Rupert Wieloch

In July, the LNA pushed Islamic State out Sabratha, but the power struggle in this important town continues.  The latest fighting between 48 Brigade and the Anti-Daesh Operations Room is now a week old.  Damage has spread from the town centre to Dahman district.

Sabratha controls the main route between Tripoli and Tunisia and sits next to the Zawiyah Oil Refinery.  That is why the local elders from Zintan, Zawiyah and Sabratha have been joined by those from Zuwara, Khoms, Zliten and Misrata in calling for an immediate ceasefire.

Our examination of Sabratha and the western coastal towns in 2011 is covered in Chapter 6 of Belfast to Benghazi.

http://www.waterstones.com/book/belfast-to-benghazi/rupert-wieloch/9781861515667

 

The recent move by Misrata to allow Tawerghans to return home has failed at the outset.  Reconciliation appears a long way away after four families, who returned to the ethnically cleansed town for a temporary visit, were assaulted by local militia, while they prepared a celebration meal.

In 2012, MSF pulled out of the Misratan jails after claiming they were keeping prisoners alive so the guards could continue to torture them.  See Chapter 6 of Belfast to Benghazi to read about the other nine strategic security risks in Libya after the death of Colonel Gadhafi.

https://www.waterstones.com/book/belfast-to-benghazi/rupert-wieloch/9781861515667

 

The UK Media is concentrating on Aid to the Caribbean following Irma’s wrath, but US Secretary Tillerson’s reason for joining Boris Johnson in London is the Political Summit focused on achieving peace in Libya.

The new UN Special Representative for Libya, Ghassan Salamé, will discuss what can be done to maintain recent momentum with the delegations from France, the United Arab Emirates, Italy and Egypt.  Qatar is the only member of the 2011 “Group of 4” not represented – a pointed omission.

See Chapter 6 of Belfast to Benghazi to read how they tried to influence Ministerial decisions in Tripoli and backed Abdul Hakim Bel-Haj.

https://www.waterstones.com/book/belfast-to-benghazi/rupert-wieloch/9781861515667

Libyan Chief of Defence with International Military Staff 2012

 

The Desert Eagles, a Tebu Brigade operating 1,000 kilometres south of Tripoli in the Fezzan, has seized a convoy of 60 lorries crossing the Libyan southern border.  This region is rife with smugglers of contraband and one of the key routes that human traffickers use to transport Sub-Saharan migrants to the Mediterranean.

Border security in the ungoverned and porous Sahel was one of the key concerns when I served in Libya. Millions of Euros have been spent trying to secure the southern border in the past 20 years without success.  Is this the start of a more sustainable solution?

See pages 283-287 of Belfast to Benghazi for our visit to the Fezzan.

 https://www.waterstones.com/book/belfast-to-benghazi/rupert-wieloch/9781861515667

 

Looking forward to joining Sarah Brett and Nihal Arthanayake on Afternoon Edition tomorrow at 3 p.m.  The programme is live from the flight deck of the Royal Navy’s newest Aircraft Carrier, HMS Prince of Wales as it is being put together in Rosyth.  I shall be joining a panel of former military servicemen discussing Defence costs and how the Aircraft Carriers will be used.

https://www.waterstones.com/book/belfast-to-benghazi/rupert-wieloch/9781861515667

After tracing the causes of the current situation in Libya, I had a cautiously optimistic discussion with Dermot Murnaghan about future prospects, based on the positive reception given to the new UN Head of Mission and to the Foreign Secretary’s visit to Benghazi yesterday.

Great praise is due to the members of the Red Crescent who have been excavating the grave discovered full of fighters from the Benghazi Revolutionaries’ Shoura Council and their allies.  It is a thankless but necessary task to rebury them, with respect, in Hawari to start the reconciliation process.

It is sad to read that seven members of the White helmets were shot dead yesterday in an area controlled by an Islamist group linked to al Qaida.  I met some of the White Helmets when they narrowly missed out on the Nobel Peace Prize last year.  My deep condolences are passed to their families.  This provides further evidence that the victims of Aleppo have been abandoned by the very people who encouraged them to rebel in 2011.

Saif Al-Islam Qaddafi has joined the criticism of the Italian naval deployment in Libyan waters.  Allegedly he has said that Italy has violated Libyan sovereignty and is trying re-colonise the country.  This will be the sentiment of many of the Libyans I met in 2011.  They knew they needed assistance, but were unwilling to provide western military troops with the legal protocols that other countries typically allow.  This makes it very difficult to help Libya move forward and re-engage with the international community.  See page 248 of Belfast to Benghazi for the challenge I faced in seeking a Status of Forces Agreement with the Transitional Government.

http://www.waterstones.com/book/belfast-to-benghazi/rupert-wieloch/9781861515667

The reported withdrawal of the al Amu militia from Sabratha this weekend could be a pivotal moment in Libya.  Sabratha has been one of the 3 ISIS footholds in Libya and is the main launching area for illegal migrants attempting to enter Europe.   There is much to play for because it controls the main route between Tripoli and Tunisia and sits next to the Zawiyah Oil Refinery.

It is claimed the ousting force is connected to General Haftar’s Libyan National Army.  Will this be the start of the LNA’s advance across Tripolitania, or will there be an Islamist backlash this week?

Our examination of Sabratha and the western coastal towns in 2011 is covered in Chapter 6 of Belfast to Benghazi.

http://www.waterstones.com/book/belfast-to-benghazi/rupert-wieloch/9781861515667