The security situation in Libya remains a cause for great concern and the international community ignores it at its peril. There are still too many armed militia groups outside the control of the central government and this threatens to turn Libya into a failed State, which would have dire consequences for the entire region, including, of course, Malta.
Militia fighters have even managed to disrupt oil exports in recent months, cutting off the government’s main source of revenue, to the extent that even the payment of public salaries is at risk.
Earlier this week, Libyan troops clashed with Islamic militants in Benghazi after an army unit pursued a suspect into an area where the Islamist Ansar al-Sharia militia operates its own checkpoints. At least nine people were killed and 49 wounded in the gun battles.
Two weeks ago, at least 46 people were killed and 235 injured in clashes in Tripoli when militiamen opened fire on protesters. The week before, clashes between rival militias in the capital left dozens of people dead. It took some days for the Libyan army to secure Tripoli and persuade the militias to pull out.
Examples of lawlessness are never ending. Earlier this month, Libya’s deputy intelligence chief, Mustafa Noah, was kidnapped by armed militants, only to be released a day later. Last month, Prime Minister Ali Zeidan himself was kidnapped by a group of former rebels and kept in captivity for several hours.
Since the overthrow of the Gaddafi regime two years ago over 100 judges and senior army and police officers were assassinated by militia groups.
The security vacuum in the North African country, therefore, must be addressed by the international community, particularly the European Union and Nato. Foreign Minister George Vella was right when he recently urged his EU counterparts to strengthen their engagement with Libya in view of the country’s fragile security situation.
He also said that the EU should support the launch of a single national dialogue process to bring together and empower all elements of Libyan society.
“The EU needs to ensure that its relations with Libya are given a strong focus on capacity-building in order to help the country move forward in its democratic transition,” he said.
Dr Vella’s emphasis on capacity-building and the involvement of all elements of Libyan society in a new democratic society is, of course, correct but has proven to be very difficult in practice.
Post-Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has had to start from scratch and Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdel Aziz said during a recent visit to Malta it would take many years to build democratic institutions in his country. Time, however, is not exactly on Libya’s side and the EU should do its utmost to help it in its difficult transition to a stable democracy based on the rule of law.
A professional standing Libyan army, loyal only to the State, and the securing of Libya’s borders, is absolutely essential to ensure stability. A number of Nato powers are now offering training and aid for Libya’s military.
This is encouraging but most of the programmes are just beginning and the military is still no match for many of the armed militias, some of them linked to radical Islamic groups, roaming the country.
Such military assistance needs to be speeded up and Libya must also consider requesting international assistance, preferably under the auspices of the UN, to secure its borders and, thus, stop Libya from turning into a transit point for weapons destined for jihadist terrorists.