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Revenge Using ISIS-Style Executions Intimidates Libyans

People walk near a puddle of water mixed with blood at the site of twin car bombs in Benghazi that resulted in scores of deaths and injuries, Libya, January 24, 2018. (Reuters)
People walk near a puddle of water mixed with blood at the site of twin car bombs in Benghazi that resulted in scores of deaths and injuries, Libya, January 24, 2018. (Reuters)
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Revenge Using ISIS-Style Executions Intimidates Libyans

People walk near a puddle of water mixed with blood at the site of twin car bombs in Benghazi that resulted in scores of deaths and injuries, Libya, January 24, 2018. (Reuters)
People walk near a puddle of water mixed with blood at the site of twin car bombs in Benghazi that resulted in scores of deaths and injuries, Libya, January 24, 2018. (Reuters)

Rage and fear spread among Libyans after the escalation of “attacks of vengeance for detainees and civilians” after three men were shot dead in Derna in murders that were reminiscent of those committed by the ISIS terrorist group.

They were killed in retaliation to commander from the Libyan National Army forces (LNA) Mahmoud al-Werfalli’s alleged killing of 10 people in front of the Radwan mosque in the city of Benghazi. Some citizens said that five bodies were found in a trash dumpster on the side of a road in Benghazi. There has been no official confirmation or denial of the discovery.

Derna residents decried the so-called pro-Qaeda Shura Council of Mujahideen in Derna for killing the three men on Thursday on charges of cooperating with the LNA.

Member of the High Council of State Mansour al-Hasadi called for putting an end to executions outside the law, denouncing their execution without a fair trial.

“Killing without a trial is forbidden and criminal. It is a violation of the most basic human rights. It is rejected regardless of the reasons or justifications,” he added, while condemning terrorism.

He stated to Asharq Al-Awsat that these murders would fracture the social fabric and increase chaos, which would affect any opportunity for stability in Libya.

LNA forces are besieging Derna, which is held by the Shura Council of Mujahideen in Derna.

A local official reported to Asharq Al-Awsat that these practices are rejected. “ISIS-style revenge killings have become a danger to us,” he added.

The National Human Rights Committee – Libya considered in a statement on Friday that the collective field executions of prisoners and detainees suspected of belonging to terrorist organizations without revealing their identities, reasons behind arresting them and investigations results, are a crime similar to those committed by ISIS.

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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.