the west should carry out air strikes within a few weeks against locations occupied by ISIS in Libya. They also agreed on the necessity of preparations to draw other states to participate on the war against ISIS in Libya focusing on the important role to be played by Algeria in supporting that war.
They based their decision on the pivotal role that Algeria played during fighting against terrorism in Mali, and the support it provided to France by opening its air space for the French air force and mobilizing its army to fight against the terrorist militias in Mali territories. But Algerians according to some reports have some reservations about the French air strike plans because they fear that if ICC fighters are subjected to severe bombardment might retreat in to Tunisia thereby threatening the whole North African countries. Some European countries also feel that EU air strikes must be approved by the Libyan government.
The intelligence organs in US and the west estimate that the presence of ISIS in Libya reached around 5000 fighters, most of them from Tunis as the number of the Tunisian fighters among them estimated to be around 2000-3000 fighters. Some of these fighters entered Libya through Tunis; others came through Sudan and Egypt.
The French – US Summit decided that the west air strikes against Libya should focus on four targets agreeing that ISIS mainly occupies Derna and Sert towns, the following are the four targets determined by the summit:
– Command and control centres
– Training centres
– Storage facilities for military equipments and ammunition storage centres
– Administrative centres
The intelligence organs are currently working to acquire more details on these locations to pave the way for air strikes. Some reports indicate that official contacts have been made with Algeria for coordination in this regard. Also there are some contacts with other neighbouring countries, however their details have not been revealed yet.
Despite all these western activities no Arab country seems to be worried by what is happening in Libya.
The author is a human rights defender & gender justice advocate. She can be reached at [email protected]