EU agrees to boost Libya naval mission

20.06

Ministers also agreed to extend Operation Sophia's mandate by one year to July 2017

EU foreign ministers on Monday agreed to boost the bloc's anti-people smuggling operation in the Mediterranean to include training of the Libyan coastguard and enforce a UN arms embargo.

Ministers also agreed to extend Operation Sophia's mandate by one year to July 2017, a statement said, as the European Union tries to control a flood of people from North Africa and beyond trying to get to Europe.

"The Council (of member states) extended until 27 July 2017 the mandate for EU NAVFOR MED Operation Sophia, the EU naval operation to disrupt the business model of human smugglers and traffickers in the southern central Mediterranean," a statement said after the ministers met in Luxembourg.

"The Council also reinforced the operation's mandate by adding two supporting tasks – training of the Libyan coastguard and navy, and contributing to the implementation of the UN arms embargo on the high seas off the coast of Libya," it said.

The EU launched Operation Sophia last year after hundreds of people died when their rickety boats sank off southern Italy, sparking popular outrage at their plight.

It currently comprises five vessels and three helicopters charged with intercepting smugglers' boats and destroying them, in international waters.

Officials said they will review what additional assets the mission will need in July so Sophia will be able to meet its new tasks.

https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2016/6/20/eu-agrees-to-boost-libya-naval-mission

THE ANTI-ISIS COALITION (20.06)

20.06

The political damage to the Government of National Accord (GNA), following the attack on Ajdabiya on 18 June by Islamist militias, may undo fragile militia alliances in Tripoli and key towns in western Libya. Meanwhile, an escalation of open conflict between the Libyan National Army (LNA) and Islamist militias from western Libya is now very likely, and could potentially spill over into a broader tribal/regional conflict involving the LNA and the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG).

The connection between the Government of National Accord (GNA) and its ‘affiliated’ anti-ISIS fighters has significantly unraveled after Islamist militias broke away from Bunyan Marsus. With the blessing of Sadeq Al Ghariyani, still seen by many as the legitimate Grand Mufti of Libya, the recently formed Benghazi Defense Brigade and Ajdabiya Liberation Operations Room attacked LNA units in Ajdabiya on 18 June. On 19 June, Ghariyani lashed out at the GNA’s Presidential Council statement, which condemned the attack, saying the GNA, Khalifa Haftar and Muamar Qadhafi are one and the same. Ghariyani’s response marks a significant escalation in rhetoric. Although events so far in 2016 have indicated a steady weakening of support for Islamist hardliners such as Ghariyani in western Libya, the breakdown of the GNA’s coalition following the Ajdabiya attack may once bring hardliners to the fore, undercutting attempts by ‘moderate’ factions to shore up the GNA, or conduct a sustained campaign against ISIS in Sirte. Further, the GNA’s inability to effectively support Bunyan Marsus fighters with critical medical and logistical support needed for the operation, has greatly damaged its credibility. Additionally, the GNA’s failure to secure such support from the West has led to resentment and ‘defections’ by former supporters.

Tensions between the LNA and PFG units loyal to Ibrahim Jadhran have also spiked, due to the ambivalence of the PFG towards the attack on the LNA in Ajdabiya. The Islamist militias retook the main Man-Made River station and sections of the industrial area in southern Ajdabiya on 18 June, before being repelled by the LNA and local volunteers, supported by LNA airstrikes. On 19 June, the GNA and its minister of defense, who was visiting Ras Lanuf and areas west of Sidra in the company of Ibrahim Jadhran on 17 June, issued scathing condemnations of the attack. However, backpedaling by certain members of the GNA, in addition to the PFG’s seeming indifference to the Ajdabiya attack, have only added to the perception in eastern Libya that the two groups are aligned with Islamist militias from the west.

http://eyeonisisinlibya.com/the-anti-isis-coalition/anti-20-june-2016/

WESTERN RESPONSE (20.06)

20.06

Following UN Security Council approval on 14 June to inspect vessels off the coast of Libya, EU foreign ministers agreed at talks in Luxembourg on 20 June to extend Operation Sophia to July 2017, and tasked it with supporting Libya’s coast guard and navy. The operation will also help to police the UN arms embargo off the Libya coast. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault welcomed the decision saying, “We have to act against all those who exploit the migrants… And then there is the fight against the arms trafficking that benefits Daesh.”

At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on 15 June, special envoy for Libya Jonathan Winer told the committee that the Obama administration seeks to support the Government of National Accord (GNA) with a $56 million aid package. The State Department plans to reallocate $35 million in current and prior year funding to help the political transition, including $4 million for a UN-led Stabilization Facility that will repair public infrastructure. The funds would come on top of the State Department’s $20.5 million bilateral aid request for the fiscal year that starts October 1, 2016. “Our strategic interest in Libya is to support a unified, accountable government that meets the economic and security needs of the Libyan people,” Winer told senators. “At the center of our policy has been support for the creation of the GNA as a unifying bridge to help Libyans move beyond the damaging period of political competition … and fragmentation until the country adopts a new constitution and a long-term government.”

On June 18, the United States Pentagon said it was encouraged by the progress the Bunyan Marsus coalition has made against ISIS in Sirte, but the US would not be offering additional military assistance for the GNA. Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col. Michelle Baldanza said, “Our focus is to be prepared to support the (new government) as they strive to assume responsibility for the security for all Libyan people. At this time, we have not been asked to provide support.”

http://eyeonisisinlibya.com/western-response/western-20-june-2016/

OTHER JIHADI ACTORS (20.06)

20.06

Two key types of non-state actors may now be identified vis-a-vis the Libyan National Army (LNA): The first group is comprised of Islamist actors in the cities of Benghazi, Derna and Ajdabiya, (including ISIS, Ansar Al Sharia, Derna Mujahedeen Shura Council, Benghazi Revolutionary Shura Council, Benghazi Defense Brigade and the Ajdabiya Liberation Operation Room. The second group consists of militias that were once aligned with Khalifa Haftar, who have opted to support the Government of National Accord instead.  Conflict is likely to continue unabated in Benghazi between the LNA and these groups, and may escalate further in Derna and Ajdabiya in the short term.

The LNA offensive continues to face fierce resistance from ISIS, Ansar Al Sharia and the Benghazi Revolutionary Shura Council in Sabri and Souq Al-Hout. In Derna, the port remains closed and unlikely to reopen in the near term, due to the escalation of conflict between the LNA and the Derna Mujahedeen Shura Council. Another LNA airstrike in Derna on 13 June, claiming more civilian lives, has deepened the population’s discontent with the LNA, however this week saw no direct clashes.

http://eyeonisisinlibya.com/other-jihadi-actors/other-20-june-2016/

ISIS IN ACTION

20.06

This week witnessed the slowing momentum of the Government of National Accord’s (GNA) anti–ISIS operation in Sirte, as fierce ISIS counterattacks stalled the operation’s advance. This development is chiefly attributed to two factors: 1) ISIS is beginning to push back on the Bunyan Marsus advance inside Sirte, successfully and repeatedly hitting GNA forces behind their own front lines, and 2) the ‘defection’ of the hardline Islamist factions (e.g. Benghazi Defense Brigade) and other associated militias.

Although the GNA’s Misratan-led Bunyan Marsus coalition continued the previous week’s speedy advance into Sirte, taking control of the radio station, fodder factory and seizing a large arms depot on 13 June, the coalition lost control of Sirte’s port on 14 June, after a large ISIS counterattack managed to push the coalition back to the east. Currently, the port serves as a frontline, with Misratan forces situated on the eastern perimeter, and ISIS on the west. Small Libyan navy boats currently block the port, while airstrikes are ongoing against ISIS positions in the area.

On 14 June, ISIS launched an assault on the port, forcing Bunyan Marsus units positioned there to withdraw one kilometre to the east. ISIS militants also advanced to the west for the first time under cover of heavy artillery and rocket fire, successfully retaking Zafaraan roundabout.

On 15 June, ISIS renewed its assault on the port, as Bunyan Marsus forces bombarded the main ISIS headquarters in Sirte in Ouagadougou center with heavy artillery and airstrikes.

Most significantly on 16 June, ISIS was able to conduct four SVBIED attacks, one at Abu Grein 70 kilometres west of Sirte, and others at the power station and the fodder factory west of the city. The fierce ISIS response to the Bunyan Marsus advance, and the defection of several militias from the coalition has greatly slowed the momentum of the last three weeks.

http://eyeonisisinlibya.com/isis-in-action/action-20-june-2016/

Libyan rebels attack parliament

 May 18, 2014 

Libyan rebels, apparently loyal to a renegade army general, stormed parliament on Sunday. Fighting continued for hours, two people have been killed and 55 wounded in the capital Tripoli. Justice minister Saleh al-Mergani has called on those involved to lay down their weapons and start a dialogue. Al Jazeera's Omar Al Saleh reports from Tripoli.

Top U.S. Marine general recommends more aggressive Libya policy

KEN HANLY JUN 24, 2016

Marine Lieutenant General Thomas Waldhauser, who is President Barack Obama's nominee to head the US Africa Command, claimed that the U.S. military plans to counter the Islamic State (IS) in Libya "make no sense.

Waldhauser said the U.S. needs to take a tougher stance in Libya. The general appears a bit behind the times as IS is in dire straits in Libya, holding only part of the city of Sirte as its last territory in Libya. The entire city could fall within a few days. Waldhauser made the comments before the Senate Armed Services Committee last Tuesday. Waldhauser said: “I am not aware of any overall grand strategy at this point.” This is probably true, but the U.S. has been making some air-strikes against IS in the past in Libya and has a few Special Forces working with the mostly Misrata militia who are attacking the IS. There may be a few in Benghazi as well helping the Haftar forces of the Libyan National Army.

Waldhauser said that instability in Africa was to the IS advantage and that the group was shifting focus on the Libyan city of Sirte as a backup as it was failing elsewhere. The general should realize that the IS is failing In Sirte now as well and has lost all the surrounding territory it had previously occupied. He said that "despite a growing Daesh presence in the conflict-ridden country, the US military was not conducting any airstrikes." "Daesh" refers to the Islamic State. He said that targets were being developed but no flights had been flown. He said such attacks would be wise and he would welcome the authority to carry them out without having to receive permission from the White House. Notice there is not a word about seeking permission for the attacks from the UN-brokered Government of National Accord (GNA). He fails to mention that GNA-loyal planes have carried out attacks and that the IS is virtually defeated except as an underground terrorist organization.

In response to Walhauser's remarks, Peter Cook, a Pentagon spokesperson, said that "we don't make a decision to carry out a military strike lightly." He said the U.S. had carried out airstrikes in the past and would consider doing so in the future. Last month, Marine General Joseph Dunford of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff said the U.S. could deploy troops and equipment to Libya "any day now." Such plans have been put on hold. The GNA has asked only for help with training of its forces. No aid has been forthcoming for the militia, who have successfully encircled the IS in Sirte. The militia do not have basic equipment such as helmets and bullet proof vests that could reduce casualties from snipers. CIA Director John Brennan said that the IS had between 5,000 to 8,000 militants in Libya. This appears to be an estimate that is far too high.

Although suggesting a more aggressive policy Waldhauser said that the small number of troops on the ground in Libya are sufficient for the present. He claimed the troops were performing only advisory roles. He said he was not aware that the US had any "grand strategy" for Libya. If confirmed by the US Senate, Waldhause would replace Army Gen. David Rodriguez who has been head of the Africa Command since 2013.

When Waldhauser was asked by John McCain, the Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman, how he was "going to make a chicken salad" out of the situation in Libya, Waldhauser replied: “We have two significant objectives for the United States: one is to get the government of National Accord up and running, and the second is to disrupt [Islamic State or IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL] inside Libya.” The latter aim appears to have been almost accomplished already by Libyans themselves with very little help either from inside or outside Libya.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/op-ed-top-usa-marine-general-recommends-more-aggressive-libya-policy/article/468466#ixzz4DkJulEWK