France24.com: Political unrest, migrant influx a ticking time bomb for Libya

From: Berhane Habtemariam <Berhane.Habtemariam_at_gmx.de_at_dehai.org>
Date: Wed, 24 Jun 2015 17:09:16 +0200

Text by Romeo LANGLOIS

Latest update : 2015-06-24

FRANCE 24 spoke to supporters of the Fajr Libya militia, which is one of two rival Libyan governments and based in the capital, Tripoli. The international community recognises a separate government based in Tobruk.

Fajr Libya supporters gather at Martyrs' Square in the capital every Friday.

"This demonstration aims to support the revolutionaries of February 17 and Fajr Libya ... We are against terrorism and we reject all its manifestations, especially the Islamic State group," Mustafa Ourichi said.

For its part, the Libyan branch of the Islamic State group has declared war on the movement.

It has been almost a year since Fajr Libya secured its hold on the capital, but the international community refuses to recognise its authority. Only a rival government based in the eastern port city of Tobruk, near the border with Egypt, is considered legitimate.

"We will never forget what France has done for our revolution," said Jamal Zubia, a foreign media spokeswoman for Fajr Libya. "And we still believe it can do much for Libya peacefully, it can support the real power on the ground."

She says the Fajr Libya government in Tripoli now has some leverage to compel the world into entering a dialogue: illegal immigration.

"Libya is a transit country for African migrants," Zubia pointed out. "Arrested while trying to sail for Europe, thousands of undocumented immigrants have been crammed into Fajr Libya prisons."

Many have escaped the most tragic circumstances to arrive in Libya. And their journeys are far from over.

"I fled from the Islamist group al Shabaab," said Mohamed, a Somali refugee. "They killed our families, our wives, our sisters and brothers... That's why we fled and we came here, to go to Italy."

Overwhelmed by the size of the migration problem, Tripoli has called on the international community for help.

"We need neighbouring countries and the European Union to cooperate with us, to see us as partners – and without getting caught up in Libya's domestic political unrest, the way some European countries have done," said Mohammed Shaeiter, a minister in the Fajr Libya government.

As it seeks to tackle domestic unrest, an influx of terrorist groups as well as a flood of Illegal immigration, Libya has become something of a ticking time bomb. To disable it, the international community and the country's two rival governments may have to work together to find a political solution.

Received on Wed Jun 24 2015 - 11:09:16 EDT

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