Jihad Dorgham -
Neglected by rival authorities in Tripoli and the country’s east, Libya’s southern desert has become a hideout for foreign rebel groups that stand accused of stoking growing insecurity.
“Kidnapping, theft and banditry have multiplied” in the region, said Ali Akri Molia, commander of a unit responsible for protecting oil installations in the Oubari area of southern Libya.
He and others blame rebel groups from neighbouring Chad for much of the insecurity.
Mired in chaos since the fall of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, two entities now vie for control over Libya — the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord, and a parallel body in the east.
The eastern administration is supported by strongman Khalifa Haftar, who heads the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA).
Various groups, from extremists to rebel groups originally from neighbouring Chad and Sudan, have exploited Libya’s security vacuum.
The rebel factions have established bases in Libya and profit from activities to finance insurgencies back home.
The Tubu people are among those that straddle Libya and Chad. Some of them are involved in smuggling and illegal migration, according to experts.
“Most Chadian and Sudanese opposition armed groups have been seeking to increase their presence in Libya in the pursuit of profit,” said a recent report by a UN group of experts on Libya.
Mohammed Emdaouar, a southern Libya lawmaker, said the groups operate in a vast area extending from Koufra near Chad to the Marzuq basin, more than 400 kilometres from the border.
Previously accused of operating as mercenaries for rival Libyan camps, Chadian rebel groups now stand accused of driving a resurgence of violence in southern Libya.
Commander Molia cited the kidnapping in mid-October of members of a tribe near the Oum al Araneb region.
The captives were freed from the clutches of Chadian rebels by local armed groups, but 10 Libyan fighters were killed in the rescue operation, said Molia.
On Wednesday, the UN-backed government in Tripoli held a cabinet meeting focused on the country’s south.
“What is happening in the south is very dangerous,” said the GNA’s deputy prime minister Abdessalam Kajman.
Meanwhile, the LNA has ordered a military operation to fight “criminal gangs and the Chadian opposition who engage in kidnapping and extortion, deriving significant revenues that could finance terrorist activities”, LNA spokesman Ahmed al Mesmari said. — AFP
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