Libya's Anti-NGO Push Seen as Diversion from Internal Failures, Analysts Say

Head of Libya's Government of National Unity Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah - File Photo
Head of Libya's Government of National Unity Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah - File Photo
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Libya's Anti-NGO Push Seen as Diversion from Internal Failures, Analysts Say

Head of Libya's Government of National Unity Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah - File Photo
Head of Libya's Government of National Unity Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah - File Photo

Libya's suspension of 10 international humanitarian groups, part of a broader crackdown on African migrants, is aimed at masking domestic failures and securing external concessions, particularly from Europe, analysts have said, AFP reported.

Libya's Tripoli-based authorities announced on Wednesday a decision to suspend the Norwegian Refugee Council, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Terre des Hommes, CESVI and six other groups, accusing them of a plan to "settle migrants" from other parts of Africa in the country.

War-torn Libya is a key departure point on North Africa's Mediterranean coast for migrants, mainly from sub-Saharan African countries, risking dangerous sea voyages in the hope of reaching Europe.

Anas al-Gomati, director of the Tripoli-based Sadeq Institute think tank, said "this isn't about NGOs -- it's about creating enemies to distract from failures".

The UN-recognized government of Abdulhamid Dbeibah is "tapping into conservative anxieties while masking their inability to provide basic services", he told AFP.

The ultimate goal, according to Gomati, is to "extract concessions from Europe which, fearing potential migration surges, will offer new funding packages and prop up the government in Tripoli".

On Wednesday, Rome announced the allocation of 20 million euros to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to finance "voluntary repatriations" for 3,300 sub-Saharan migrants who arrived in Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.

"This isn't coincidence -- its coordination. The Libyan authorities shut down NGOs providing monitoring and protection (for migrants) precisely as Italy announces 20 million euros for 'voluntary' returns," said Gomati.

"Italy gets to claim they're funding 'voluntary' returns while Libya gets to demonstrate 'sovereignty', all while vulnerable migrants face extortion in detention before being labelled 'volunteers' for deportation."

Libya analyst Jalel Harchaoui noted that the Tripoli government is adopting a similar tone to Tunisian President Kais Saied, who in early 2023 denounced what he called "hordes of sub-Saharan migrants" who threatened to "change the country's demographic composition".

Harchaoui, of the London-based Royal United Services Institute, said Dbeibah was facing considerable difficulties, particularly in gaining access to public funds, and his once pragmatic relationship with the Haftar family in the east had deteriorated.

Following the NGO ban, aid groups have expressed concern for both their Libyan colleagues and the migrants who have been made more vulnerable in a country that, according to the IOM, is home to more than 700,000 residents from sub-Saharan countries.

The International Commission of Jurists on Friday condemned the "recent collective expulsions, arrests, violent attacks and the surge of hate speech, including that which constitutes incitement to violence, against migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Libya".

The organization noted that the Libyan interior ministry has pledged "the deportation of 100,000 migrants every four months".



Heavy Rains Flood Khartoum Streets, Exposing Decomposed Bodies

A resident attempts to drain floodwaters outside home in Omdurman (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A resident attempts to drain floodwaters outside home in Omdurman (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Heavy Rains Flood Khartoum Streets, Exposing Decomposed Bodies

A resident attempts to drain floodwaters outside home in Omdurman (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A resident attempts to drain floodwaters outside home in Omdurman (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Torrential rains battered several parts of Sudan’s Khartoum state this week, flooding residential neighborhoods and streets, disrupting movement, and sweeping away war debris, including decomposed corpses believed to belong to paramilitary fighters.

The rainfall began as sanitation workers were carrying out maintenance on stormwater drains. But before completing their task, the downpour caught them off guard, forcing them to begin draining the water with basic tools already in use.

Local authorities said residents in the East Nile district reported seeing decomposed bodies swept into drainage canals. Officials suspect the corpses may be those of fighters from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which controlled swathes of the capital during its year-long war with the Sudanese army.

The RSF had held large parts of Khartoum since conflict erupted on April 15, 2023. But by March this year, the army claimed to have regained full control of the city. Since then, thousands of displaced families have returned home, according to state authorities, with more returning each day.

This year’s rainy season arrives amid the devastation of war, which has crippled already fragile infrastructure, particularly flood drainage systems. Even before the conflict, seasonal rains often caused widespread destruction in Khartoum, damaging homes and public facilities and resulting in casualties.

Despite extensive water pooling in open areas, Sudan’s Civil Defense Authority reported no fatalities or property losses. “Water was drained naturally, without any intervention from Civil Defense teams,” said Major General Qureshi, deputy director of emergency operations, in remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat.

Qureshi added that his teams remain on high alert, as a precaution, although Nile water levels remain stable.

Residents attempted to clear water from their homes by removing weeds and waste blocking drainage channels.

“During the RSF's control of the city, we tried to dig small trenches to divert the rainwater toward the main drains,” said resident Mohamed Elias. “But the blocked drains caused water to stagnate for months, leading to insect infestations and disease.”

Although thousands have returned to Khartoum, the national government has not fully re-established itself in the capital, which it fled in favor of Port Sudan, a Red Sea city now serving as a temporary seat of power. Khartoum’s governor, Ahmed Othman, previously told Asharq Al-Awsat that the government’s return to the capital would be gradual.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said over one million displaced Sudanese have returned to their areas of origin across the country, including in Khartoum.