.
“Oh crusaders, safety for you will be only wishes,” sneers the masked man in camouflage fatigues, pointing to the camera with his combat knife as waves crash behind him and his silent black-garbed comrades. “The sea you've hidden Sheikh Osama Bin Laden's body in, we swear to Allah we will mix it with your blood."
These are fighters of the Islamic State's offshoot in Libya, and they are about to behead the 21 kidnapped Coptic Christians kneeling before them. Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook identified the speaker as Abu Nabil, the leader of ISIL's Libya franchise. Last month the Pentagon confirmed that Nabil was killed in a targeted U.S. airstrike in the eastern port city of Derna.
But even with Nabil’s death, more resolute action is needed for stability and a chance for peace. A line needs to be drawn: those who are for a united Libya must prevail.
Libya’s civil war has stalemated. Middle Eastern states are flooding the country with guns and money to bolster militias fighting for its two governments: the secular “Dignity” centered in Tobruk and its rival “Dawn,” an Islamist government based in Tripoli and Benghazi. Egypt and the UAE backed Dignity forces when the civil war re-escalated; Turkey and Qatar supported Dawn’s coalition. A proxy war ensued.
In between the areas controlled by the Tobruk and Tripoli-based forces, militants exploited the chaos. A tendril of the Islamic State put down roots around the northern coastal city of Sirte–the town Muammar Gaddafi once called home. Also active in this area are troops loyal to Ansar al-Sharia, the perpetrators of the 2012 Benghazi attacks. Refugees fleeing the violence entrust their lives to human traffickers to ferry them across the Mediterranean, often with fatal consequences.
UN special envoy to Libya Martin Kobler recently convened high-level peace talks in Rome. It remains to be seen whether this summit will succeed in forming a unity government to cement bilateral talks held between Dignity and Dawn representatives in Morocco.
Whether or not the plan succeeds or buckles like the last push for peace, Libya remains awash in guns and violent militias who have little interest in government as we envision it. Rather than advocate a blunting of swords into plowshares, Dignity and Dawn should be urged to bring their combined powers to bear against the Islamic State’s holdout in Sirte.
Conditions are ripe for a joint offensive. The local population appears to have fled the brutal violence that characterizes ISIL occupations, minimizing the risk of civilian casualties for this operation. ISIL forces are further weakened by combat with another jihadist group as the two contest the city of Derna. Pressure from Dignity in the east and Dawn in the west would envelop ISIL forces in a pincer attack.
Coordination against ISIL could form the basis of a broader security dialogue to take on other extremist organizations such as Ansar Al Sharia and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. A demonstrated commitment to degrading these groups will help stabilize Libya and send a powerful signal to the world that the country is not a lost cause.
A key player to consider when pushing for cooperation is General Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the Operation Dignity offensive that inaugurated this latest round of civil war. Representatives of Dawn have been consistent in identifying Haftar’s presence in a unity government as unacceptable, and it is highly unlikely that Dawn forces would be willing to coordinate with the Libyan Army under Haftar’s command. Should Tobruk find a less divisive figure to represent the secular government in the field, coordinating with Tripoli could suddenly become a viable option.
For security cooperation to have a chance, however, outside powers need to stop choosing sides. Qatar and the UAE were thought to have ceased participating in the proxy war following talks held by President Obama in May at Camp David. Yet the UAE appears not to have upheld its commitment to restraint. And Turkey continues to attempt shipping massive weapons caches directly to Libya in support of Dawn Islamist militias.
This must stop. A 2011 UN arms embargo on Libya remains in force. Libya’s official foreign minister has called for a cessation of the embargo, but this would be unwise while civil war persists. Legitimizing military aid to Dignity forces now risks igniting a fresh round of bloodletting during the infancy of peace talks.
Military support to Libya must be in service to eliminating ISIL and similar groups, preferably under the auspices of a unity government. A newly-announced coalition by majority Sunni countries against ISIL based in Riyadh includes every country contributing to the proxy war in Libya. An opportunity exists here for the US to exercise leadership and emphasize stability and reclamation over a costly partisan stalemate. The US can also offer coordinated air support and a call to lift the UN embargo as rewards for cooperation. If a unity government is successfully formed, it will need all the help it can get, as the more radical militias currently flying their banners for Dignity or Dawn will violently oppose reconciliation.
If feuding parties within Libya muster the political will to unleash war against chaotic extremists, they can reclaim their country. Outside countries that cannot back that effort need to get out of the way.
About the author: Greg Lewin is a Master of Public Policy student at the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.
The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.
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Ending the Libyan Free-For-All
January 5, 2016
“Oh crusaders, safety for you will be only wishes,” sneers the masked man in camouflage fatigues, pointing to the camera with his combat knife as waves crash behind him and his silent black-garbed comrades. “The sea you've hidden Sheikh Osama Bin Laden's body in, we swear to Allah we will mix it with your blood."
These are fighters of the Islamic State's offshoot in Libya, and they are about to behead the 21 kidnapped Coptic Christians kneeling before them. Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook identified the speaker as Abu Nabil, the leader of ISIL's Libya franchise. Last month the Pentagon confirmed that Nabil was killed in a targeted U.S. airstrike in the eastern port city of Derna.
But even with Nabil’s death, more resolute action is needed for stability and a chance for peace. A line needs to be drawn: those who are for a united Libya must prevail.
Libya’s civil war has stalemated. Middle Eastern states are flooding the country with guns and money to bolster militias fighting for its two governments: the secular “Dignity” centered in Tobruk and its rival “Dawn,” an Islamist government based in Tripoli and Benghazi. Egypt and the UAE backed Dignity forces when the civil war re-escalated; Turkey and Qatar supported Dawn’s coalition. A proxy war ensued.
In between the areas controlled by the Tobruk and Tripoli-based forces, militants exploited the chaos. A tendril of the Islamic State put down roots around the northern coastal city of Sirte–the town Muammar Gaddafi once called home. Also active in this area are troops loyal to Ansar al-Sharia, the perpetrators of the 2012 Benghazi attacks. Refugees fleeing the violence entrust their lives to human traffickers to ferry them across the Mediterranean, often with fatal consequences.
UN special envoy to Libya Martin Kobler recently convened high-level peace talks in Rome. It remains to be seen whether this summit will succeed in forming a unity government to cement bilateral talks held between Dignity and Dawn representatives in Morocco.
Whether or not the plan succeeds or buckles like the last push for peace, Libya remains awash in guns and violent militias who have little interest in government as we envision it. Rather than advocate a blunting of swords into plowshares, Dignity and Dawn should be urged to bring their combined powers to bear against the Islamic State’s holdout in Sirte.
Conditions are ripe for a joint offensive. The local population appears to have fled the brutal violence that characterizes ISIL occupations, minimizing the risk of civilian casualties for this operation. ISIL forces are further weakened by combat with another jihadist group as the two contest the city of Derna. Pressure from Dignity in the east and Dawn in the west would envelop ISIL forces in a pincer attack.
Coordination against ISIL could form the basis of a broader security dialogue to take on other extremist organizations such as Ansar Al Sharia and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. A demonstrated commitment to degrading these groups will help stabilize Libya and send a powerful signal to the world that the country is not a lost cause.
A key player to consider when pushing for cooperation is General Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the Operation Dignity offensive that inaugurated this latest round of civil war. Representatives of Dawn have been consistent in identifying Haftar’s presence in a unity government as unacceptable, and it is highly unlikely that Dawn forces would be willing to coordinate with the Libyan Army under Haftar’s command. Should Tobruk find a less divisive figure to represent the secular government in the field, coordinating with Tripoli could suddenly become a viable option.
For security cooperation to have a chance, however, outside powers need to stop choosing sides. Qatar and the UAE were thought to have ceased participating in the proxy war following talks held by President Obama in May at Camp David. Yet the UAE appears not to have upheld its commitment to restraint. And Turkey continues to attempt shipping massive weapons caches directly to Libya in support of Dawn Islamist militias.
This must stop. A 2011 UN arms embargo on Libya remains in force. Libya’s official foreign minister has called for a cessation of the embargo, but this would be unwise while civil war persists. Legitimizing military aid to Dignity forces now risks igniting a fresh round of bloodletting during the infancy of peace talks.
Military support to Libya must be in service to eliminating ISIL and similar groups, preferably under the auspices of a unity government. A newly-announced coalition by majority Sunni countries against ISIL based in Riyadh includes every country contributing to the proxy war in Libya. An opportunity exists here for the US to exercise leadership and emphasize stability and reclamation over a costly partisan stalemate. The US can also offer coordinated air support and a call to lift the UN embargo as rewards for cooperation. If a unity government is successfully formed, it will need all the help it can get, as the more radical militias currently flying their banners for Dignity or Dawn will violently oppose reconciliation.
If feuding parties within Libya muster the political will to unleash war against chaotic extremists, they can reclaim their country. Outside countries that cannot back that effort need to get out of the way.
About the author: Greg Lewin is a Master of Public Policy student at the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.
The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.
