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How Have Internationally Sanctioned Suspects Reemerged in Libya?

An armored personnel vehicle drives down a street in the Libyan coastal city of Surman on April 13, 2020. (AFP)
An armored personnel vehicle drives down a street in the Libyan coastal city of Surman on April 13, 2020. (AFP)
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How Have Internationally Sanctioned Suspects Reemerged in Libya?

An armored personnel vehicle drives down a street in the Libyan coastal city of Surman on April 13, 2020. (AFP)
An armored personnel vehicle drives down a street in the Libyan coastal city of Surman on April 13, 2020. (AFP)

The sudden appearance of Ahmed al-Dabashi, a prominent human trafficker on an international blacklist, in Libya after a two-year absence has raised many questions. Dabashi, also known as "Ammu", had emerged in the western city of Sabratha, days after the Government of National Accord (GNA), captured it.

The United Nations Security Council had in June 2018 imposed sanctions against four Libyans, including Dabashi, for human trafficking. Since then, he had disappeared from Libya, until last week, when he was seen with other wanted suspects among the GNA forces.

His emergence coincided with Libyan National Army (LNA) spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari's announcement that members of the al-Qaeda, ISIS and Ansar al-Sharia extremist groups had taken part in the attack launched by the GNA against Sabratha, Surman and several other cities on the western coast.

Head of a research and studies institute in Libya, Jamal Shalouf, told Asharq Al-Awsat that internationally wanted fugitives are fighting alongside the GNA. They include Dabashi and Abdulrahman al-Miladi, also known as "al-Bidja".

He revealed that some 400 prisoners have been released from Surman jail, according to GNA justice ministry estimates. Some of the released inmates include suspects charged with supporting ISIS in Sabratha.

"Many of the prisoners have a long history of kidnapping, murder and armed robbery," he added.

The wanted international fugitives will try to "impose themselves" on the scene in Libya through reprisals against the people, especially LNA supporters, warned Shalouf.

Mismari had on Sunday announced that Saleh al-Dabashi, Ahmed's brother, was arrested by the LNA in al-Twaisha region south of Tripoli.

Saleh is a major human trafficker in the region and he was detained along with several mercenaries and Libyan fugitives.

Head of of the Republican Coalition party Ezzeddine Aguil said the emergence Ammu, or the "emperor of human trafficking" as he described him, "clearly means that several European countries were supporting militias in order to stem the flow of illegal migrants towards them."

He cited several media reports throughout the past two years that spoke of him receiving finds from Italian intelligence to stop the trafficking of people from Libya to Europe.

A spokesman for the GNA military operation against the LNA, Mustafa al-Majei dismissed claims that the government forces had released ISIS prisoners.

"Such allegations are only meant to deflect from the defeat," he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

He instead accused parties affiliated with the east-based government of releasing over 300 prisoners "in order to spread chaos" in liberated cities.

"We welcomed a United Nations investigation into the incident and we have cooperated with it to reveal the truth to all," he added.

"We do not harbor wanted terrorists," he stressed, saying all the LNA did was circulate photos of "Ammu" and adding that he is wanted on fuel smuggling, not terrorism, charges.

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Frustration, Gaza Alarm Drove Macron to Go It Alone on Palestine Recognition

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) welcomes Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas prior to their meeting at the Elysee Palace, on September 21, 2018 in Paris. (AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron (L) welcomes Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas prior to their meeting at the Elysee Palace, on September 21, 2018 in Paris. (AFP)
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Frustration, Gaza Alarm Drove Macron to Go It Alone on Palestine Recognition

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) welcomes Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas prior to their meeting at the Elysee Palace, on September 21, 2018 in Paris. (AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron (L) welcomes Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas prior to their meeting at the Elysee Palace, on September 21, 2018 in Paris. (AFP)

President Emmanuel Macron's announcement that France would become the first Western member of the United Nations Security Council to recognize a Palestinian state in September has caused diplomatic ructions from the Middle East through Europe to Washington.

But it did not come out of the blue.

When Macron visited the Egyptian town of Al-Arish on the border with Gaza in April, he was struck by the mounting humanitarian crisis and made clear on his return home that Paris would soon opt for recognition.

Working with Saudi Arabia, Macron came up with a plan to have France plus G7 allies Britain and Canada recognize Palestinian statehood, while pushing Arab states to adopt a softer stance towards Israel through a United Nations conference. But despite weeks of talks, he failed to get others on board.

Three diplomats said London did not want to face the wrath of the United States, and Ottawa took a similar stance, leaving Macron to go it alone.

"It became increasingly apparent that we could not wait to get partners on board," said a French diplomat, adding France will work to get more states on board ahead of conference on a two-state solution in September.

Domestically Macron was under rising pressure to do something amid widespread anger at the harrowing images coming out of Gaza. Although with both Europe's biggest Muslim and Jewish communities and a polarized political landscape, there was no obvious course of action that would satisfy all sides.

Israel and its staunch supporter the United States have blasted France's move, branding it a reward for the Palestinian group Hamas, which ran Gaza and whose attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 triggered the current war.

Macron had discussed the matter extensively with both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in advance.

Trump said on Friday that France's decision didn't "carry any weight" but added Macron was "a good guy".

CONFERENCE PLAN

French officials previously considered an announcement at a conference scheduled for June at the United Nations, co-hosted by France and Saudi Arabia, to sketch out a roadmap to a viable Palestinian state while also ensuring Israel’s security.

But the conference was postponed amid intense US diplomatic pressure and after Israeli air strikes on Iran.

Macron's announcement on Thursday is linked to a rescheduled and rejigged version of the UN conference, now planned to take place Monday and Tuesday.

That meeting will be at ministerial level, but Paris decided it would hold a second event with heads of state and government on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September, where Macron will announce formal recognition.

Some analysts say Macron has used the carrot of recognition to extract concessions from Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority which is a moderate rival to Hamas, and other regional players.

"Macron here is acting as a catalyst to get the Palestinians to deliver on the needed reforms, to get the Arabs to deliver on a stabilization force and the disarming of Hamas," said Rym Momtaz, editor-in-chief of the Strategic Europe blog run by the Carnegie Europe think tank.

Others say while recognition has symbolic value, there will still be no functioning Palestinian state whenever the war in Gaza comes to an end.

"Recognition by a European heavyweight like France is indicative of the rising frustration with Israel's intransigent policies," said Amjad Iraqi, senior analyst at International Crisis Group.

"What's the point of recognizing a state if they're doing little to stop it from turning into ruins?"

French officials point to months of intense Israeli lobbying to try to prevent Macron's move - and Netanyahu's fierce criticism of it - as evidence that it matters a lot to Israeli leaders.

Sources familiar with the matter say Israel's warnings to France had ranged from scaling back intelligence-sharing to complicating Paris' regional initiatives - even hinting at possible annexation of parts of the West Bank.

But French officials concluded that Netanyahu would do whatever he thought was in his interests in the West Bank anyway, regardless of what France did on recognition.

Israel's parliament voted on Wednesday in favor of a non-binding declaration urging the government to apply Israeli law to the West Bank, widely seen as a de facto annexation of the territory. That added to the urgency in Paris.

"If there is a moment in history to recognize a Palestinian state, even if it's just symbolic, then I would say that moment has probably come," said a senior French official.