The slaughter of 21 Egyptians by the Libyan offshoot of the so-called Islamic State is a wake-up call for Libyan militias fighting against the internationally recognized parliament and government. The chaos that has ensued has provided a breeding ground for the terrorist cancer. The horrific crimes took place in Sirte, an area nominally controlled by the rebels. Though Egyptian warplanes have already bombed positions held by IS, the only way of being sure that these diseased individuals are removed, is for the rebels to send in their own militiamen. The question is whether they have the will and indeed the capacity to put boots on the ground to destroy the terrorists. Last week IS seized the Sirte radio station, hospital and a number of public buildings. The president of the rebel parliament, Nuri Abu Sahmain held an emergency meeting at which he vowed to take back the city. It was not known at the time that the Egyptians had been massacred. The problem is that the rebel militias are a mixed bunch. The capital Tripoli is controlled by a group called the Nawasi Brigade, nominally Islamist but which has within its ranks many of the hardened criminals that Muammar Gaddafi released from his jails in the final days of the 2011 revolution that overthrew him. The rebels' real muscle comes from the port city of Misrata, which has three main militias. Within the city there are supporters of Ansar Al-Sharia, an Al-Qaeda affiliate which the UN has now also branded a terrorist organization. Indeed the rebel prime minister in Tripoli, Omer Al-Hassi, has declared Ansar Al-Sharia to be “beautiful”. Though it is being said that many of the Libyan IS terrorists have drifted away from Ansar Al-Sharia, the truth is that there is probably not much that divides them.
The Misratans are clearly split over their response to the terror threat. Three of their own militiamen were captured and beheaded by IS/Ansar two weeks ago. The city's leaders have declared themselves opposed to terrorism. But is there the cohesion and will to march on Sirte and destroy IS before it spreads further? Some might argue that it is already perhaps too late. IS has cells in Tripoli. Two weeks ago, a couple of IS gunmen massacred 13 people at the capital's most prestigious hotel, the Corinthia. There have been shootouts between IS and the Nawasi Brigade. So volatile has the city become that the Italian embassy, the last major European diplomatic mission, was evacuated on Sunday. This devil's brew could poison the rebellion that originally poisoned Libya's fledgling democratic process, by rejecting the outcome of last year's general election. There are those who are arguing for international intervention. In the past, most Libyans, from both the government and the rebel side, have held out resolutely against such a option. Moreover the Europeans and Americans, whose airpower was pivotal in the overthrow of Gaddafi, have until now displayed no appetite for another land war, following the failures of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Yet if IS is seen to be triumphing in Libya, this position will change. The air campaign taking place in Iraq and Syria will be extended to Libya. The subsequent carnage and destruction will be a further body blow to a suffering people who long only for peace and freedom.
