Libya: Three Tripoli soldiers killed by drug smugglers
With over a decade of political unrest since the redundancy of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libyan authorities in Tripoli still struggle against the thriving drug trade on the Algerian border.
On 14th May, an official statement revealed that three soldiers from the 444 Brigade – Libya’s most disciplined armed group – were killed during “heated” clashes with drug smugglers and dealers, Reuters reported.
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Despite the deaths, the brigade disclosed that they prevented the smuggling of “approximately 5 million narcotic pills.”
However, a BBC report cited that the 444 Brigade and other militia groups had agreed to leave Tripoli by the end of the holy month of Ramadan, which concluded on the 9th April.
In spite of this, the 444 Brigade’s presence in and around Tripoli is well documented on the force’s verified Facebook page. Footage of desert patrols and podiums of cardboard boxes that display samples of red and white pills was posted to the social networking site.
The footage also features a couple of suspected smugglers surrendering to the surrounding brigade fighters.
On the 11th May, the head of the Libyan Intelligence Service, Hussein Al-Aaeb, hosted a weekend workshop in Tripoli to “increase coordination, combating smuggling and drying up its sources of financing,” with other African security and intelligence officials from 26 countries.
The oil-rich country lacks the wealth of unity as it is currently divided between two opposing governments. Both sides have claimed that they are the legitimate leaders of Libya.
The western administration in Tripoli – internationally recognised as the Government of National Unity – is led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.
Whereas the eastern administration in Benghazi – known as the Government of National Stability – is headed by ‘warlord’ Khalifa Haftar.
Libya’s former UN envoy, Abdoulaye Bathily attempted to unite the country’s political leaders, but Bathily resigned as his efforts “were met with stubborn resistance, unreasonable expectations and indifference to the interests of the Libyan people.”
The strict divide and lack of Western interest in helping resolve conflict, the institutional limbo and instability have allowed corruption to flourish.
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Although Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni, recently visited the Benghazi administration to explore economic cooperation, and migration and disclose her support towards expelling foreign fighters from the oil-rich country, Haftar’s strategic and financial interests suggest no desire to boot Russian influence and mercenaries from Libya.
Haftar’s ties with Russia must only make the US shudder in addition to the newly founded ‘Maghreb Alliance’ – a coalition between Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia, all of whom have built recent relations with the Soviet state.
Reuters/BBC/Al Jazeera
