Land-based aid convoy seized in Libya en route to Gaza
The international aid convoy to Gaza camped on the outskirts of Sirte, Libya. Pictured by the Libyan Coalition in Support of Palestinian Rights on May 18th.
As the Global Sumad Flotilla was seized by Israel, a land-based aid convoy has also been immobilised in Libya on its own journey to Gaza, as reported by Middle East Eye on the 29th of May.
Despite having a mostly hassle-free route from its start in Mauritania through North Africa, planning to enter Gaza through Egypt, the convoy was halted and dismantled in the Haftar-controlled eastern region of Libya.
The convoy was organised by North African activists, later joined by international participants, and included seven ambulances, 20 mobile homes, 10 aid trucks, and medical professionals, engineers, educators, and legal observers. The aim was to bring substantial and pragmatic aid to Gazans, rather than the typically symbolic deliveries associated with the sea-based flotillas, as reported by Middle East Eye.
The activists entered the Libyan city of Sirte, aiming to negotiate a safe passage to Gaza. However, several days after the convoy had encamped inside the zone, armed forces arrived and dismantled it. This was in the midst of negotiations with Haftar authorities.
Participants were then forcibly escorted back to Tripoli under armed guard, but ten international activists were instead detained, remaining in Libyan custody at present. These international activists are from Spain, Poland, the United States, Argentina, Uruguay, Portugal, Tunisia, and Italy.
Upon arrival, officials forced the remaining activists at the convoy’s camp on to buses, holding them at gunpoint, and even fired tear gas into a nearby mosque where several activists had been sheltering. According to Middle East Eye, the authority associated with these security officials remains unclear, with activists saying that they had not been given clear rejection or permission from Haftar in the negotiations, but the Libyan Red Crescent was also involved.
On 26th of May, the eastern Libyan government’s foreign ministry announced that non-Libyans and non-Egyptians would no longer be permitted to travel onwards to Egypt. While the ministry did reaffirm Libya’s support for the Palestinian cause, it asserted that “respect for national sovereignty and the legal regulations governing the movement of individuals across borders is non-negotiable.”
As a consequence of the Nato-backed coup of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has become largely divided, with Eastern Libya under the control of Haftar and his allies. While the United Arab Emirates and Egypt support Haftar, a UN-backed government in Tripoli governs the Western region of Libya.
The Libyan Arab Armed Forces has been accused of human rights abuses and war crimes by monitoring groups, with Amnesty International claiming the coalition and its allied armed groups have severly restricted freedom of expression and association while targeting both suspected and actual critics and opponents of Haftar.
Filippo Colombo, the Italian consul general in Benghazi, had reportedly visited the two Italian citizens held at a police barracks in Eastern Libya, and discussions led to the authorities agreeing to improve conditions, such as allowing detainees to shower, change their clothing, and better their accomodation. However, as reported by Middle East Eye, no information has been provided on possible deportation procedures.
Middle East Eye, Maghrebi.org
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