Fighters from the Islamic State (Isis) have deployed fighters at several oil field sites in Libya, prompting fears the Islamist militant group is planning a full scale attack, it has been reported on 10 April. Staff from at least three of the oil fields, where many foreign workers work, were evacuated from oil fields in the east of Libya.

According to security officials the production of oil in the north African country will not be affected as the fields have already ceased production until the security risk has been reduced, reports the Mail Online.

Security sources have told Reuters that fighters, who are loyal to IS (Daesh), have been mobilising in Nawfiliyah, as well as the oil ports Ras Lanuf and Es Sider. Earlier this month, five members of the Petroleum Facilities Guard were killed in an attack by suspected IS militants near Bayda field, about 155 miles south of Es Sider and Ras Lanuf. The guard is a paramilitary force responsible for controlling and protecting oil facilities in the east of the country.

It is not the first time that IS have targeted Libyan oil fields. A full-scale attack by the terror group in January resulted in damaged facilities in Ajdabiya, and an oil tanker attacked by rockets and set ablaze near Es Sider. The port is tipped as the North African nation’s largest oil depot, despite it ceasing operations for over 12 months.

The militant group – which has operations are based in the central Libyan city of Sirte – is yet to completely seize full control of the country’s oil production, unlike fields in countries such as Iraq and Syria.

Production currently stands at less than one-fifth of the 1.6 million barrels per day the Opec member was producing before Muammar Gaddafi was toppled during the 2011 uprising.

ibtimes.co.uk

A fatal breakout at a detention centre highlights a failing system as operations are under way to frustrate smuggler gangs.

Tension had been growing for months about Libya’s al-Nasr migrant detention centre in Zawiya, filled to bursting with those captured while trying to embark to Europe from nearby beaches.

Earlier this month the tension boiled over. More than 200 inmates staged a mass breakout and, in the panic, guards opened fire, scything down escapees with machine guns. When the smoke cleared, four migrants were dead and 20 more wounded, along with one guard.

“The situation at detention centres is horrific. Migrants are left to their own devices,” says Mark Micallef, of Migrant Report, which first broke news of the killings. He visited a nearby centre in December and says he could feel the tension: “I had never been to a detention centre that was so crowded.”

The killings highlight the crisis facing a country already overcrowded with migrants, as it faces a likely massive new influx after the closing of the Aegean migration route from Turkey to Greece.

Last year 87% of the 900,000 migrants making the journey to Europe came through Greece but, following the European Union’s new deal with Turkey, smugglers’ gangs are already sizing up Libya – which is mired in the chaos of civil war – as an alternative route.

“The sailing season has begun, the crossings [from Libya] in March were three times the figure of last year,” says Leo Dobbs of the Office of the UN high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR). “With the door closing on the Aegean, it’s quite possible that numbers will rise.”

The UNHCR says that Libya already has at least 100,000 migrants, who are packed into towns and cities along its western coast. The main obstacle to crossing the sea to Europe has been the weather, but the end of the winter storms has seen smugglers gearing up for a busy spring.

Most of Libya’s current migrants are not Syrian or Iraqi refugees, who until now have been heading through Turkey, but people fleeing poverty from all corners of Africa.

The mayhem at Zawiya came, ironically, because of Libya’s own efforts to stem the tide. In recent months the coastguard has been catching ever larger numbers of those trying to reach Europe. The problem is they are then herded into 18 detention centres under the control of an interior ministry fractured by a 20-month civil war.

“Thousands of migrants and refugees are arrested and detained in Libya for migration-related offences. They face torture and other ill treatment,” the UN special mission to Libya reported last week.

A year ago, Europe promised firm action on Libya after 800 migrants were drowned when their overcrowded boat sank off Italy. The result was Operation Sophia, with a dozen naval craft since patrolling off Libya’s coast. The operation has seen a dramatic increase in rescues, while critics say the smugglers are using this naval force as a “ferry service”.

Sophia officials say success in intercepting and impounding 67 smuggler boats has been undermined because the gangs simply import fresh craft from Europe. Late last year Maltese customs found 20 semi-rigid boats aboard a ship destined for Libya, but took no action as they lacked the powers to seize the consignment.

“The patrols have been effective in saving lives – the central Mediterranean is far less deadly than it was this time last year,” says Micallef. “[But] Sophia doing intelligence work offshore is a complete waste of money. You need sources on the ground; smugglers aren’t stupid. We need a committed response.”

But both the EU and Libya’s fragmented authorities are dealing with smuggler networks that reach across the continent. A group of more than 100 Senagalese migrants, intercepted by the Tripoli coastguard, explained that each had been funded by a collection in his home village, on the understanding that, once in Europe, he would send money home to allow others to make the dangerous trip.

Other nations are more sophisticated still. Eritreans have agents in Tripoli who arrange accommodation for new arrivals, then find boats and skippers. With each migrant paying a minimum $1,000 (£708) for a passage, Sophia officials say smuggling gangs – many rooted in Libya’s all-powerful militias – earn between €250m to €300m a year.

Meanwhile, there is resentment among Libyans who are pushing back against the trade. The country has more than £100bn in overseas assets, but governmental chaos means its underfunded coastguard is putting to sea with too few boats and no effective radar.

In Libya’s westernmost town, Zuwara, anger exploded last year when 183 migrant bodies washed up on the beach. Protests saw the smugglers either close down or shift business to the nearby towns Sabratha and Zawiya, leaving would-be migrants stranded.

“The town is full, we have thousands of people here, what are we supposed to do with them?” says one Zuwaran activist, who didn’t want to be named.

An added problem is that the Islamic State is using Libya’s migrant flow as cover to bring in foreign recruits. Those volunteers blend with migrants going across the Sahara to Tripoli, then break off to head north-east to the Isis headquarters at Sirte, where the Pentagon says jihadi numbers have doubled to 6,000 in the past year.

As political pressure builds in Europe to stem the migrant flow, a more controversial option is now on the table, with the EU considering a plan for naval craft to go inshore, joining Libyan patrols to intercept migrants as they embark and return them to shore.

David Cameron raised the hackles of critics when he announced the idea at an EU summit last month, with some comparing it to Australia’s controversial interception policy. But a leaked Sophia report published by WikiLeaks shows that the plan, modestly titled Phase 2B, is now likely to clear its final obstacle, with Libya’s newly installed government of national accord expected to issue a formal invitation for the operation, removing legal obstacles.

Italian Sophia commander Rear Admiral Enrico Credendino reports that Phase 2B carries the risk of combat with heavily armed smugglers, writing: “We will be operating in a higher threat environment.”

EU leaders have yet to make a final decision on the operation, which would see naval ships operate in pairs, one to turn back migrant craft, the other ready to battle smugglers. But aid agencies fear migrants will be caught in the crossfire.

“It’s extremely worrying that conversations are still going ahead for the EU to illegally and forcibly push refugees back to Libya,” says Natalie Roberts, of Médecins Sans Frontières. “Pushing back desperate people to abandon them to violence and abuse in Libya is not an option that should ever be considered.”

theguardian.com

The Islamic State group (IS) imposed itself at the center of scenes the same time the president and members of the Presidential Council (PC) of the Government of National Accord (GNA) arrived in Tripoli, by announcing war against the government describing it “Crusaders Government”.

This comes while the group continued, over a whole year, its twisted terrorist activities inside the city of Sirte to empower its claimed “Emirate” and issued “the death list” included officers and revolutionaries and “Libya Dawn”, organized inspection campaigns on Mobile phones and personal identities, distributed handbills forcing citizens to attend dawn prayers daily, started training sessions for school students, aged 13- 20, inside nearby camp in Harawa, according to a report by Al-Wasat Website (translated by LIBYAPROSPECT).

After the arrival of the Presidential Council (PC) in the capital Tripoli, citizens told Al-Wasat website that Abu-Abdullah Al-Masri, responsible for what is called Islamic court, vowed from inside one mosque in Sirte “to burn Tripoli that is full of Mujahedeen and Enghemasien”.

(Enghemasien) is a new definition, recently used by terrorist groups, means fighting element with high skills and light arms, wearing explosive belt, he fights until ammunition run out then explode himself.

The report said that in the meantime, the IS issued two lists, one named “Death List” included names against whom the Islamic Court issued sentenced. The list included 34 names, mostly outside the city, some are police and army officers, revolutionaries, civil officials and elements at “Libya Dawn”.

The second list included 46 names, all face provisions ranging from imprisonment, flogging and amputation. Local sources said that the two lists were put at the entrance of the Islamic court (IS) in the city of Sirte, some accused are held captives by the group, according to the report.

In the same context, the IS elements organized inspection campaigns in Jaref, Khamsin gate, west of Sirte, confiscating mobile phones and personal identities for cars and passers.

One local source told Al-Wasat Website that “Tunisian element inspected him and searched through his phone, restoring all deleted images and videos using special programers, searching through Facebook, any loaded pages and internal memory of mobile phones and laptops”.

Source added that the IS has “Y-Max” and laptop at its check point stationed at Khamsin gate, pointing that “the group is seeking to pressure citizens of Sirte to flee and leave the city for the group to control all houses and buildings”. Sources said air strikes recently targeted the IS positions killing and injuring some elements.

According to the report, the IS is holding obligatory religious sessions for women inside mosques, next week, starting from age 13.

In the same context, the IS changed the name of Ibn Sina hospital to Oqba Bin Nafea hospital. Source told Al-Wasat Website that the IS hanged a sign with the new name and divisions, under the name “Welayet Tripoli, Oqba Bin Nafea hospital”.

The group also took over a farm owned by the official in the former regime, Ahmed Al-Guhsy Gaddafi, in the out strikes of Sirte, the IS elements also forced Al-Guhsy family out of their homes, three big houses, hanged signboard saying “the Islamic State”.

The report said that the IS also took over different houses, cars and animals (camels) belong to residents in the out strikes of Sirte, including Al-Guhsy, pilot Faraj Zargaa, Tarshany family and others from Gaddafi tribe. The houses were handed over to the IS families, including fighters from Sudan, Chad and Nigeria. Inside intelligence revealed that Chechen commander and other foreign fighters arrived in Sirte using convoy of vehicles.

The Islamic State (IS) fighters continued assaults against citizens’ properties, stole their cars and belongings, based on false claims like “collecting Zakah or taxes” or claiming that owners are cooperating with other opposing groups, according to the report.

A source told Al-Wasat Website that “the IS took over 700 sheep, one Toyota vehicle owned by MaraJaa Meshry Bahijy in Nufalya”.

Given security situation in Nufalya, the sources asked to remain anonymous, he said that the group detained the owner’s nephew, interrogating him longly.

Residents in Bin Jawad said that the IS steal and take over properties of inhabitants who fled the city.

In Sirte, local sources said that the group began combat sessions to train school students, aged between 13 and 20 inside a camp in Harawa. Sources added that the camp is located inside a farm owned by former officer in Gaddafi regime, include about 100 students undergoing training on weapons and explosives, by Tunisian, Somalian and Libyan commanders. All students joined the camp after their parents’ consent.

In Misrata, security sources said that clashes erupted between the IS elements and affiliates to Misrata Shield Forces, using heavy weaponry, no damages resulted.

libyaprospect.com

British guns are being advertised for sale on Facebook in Libya, where thousands of Islamic State fighters are to be active.

Rifles, light machine guns and revolvers are among the firearms listed in secret trading groups on the social network, even though Facebook has a strict policy against such transactions.

Once a buyer finds a weapon, deals are negotiated through private messages and phone calls – with some sub-machine guns being sold for as little as £400.

The Times said photographs and detailed descriptions of the guns were discovered by Armanent Research Services (ARES), which provides intelligence to governments on the use of arms and munitions.

Among the guns it reported being for sale were a Bren light machine gun, which was standard issue for British forces in World War Two, and a Sterling sub-machine gun which was used by the British Army from the 1950s to the 1990s.

Nic Jenzen-Jones, a director of ARES, told the newspaper that the British weapons being sold could have been exported directly to the Libyan government before the rise of Muammar Gaddafi.

British handguns are also among those being sold on Facebook, it is claimed – and David Dyson, an independent firearms expert, believes some of those weapons may have been left behind in North Africa by British troops after the conflict ended.

Facebook has said sales pages which violate its rules have been removed in light of the group’s findings.

A report released by the Small Arms Survey suggested that sales of weapons on the black market in Libya are a new development – as the internet only became widely available in the country following the fall of the Gaddafi regime in 2011.

The Geneva-based research organisation said arms traders had “quickly realised the viability of social media for expanding their access to potential customers”.

Facebook said: “It’s against Facebook’s community standards to co-ordinate private sales of firearms, and we remove any such content as soon as we become aware of it.

“We encourage people to use the reporting links found across our site so that our team can review content swiftly.”

lbc.co.uk

6,000 ISIS terrorist which doubles in size in Libya as new stronghold cause concern for intelligence services that terror group increase terror attacks in Europe and America.

Army Gen David Rodriguez, head of US Africa Command, said that local Libya militias are battling to destroy an ISIS network in Sabratha.

The latest numbers for ISIS which doubles to last year in Libya make it the largest branch of eight that the terror group operates outside Iraq and Syria, according to U.S. defense officials.

The U.S. has conducted two airstrikes in Libya in recent months targeting so-called “Islamic State” (ISIS, ISIL, Daesh, IS) terrorist and leaders.

alalam.ir

Islamic State has doubled its fighters in Libya to between 4,000 and 6,000 in the last 12 to 18 months but militias in the North African nation have limited the hardline militants’ growth, the commander of US forces deployed in Africa said on Thursday, according to USA Today.

The city of Sirte is Islamic State‘s stronghold in Libya, but it also has a presence in Derna and Benghazi in the east and Sabratha in the west, General David M. Rodriguez, head of US Africa Command, told a news briefing.

“In Benghazi and Derna, (Libyan armed groups) have fought back against the Islamic State and made it much tougher for them to operate, as well as in Sabratha,” he said.

“They are contesting the growth of ISIS in several areas across Libya,” Rodriguez said, citing American intelligence assessments on the growth of Islamic State, also known as ISIS.

The group’s expansion in Libya has worried Western governments, which fear it will take advantage of persistent political chaos to emulate its success in seizing territory in Iraq and Syria.

Since 2014, loose coalitions of armed brigades have backed rival governments in Tripoli and the east.

Western governments back the Government of National Accord, in part, as the best chance for uniting armed factions against Islamic State.

“The challenge of the Government of National Accord is to bring them together, one for the future of Libya, but also to get rid of ISIS,” Rodriguez said.

He downplayed the possibility Islamic State could strike out from its base and take large portions of territory as it did in Iraq and Syria.

“They don’t have the homegrown people that know as much about Libya like they did in Iraq and Syria,” Rodriguez said.

“The Libyan people are also different in the way they treat and respond to foreigners, so all that has an impact.”

US air strikes in Libya have targeted Islamic State, but those efforts are focused on targets posing an imminent threat to American interests and personnel, Rodriguez added.

independent.mk

A senior official from Fatah, the party of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, called the United States “the number one enemy of the Palestinian people” in a recent television interview.

Jamal Muhaisen, a member of the Fatah Central Committee, made the comments in an interview aired on official PA TV on March 23.

In the interview, parts of which were translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), Muhaisen also regurgitated an anti-Semitic trope alleging Jewish efforts to control the world. In Muhaisen’s view, the Jews control America, which in turn wreaks havoc across the Arab world at the Jews’ behest.

“When it is said that the Palestinian people is the last people on earth to be occupied, I say that the American people are under occupation as well,” Muhaisen said in the interview. “While we are under Israeli occupation, the American people in the U.S. are under Jewish-Zionist occupation.”

“When the U.S. presidential candidates meet with AIPAC, they are not meeting them as American citizens but as representatives of the State of Israel,” he added.

Muhaisen then went on to accuse the U.S. and Israel of being responsible for the plight of the entire Arab world:

In my view, the Arab regimes understand that the U.S. is not innocent when it comes to what is happening in the Arab region. Bernard Lewis, adviser to former US President Bush, published a report dealing with the division of the Arab world into 57 states. In her book, Hillary Clinton mentioned that the Americans created ISIS. The goal had been to tear the Arab world apart.

He added that the Arab world was already “torn apart” by the 1916 Sykes-Picot agreement and “today they want to partition what has already been partitioned.”

In the past, he said, “they partitioned the region in order to help establish Israel. And now they are doing it so that Israel will control the region.”

The Fatah official accused Sunni Arab states of “not understanding that their main battle is with Israel.” His comments come after several Sunni states have made more or less overtly positive remarks regarding Israel in the wake of the Iran nuclear deal.

“I’m sad that I blame all the parties in the region that have deviated from the Arab-Israeli conflict and are focusing on others,” Muhaisen said.

The US “certainly plays a role in this, it is always making the Arab regimes pay a price,” he added.

“The number one enemy of the Palestinian people and of the Arab and Islamic nation remains the US,” Muhaisen said, “because it is the main supporter of Israel and poses a threat not just to the Palestinian people but to the entire Arab region.”

breitbart.com

Almost dozen armed Islamists have been killed in Algeria’s lawless desert region in past two weeks

Algeria’s army killed four armed Islamists in El-Oued, the defence ministry said, meaning almost a dozen have been killed in the lawless desert region in the past two weeks.

Four Kalashnikov automatic weapons, grenades and ammunition were also seized during the military-led operation in the Bir El Kasira area, near the Tunisian border, the ministry said on its website.

The deaths bring the number of “terrorists” — what the government calls Islamists who launched an insurgency in the early 1990s — killed in the Algerian Sahara region over the past two weeks to 11.

Last year the Algerian army killed or arrested 157 “terrorists,” according to figures from the ministry of defence.

A brutal civil war in the 1990s between the government and Islamists claimed the lives of some 200,000 people.

Despite adopting a peace and reconciliation charter in 2005 aimed at turning the page on the conflict, armed groups remain active in the centre and east of Algeria.

middle-east-online.com

Elders, notables, civil society organizations and members of military and security organizations from Tabu announced their full support for the Government of National Accord (GNA) in a rally in Sabha city, south Libya, on Sunday.

Popular Mobilization Movement organized a rally as well, Sunday, in Qerda square inside Sabha, supporting the GNA. They confirmed their support, demanding the Presidential Council (PC) to work on rebuilding institutions, support the army and police forces to professionally perform their duties, to restore stability and solve all problems citizens face.

Tuareg also welcomed the arrival of the Presidential Council (PC) and the GNA members in Tripoli, last week to begin their official tasks.

The chairman of Tuareg supreme council, Mulay Aqdede, said that “Tuareg in Libya welcome the arrival of the Presidential Council of the Government of National Accord that proposed by the United Nations in Tripoli”, considering it as the “step in the right path”.

He expressed his hope that the GNA would start its tasks urgently and as soon as possible to “achieve what Libyans aspire and improve economy and living, which deteriorated, most importantly security”.

“Our preliminary demands are the same as all Libyans’ demands. When the government starts, we will specify basic and necessary demands. If the PC committed to start immediately in resolving these demands, it will be positive reflection”, said Aqdede.

libyaprospect.com

Hezoullah fighters launched an attack against Daesh positions in the outskirts of Ras Baalbek, killing and wounding several, al-Manar TV reported on Monday.

The attack was launched against a position in the al-Zwaytini where Hezbollah was able to destroy the militants’ fortifications.

Sources of al-Manar said that Hezbollah had attacked the group when it was receiving reinforcements. It targeted the Daesh positions with machine guns and shelled their positions leading to a number of unspecified casualties.

The Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) said that Hezbollah was able to take control of the military point.

Daesh and al-Nusra Front, two militant groups based in Syria, have launched several attacks in northern Lebanon.

albawaba.com