Libyan experts, commenting on Sky News Arabia, warn what is happening is a “conspiracy” to pressure foreign countries to intervene directly in Libya.
What happened?
As soon as things calmed down in the western Libyan town of Zawiya after videos of young men being tortured by African mercenaries circulated in late April, a video clip of another assault on Sorman, which is now only 10 kilometers from Zawiya, has begun to circulate widely. In the video, a person in camouflage appeared to stop and punch a woman in an attempt to rob her. Local sources said the attacker was an illegal immigrant from an African country and worked as a “mercenary” for a militia. Last March, security authorities in the town of Tajoura, east of Tripoli, arrested 15 Chadians after a video emerged showing them torturing two people believed to be Libyans.
The reaction of locals
In April, the town of Zawiya responded with widespread protests against the security chaos, after a video emerged showing young men “beaten with whips and insulted” by African expatriates “affiliated with armed militias”; Where the popular movement closed all the institutions of the city and expelled the armed formations. A delegation of city residents submitted their demands to Presidential Council Chairman Muhammad al-Manfi to restore stability, stressing in their latest statement that “they will continue to strike and protest until they face the spread of armed formations, dens of the sale of drugs, smuggling and fuel, in addition to illegal activities related to illegal immigration.” .
the absence of the state
The “Sorman incident” and previous “torture videos” reflect the depth of the crisis in western Libya, in the absence of state security and military institutions. In this regard, Libyan political analyst, Izz al-Din Aqil, says:
“It will not stop there, as the perpetrators of these violations will continue to exploit the absence of a state. “This is a conspiracy the purpose of which is to stir up the anger of the Libyans so that they organize an uprising and reactions against the illegal immigrants and the mercenaries affiliated with them, and then accuse the Libyans of racism, in order to that some international parties take this accusation as a pretext for direct interference in the affairs of Libya.” “Western countries should have played an active role in welcoming immigrants, especially since they are the biggest beneficiaries of the resources of the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, but the opposite has happened, and they even push back the waves of immigration that go to them”.
It should be noted that the immigrant crisis in Libya worsened after the armed chaos that hit the country in 2011, and their numbers increased to an unprecedented degree, either through the recruitment of gangs and militias to they work as mercenaries and in organized crime, or some of them were forced to stay in Libya after their failure to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.
stability is
For his part, military expert, Muhammad al-Sadiq, compares the situation in eastern and western Libya in terms of security, saying:
“The stability and absence of such incidents in the east is due to the existence of a national army which has made great sacrifices to provide security, while militias in the west are wreaking havoc.” “I call on the people of the western region to take the initiative and be able to expel armed groups and militias.”
It should be noted that the Libyan army had previously sought to liberate the west of the country from militias in 2019-2020, but the intervention of foreign parties with military and political support to these militias kept the situation as it was. East.
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