Libya: notorious migrant smuggler killed by security forces

Libyan authorities reported that Ahmed Oumar al-Fitouri al-Dabbashi, a militia leader long associated with large-scale migrant trafficking across the Mediterranean, was killed during a security raid in the western city of Sabratha in Libya, as seen in this week’s edition of the Libya Gazette on December 15th.

His death on December 12th followed a violent attack on a security outpost attributed to his militia, the assault prompted the operation that targeted his location, as reported by AP.

Al-Dabbashi, widely known by the nickname Ammu, commanded the “Brigade of the Martyr Anas al-Dabbashi,” a militia that operated in Sabratha, which has been the primary launching site in Libya for African migrants attempting to reach Europe.

According to the Security Threat Enforcement Agency, a body aligned with Libya’s western government, the raid that resulted in his death was aimed at halting continued threats posed by the group following the earlier attack.

During the same operation, authorities arrested al-Dabbashi’s brother, Saleh al-Dabbashi, who has also been identified as an alleged participant in migrant-trafficking activities.

International bodies had scrutinized al-Dabbashi for years. In June 2018, the U.N. Security Council issued sanctions against him and five other Libyan traffickers. A U.N. report at that time stated there was sufficient evidence that his militia oversaw migrant departure points, camps, safe houses, and boats. The U.S. Treasury also sanctioned him for trafficking-related activities.

The developments in Sabratha occur against the backdrop of a country fractured since the western-backed collapse of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011. Years of division between rival administrations in eastern and western Libya, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments, have entrenched instability and preserved the conditions that make Libya a primary transit point for migrants fleeing conflict and poverty across Africa and the Middle East.

Migrants in Libya endure extremely dangerous circumstances, often moving through territory controlled by armed groups and traffickers. A U.N. report stated that migrants, including children, were exposed to “fatal circumstances” on land and at sea while under the control of Ahmed Oumar al-Fitouri al-Dabbashi’s militia.

AP, Libya Gazette, Maghrebi.org