Al-Qaeda ‘Islamic Police’ on patrol in Libyan city contested with ISIS
Images have emerged of
al-Qaeda-affiliated “Islamic police” on patrol in the Libyan city of
Benghazi, once hailed by British prime minister David Cameron as an
“inspiration to the world”, but now the scene of a power struggle
between al-Qaeda and Islamic State (ISIS).
Al-Qaeda-backed Ansar al-Sharia has released
images of what they claim to be a convoy of its new police” force,
featuring new Toyota 4x4s flying jihadist flags, saying they are
preparing to enforce Sharia law.
The group is battling for control of the city
against the Islamic State’s Barqa branch and General Haftar’s Operation
Dignity forces who are aligned with the internationally recognised
government.
The pictures of the convoy have captions
which explain that the jihadist group are on a police patrol in the
streets of Gwarsha and Harawi - two districts of Benghazi where the
group have notable influence. Newsweek could not independently verify
the images.
“Since these Salafist militias have entrenched
themselves in these eastern cities [in Libya] there has always been the
effort to push for the establishment of Islamic law,” says Kayla
Branson, North Africa analyst at global political risk consultancy the
Risk Advisory Group.
“Benghazi is still quite contested between
Operation Dignity forces and Salafist militias,” she added. “I
understand that Ansar al-Sharia’s training camps and offices were in or
around Harawi and Gwarsha, so they do have a certain level of influence
[there] but not necessarily control.”
This battle with rival militias, such as IS Barqa,
which seized control of the eastern town of Derna last November, has
seen Ansar al-Sharia widely publicise their activities in Benghazi
through social media in recent weeks as they attempt to assert their
authority in contested districts.
“It’s a projection of power, a projection of
influence,” says Charlie Winter, researcher at the anti-radicalisation
thinktank Quilliam Foundation, of the videos.
“They are trying to give the sense that they, even
if they don’t have full control of these areas, they are in enough
control of them to have their own police force in them. It’s all about
giving a sense of ubiquity.”
However, Mohamed Eljarh, Libyan analyst
and non-resident fellow with the Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Centre
for the Middle East, says that the group may be trying to disguise the
fact that they’re losing ground. “In reality, the army units and forces
of Operation Dignity in the city have the upper hand and they have been
putting them under a lot of pressure,”he says. “As a result, they are
trying to have a war of propaganda.”
Earlier this month, Ansar al-Sharia confirmed that
its leader, Mohamed al-Zehawi, was killed near the city’s airport in
clashes last October.
Last January, the United States designated the
group as a terrorist organisation and has claimed that the jihadist
group was responsible for the deadly raid on the U.S. consulate in
Benghazi in 2012, in which the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other
American nationals were killed.
The country is currently divided between two rival
factions in its western and eastern regions following the removal of
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 by rebels backed by a coalition
including France, Britain, United States and Italy.
One faction is linked to the
internationally-recognised government in the east, which is based in the
city of Tobruk, and the other is allied to the Islamist-backed Fajr
Libya (Libya Dawn) who took control of Tripoli last summer.
Eljarh says that the proliferation of jihadist
groups such as Ansar al-Sharia and IS Barqa, coupled with the country’s
descent into a bloody civil war between rival factions, is partially the
result of the international community’s inaction following its role in
ousting Gaddafi from power.
“Basically, part of the blame for the current
crisis in Libya is on Libyans themselves for their inability to overcome
their differences, for their inability to start their own institutions
and establish a democratic government and rule of law in the country,”
he argues.
“On the other hand, part of the blame is on the
international community, particularly the coalition that took part in
toppling the Gaddafi regime. Why? Because they took a backseat as soon
as the Gaddafi regime was overthrown and decided to leave Libya to its
own devices.”
“Libyans had no experience, no expertise, no
capacity, to take this country forward and now we see the results of
that on the ground.”
This week, ISIS’s branch in the capital Tripoli launched an attack on the Corinthia hotel, regularly frequented by westerners, killing nine people - including five foreign nationals.
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