Weekly Observatory 19Aug – 2023

Preface

In this paper , we seek to shed light on a summary of the current political events during the previous period , and we aim to read the analytical of some situations , and try to understand their context and present them to those interested , to contribute and raise awareness about the events and their developments.

• Tripoli clashes

On the eve of Monday, August 14, The military situation became tense between yesterday’s friends, the Special Deterrence Force to Combat Organized Crime and Terrorism and the 444th Combat Brigade, after news emerged about the arrest of the commander of the Arbaat Brigade, Mahmoud Hamza.

The news of the arrest did not subside, There were even other reports that the 444th Brigade was on full alert in its areas of influence in the areas south of Tripoli and Tarhuna, In return for another alert by members and militants of the Deterrence Force, Clashes then broke out, starting with light and medium weapons, and did not end until heavy artillery was used in the field. Initial reports about how and motivated Hamza’s arrest conflicted. It is well established, however, that within the headquarters of the Special Deterrence Force, It is Mitiga airport, While the accounts conflicted in the details surrounding this, According to media sources, the arrest took place immediately after “Hamza” entered the departure hall of VIP visitors. Others say that it took place after he boarded the plane with the neck of the Prime Minister and the Chief of the General Staff, Some of them argue that the arrest came after a quarrel between “Hamza” and one of the assistants of the Deterrence Force, This prompted him to instruct some of his members to take Hamza from the plane’s trailer to an unknown location inside the airport.

Damages:
In a preliminary outcome, The Emergency and Support Medicine Center revealed the death of (55) people and the injury of (146) others at least as a result of the clashes in Tripoli, The spokesman for the Red Crescent Society, Tawfiq Al-Shukri, said that they were able to evacuate about (296) families who were stranded in the areas of clashes.

In turn, the Military Medical Authority set up a field hospital in the Al-Khalla area, south of Tripoli, to receive urgent cases, Declaring a state of emergency since the early morning inside the hospitals of “Ali Omar Askar” known as “Sbei’a Hospital” as well as “Mitiga Military Hospital”, Military medicine also revealed the start of opening an air bridge to send emergency cases for treatment abroad.

from her side, The University of Tripoli announced the continuation of the suspension of studies, exams and administrative work on Wednesday and Thursday, and the resumption of exams next Saturday, For his part, The Examination Center at the Ministry of Education reported the continued suspension of exams _ second round _ for the secondary certificate on Wednesday in the municipalities of Souk Al-Juma and Ain Zara, It will resume on Thursday.

The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Transportation in the Government of National Unity, Wissam Al-Idrissi, confirmed that 21 planes were transferred from Mitiga airport to Misrata airport. Al-Idrissi said in a televised statement, They assigned additional air navigation teams at Misrata airport, They took precautionary measures to ensure the safety of citizens and property in the event of a deterioration of the situation.

(The local and international reactions and the repercussions of these clashes have been discussed in some detail in more than one paper that came out of the Libyan Center for Security and Military Studies at the time.)

But here we must point out another issue that is no less important than the course of what happened, Which is why now and what are the connotations of timing ؟؟

Yesterday’s friends are enemies today: Why now?? .. And what are the timing indications ??

Everyone knows the relationship between the deterrence apparatus and the 444th Combat Brigade, The second is an object that came to the surface after an apparent dispute announced after the end of the war in the capital _ April 2019.

According to Observers origin This is amazing The force is a military company belonging to the Deterrence bears a broker (20-20) The famous emerged from it after a slight split that eventually branched, to independence resulted in Establishment This is the rising newborn who was named the major general 444 fighting.

And not far from appreciation At the time that 444th Brigade merely arm From arms device Deterrence Special , That worked recently In order to Expansion and stretching usufruct, and that The separation of the brigade from it Not caused by disagreement , But about vision It was in the frame of Stretching that seeks Device to achieve it.

So is the strength of Special Deterrence No less cunning and skillful than the 444th Brigade, it is bear Same trust with localplayers Add to players International , such as embracing her For security and military personnel From (the AttraK_ the Americans _ the Italians) at the Mitiga base , Although the leadership of Strength In both it has a different religious orientation To that strong one that embraced it, On top of it is the Republic of Turkey, However, this disagreement fuses according to the vision of deterrence. Which does not abandon pragmatism _ and benefit and expansion .

According to Reports precedent, Used 444thBrigade Battle Force Expansion Officers Former from 32nd Reinforced Brigade and Brigade Seventh infantry – Alkaniyat – to benefit from their expertise, And maybe This looks like Information It’s cold While acting Supporters Colonel Gaddafi today In joints state, However, it is important Chapter Between times and stages.

Worth mentioning, The movements of 444th Brigade fighting which is an exception If measured Behavior most The other battalions are now achieve its fruits, On the one hand grooming, The popularity it enjoyed in Tripoli in particular And the Libyan West in general is an addition To his proximity The severe of the joints of the state From thepresidency of the government to sovereign positions and executive, As office Attorney General Supervisory Authority administrative and others.

The 444th Brigade was also able to fight. from notch His power on Areas Kit In the capital , I follow him you are expanding Outside it all the way into Areas Remote South of the capital and south Tarhuna and south Bani Walid and south Gharyan, What earned him popular acceptance between Citizens and trust or very close with Presidency of the Government And the joints of the state in Tripoli.

All that, He was aware of everyone, especially the deterrence apparatus or the government, and that the aforementioned charges and violations affect “Mahmoud Hamza” or the 444th Brigade, She was known to all, And everyone is familiar with its details.

For example, the charge of the attack was Major General Ali Beit, commander of the Tripoli Military Region, “Major General Abdul Basit Marwan” in October 2021, which is considered one of the most prominent, was known behind it from its first moments, and it is documented by audio and video and spread on social media platforms, Major General Marwan himself accused the 444th Brigade , as well as the charge of Hamza meeting with international elements and personalities and receiving – arming and training – including the Turkish forces.

And worth mentioning, The Turkish forces present on Libyan territory in terms of inter-agreements with the Libyan government, Among them is the Turks obtaining training and arming contracts for Libyan army units, and the 444th Brigade is no exception to that, this charge is also not new, Everyone knows Hamza’s relationship with the Turkish forces on Libyan soil.

It should be noted that ” Mahmoud Hamza” was mentioned previously in more than one report by human rights organizations, You talk about violations and abuses of the deterrence apparatus such as torture, imprisonment, disappearance and extrajudicial killing, During the period when Hamza was one of the prominent commanders in the service.

Based on the foregoing, We return to our first question, why now?? And why this timing?? , If all these violations and charges on which Hamza was arrested, Known and familiar with the Attorney General or the Military Prosecutor and has more than two years.

Is it under pressure from the government Especially after the emergence of a meeting of military, security and social leaders from the city of Misurata and its declaration of war of words on the national unity government represented by its president, Abdul Hamid Dabaiba??

Or is it due to the expansion and wide geographical spread of the brigade in the areas south of the capital and the surrounding geographical areas? .. Or is it because of the network of international and local relations that the brigade and its commander acquired within a short period of its formation and establishment..??

All these questions need answers in order to know the reasons for the arrest, what are its reasons and what is the fate of the brigade in the coming period.

• Malta, Libya mulling renewable energy interconnection

Maltese Energy Minister Miriam Daly said, Her country is studying the feasibility of establishing a renewable energy interconnection line with Libya. After signing a memorandum of understanding between the two countries last June, Dali explained that the work at the moment is focused on determining whether such a project is possible or not, In addition to investigating the possibility of linking with countries in North Africa.

Dali pointed out that Libya has a vast area of land and a huge resource of the sun. So there is potential to produce renewable energy which is much more than the potential in Malta, Dali pointed out that the aim of the project is to discuss the existence of a solar panel project in Libya, The green energy produced was then transported to Malta and possibly exported beyond its shores.

Asked if she was confident that Libya could be a strong energy partner for Malta, Especially in view of the political situation, Dali said: “Such projects can help stabilize countries like Libya,” “There are already countries that have similar energy agreements with Libya and other countries in North Africa and have embarked on implementing their projects,” she said. The Maltese Prime Minister, Robert Abela, expressed his happiness at signing the memorandum of understanding with Libya. He said the agreement was a good opportunity for both sides. Expressing his aspiration that there will be more concrete projects in the energy sector that can be enjoyed by the peoples of the two countries, Abella stated that Libya has strong potential for renewable energy generation, If stabilized, it will be a strategic partner of the European Union.

• A new mass grave near Jufra, The Commission for Missing Persons expands its activity

The General Authority for Search and Identification of Missing Persons announced today, Its teams recovered (12) unidentified bodies from a mass grave among the sand dunes near Al-Jufra Air Base. This came based on a report from the Military Prosecutor about the presence of a mass grave near the base, The authority explained that a team from its remains search department went to Jufra, The bodies were examined by forensic medicine and samples were taken to be referred to the Authority’s Laboratories Department. To complete the matching process with the reference samples of the families of the missing, The commission pointed out that the bodies were buried according to the legal method after obtaining permission from the prosecution.

And noteworthy, In an expansion of its activity and in conjunction with the above, The General Authority for the Search for Missing Persons announced the identification of (14) bodies based on the genetic data of the missing since 2011. The authority added through its Facebook account, That the bodies identified belong to people from the cities of (Tripoli, Benghazi, Zawiya, Raqdalin, Zliten, Gharyan, and Khoms), The Commission explained that it analyzed more than (60%) of the samples of the families of the targeted victims and matched them with the samples of unknown bodies.

And in a connected frame, The Missing Authority had announced last July that the total identified bodies amounted to (272) bodies, Of which (226) in the cemeteries of Tarhuna, and 46 in other cities, Referring to (4) foreigners among the recognized.

It is worth noting, The scope of the work of the Identification Commission has expanded from being limited to the city of Tarhuna, which has become a sign of the scale of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings since the withdrawal of al-Kani forces loyal to Haftar in 2020.

• Libyan ambassador discusses solving the problems of the Libyan community in Turkey

The Ambassador of Libya to the Republic of Turkey, “Mustafa Al-Qalib”, discussed Last week ways to solve some of the problems facing the Libyan community in Turkey, This was during two separate meetings with the Turkish Ministries of Health and Interior.

In the meeting held with the Turkish Minister of Health, “Fahrettin Koca”, The situation of Libyan patients in Turkish hospitals and the problems they face were discussed, Including fines at Turkish ports as a result of their violation of the Turkish residence law.

During the meeting, the Turkish Minister of Health stressed his interest in solving these problems facing Libyan patients through Turkish ports during their return, Pointing out that the Turkish authorities will issue temporary residencies that exempt the patient from any legal violations and financial fines,

In the meeting held with the Assistant Minister of Interior of Turkey, “Munir Karaoglu”, The problems facing Libyan students and their families, patients and their companions were discussed, In addition to discussing the observations and complaints submitted by the Libyan community in the Turkish arena in general, During the meeting, the Ambassador of the State of Libya to the Republic of Turkey presented samples of files of Libyan citizens whose applications for residency were rejected despite meeting the legal requirements. from his side, The Turkish Assistant Minister of Interior expressed his understanding and pledged to study these problems, discuss them with the competent departments and find appropriate solutions.

Turkey is witnessing the recent period, A broad campaign to deport irregular migrants or residents who lack papers and residency procedures.

• Spain dismantles Libya human smuggling network

Spanish police recently announced, For dismantling an international network for smuggling Syrian migrants that takes Libyan territory as a crossing for (3500) euros per person.

The police said in a statement via their official account, Sunday Smuggling operations are carried out by smugglers taking a route crossing three continents, She pointed out that the dismantling process was in cooperation with “Europol and the German Federal Police”, during which the logistical structure of a criminal organization was dismantled, Specialized in smuggling Syrians in particular.

The police reported that they arrested (19) people suspected of belonging to a criminal organization and involvement in irregular migration, and placed (6) of them in pretrial detention.

Preliminary investigations, according to Spanish police, showed that the migrants were departing from Lebanon through Beirut airport. Passing through Egypt for (4000) euros, From there by land to Libya, Tunisia and Algeria for (3500) euros, Until they arrive in Spain, crossing the border towards Madrid, hiding in it until they obtain papers for (250) euros per week.

Police stated that the smuggling operation that took place across three continents, It was for about (20 thousand) Euros per person, Through the organization’s cooperation with other criminal organizations in several countries, it receives bank transfers through which it has earned about 2.5 million euros, according to the Spanish police.

And noteworthy, This operation is not the first of its kind, During the past month, two networks have been dismantled, One in the same country – Spain – and the other in the British capital – London, Dismantling operations were activated after the rise in the wave of irregular migrants, In addition to the sinking of a boat carrying about (750) migrants from eastern Libya, off the Greek coast last month, Leaving hundreds of deaths and others swallowed up by the waves of the Mediterranean.

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