Saudi FM calls Indian, Pakistani counterparts to discuss developments    Al Hilal thrash Gwangju to reach AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Arabia cracks down on fraudulent Hajj campaigns, urges pilgrims to use official channels    Nammos Amala Resort to open soon with Saudi-Greek designs    Saudi Arabia completes 674 Vision 2030 initiatives, achieves 93% of KPIs as ninth-year milestone marked    Literature Commission inaugurates Saudi Pavilion at Muscat Book Fair    Saudi Minister of Culture holds talks with his Costa Rican counterpart in Jeddah    Alkhorayef praises advancements in Al-Kharj food industries sector    MHRSD: 80% of recruitment offices are non-compliant with regulations    At least 50 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza    Teenage girl killed in French school stabbing attack    Trump claims meeting with China after Beijing denies any trade negotiations    GACA chief chairs 16th meeting of the Steering Committee on aviation's strategy    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Jennifer Lopez dazzles in Jeddah with a Formula 1 performance    Saudi Arabia open to expanded 64-team World Cup in 2034, says sports minister    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Film Commission launches 'Cinema' initiative to enhance content    Famed Philippine film star Nora Aunor dies at 71    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



With world focus on Iraq and Syria, Daesh tightens grip on Libya
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 04 - 12 - 2015

called IS) has strengthened its grip in its Libyan stronghold Sirte as new recruits and foreign fighters join its ranks while world attention focuses on Iraq and Syria.
Experts and sources in Libya say Sirte has become a new focal point for the extremist group as it comes under increasing pressure in its traditional Iraqi and Syrian power bases.
"It is clear ‘Daesh central' made an investment on Libya a long time ago," in a strategy dating back almost two years, said Mattia Toaldo, policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
"Foreign fighters from North Africa are increasingly flocking to Sirte rather than going all the way to Syria."
Exploiting the chaos in Libya as rival militias and governments battled for power, Daesh seized Sirte in June, beheading and putting on crosses the bodies of militiamen who had been fighting them in the coastal city.
Officials in the army loyal to the internationally recognized authorities in the east say Sirte, the hometown of slain leader Muammar Gaddafi, has become a destination of choice for new recruits.
"Sirte is now the center... where new recruits are trained and instructed in the ideology of Daesh," said Mohamed Hijazi, a spokesman for the military led by Gen. Khalifa Haftar.
"Hundreds of foreign fighters have flowed in from Tunisia, Sudan, Yemen and Nigeria to be trained and ready to carry out attacks in other countries," said an army colonel who spoke on condition of anonymity.
A Foreign Ministry source said the number of Daesh recruits in Sirte was "several thousand" and growing, thanks to the "pressure" the militants are being put under in Iraq and Syria.
Another government official said the "strikes against Daesh (in Iraq and Syria) could force it to relocate its leaders and command centres to Libya."
The United Nations, in a report issued on Tuesday, estimated that the number of Daesh fighters in Libya is 2,000 to 3,000, including 1,500 in Sirte.
"Everything has changed in Sirte. Daesh fighters roam the streets as though at home," said a former leader in Sirte's local council.
"They do checks to make sure people aren't skipping prayers and enforce Shariah law, and women are rarely seen" in public, said the former official who fled to Misrata, located half-way along the coast to the Libyan capital.
Daesh strives to give the impression that life in Sirte is normal, staging events to publicize the opening of new bakeries or butcher shops while distributing videos of punitive amputations.
"Daesh recognizes that the chaotic situation in Libya offers it the opportunity to develop its influence network," said risk analysis firm Verisk Maplecroft.
"It is likely to be able to maintain a substantial presence that supports its network across the region for as long as the civil war persists."
In Paris, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said the situation in the conflict-riddled country will be "the big issue in the coming months", noting how "terrorism constantly mutates".
Former colonial power Italy is pressing for an international summit on Libya along the same lines as a recent conference in Vienna aimed at ending the nearly five-year-old war in Syria.
It has set a Dec. 13 date for a conference in Rome aimed at preventing the total collapse of Libya and halting the advance of Daesh.
But for now there is no political solution in sight to end Libya's conflict, with UN-brokered talks on the formation of a national unity government failing in the autumn and yet to resume.
Meanwhile, the militant group is trying to expand its zone of influence to Ajdabiya.
Controlled by militias loyal to the recognized government, the city lies between Sirte and Benghazi in an area where most of the country's oil and gas terminals are clustered.
Daesh is also fighting in some parts of the cities of Benghazi and Derna. "ISIL is an evident short- and long-term threat in Libya," said Tuesday's UN expert report, using another name for Daesh.
But it added that the militants face "strong resistance from the population as well as difficulties in building and maintaining local alliances".


Clic here to read the story from its source.