In the latest list of demands sent to Qatar, the Saudi-led anti-terror countries boycotting Qatar has included Doha-supported terrorist groups responsible for much of the destruction of Libya. After toppling Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi with Qatari logistic and military support, these terror groups went about systematically destroying the country. Hence, it comes as no surprise that peace-loving people in Qatar have overwhelmingly welcomed the new terror list submitted by the Arab anti-terror quartet. The terror elements working at the behest of Qatar began their destructive actions from the time of the revolution against Gaddafi. Qatar exploited this opportunity to plant its fifth column under the stewardship of the former leader of the Libyan fighters, Abdel-Hakim Belhag, along with the two brothers, Ali and Ismail Al-Sallabi, and extremist leader Al-Mahdi Al-Harathi. Libyan reports said that Belhag announced the so-called "Military Council" from the Libyan city of Zintan, and exposed the large sums of money and military equipment at his disposal. Everyone knew Belhag's difficult financial condition, but on the final day of the rebellion, he stood triumphantly with Qatari Intelligent Officer Hamad Bin Fatis Al-Marri. It was thus apparent from where his new-found riches had come from. The Qatari support to terror groups in Libya goes beyond financial help. Observers said that Qatar had even supplied mercenaries to fight on the side of these terrorist factions. The Libyan security bodies at that time could not recognize these mercenaries and thus categorized them as "unidentified people." In press remarks, Libyan Parliamentarian Edris Al-Maghrebi said that Qatar is known to have called in mercenaries from the Sudanese Justice and Equality Movement, South Sudan and Chad. Qatar paid them and sheltered their leaderships so that they could back the Shoura Council of the Benghazi Revolutionaries, the military wing of the Muslim Brotherhood. Libya suffered considerably because of this Qatari intervention, he said. Former Vice President of the Transitional Council of Libya Abdel-Hafiz Ghoka said that Qatar employed extremist groups to take control of the state institutions, create chaos among the security forces, and prolong the war. In recent media statements, he revealed that the Transitional Council had sent a delegation to Qatar in 2011 to officially ask the Emir to stop supporting these extremist groups in Libya. But the mission proved a failure as Qatar rejected the demands. Instead it intensified its support for the extremist political groups, much to the dismay of the Libyans. Ghoka, along with a number of leading Libyan figures, accused Qatar of assassinating Libyan Chief-of-Staff Abdel-Fattah Yunis to cause the collapse of the Libyan military institution. It may be noted that the Qatari Chief-of-staff was in Libya at that time. Libyan Civil Rights Activist Waad Ibrahim also revealed that on questioning Libyan detainees in the Libyan prisons by Qatari army officers, the Qatari hand in the conflict was further exposed. Abdel-Hakim Belhag, various terrorist organizations, and Qatari forces in Libya were the primary cause of the deteriorating conditions in the country, and the reason why reconstruction efforts are not taking off. She said that Qatar's influence was pervasive across the country, especially in matters related to security and politics, with strong support from Al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood. Libyan Political Researcher Fawzi Al-Haddad said that he too was aware of Qatari funds being used to take control of the militias, and in turn, the decision-making process in Libya. The financial support provided by Qatar to extremist groups is estimated to be as high as US$ one billion, which included the costs incurred on training terror elements in Doha. Libyan Armed Forces Commander Field Marshal Khalifa Belqasim Haftar told the French press last week without mincing words: "Qatar is behind all the crises in Libya. It destroyed an otherwise safe country by supporting terrorist groups."
