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Turkey Accused of Seeking to Use Libya to Establish ‘African Idlib’

A Boko Haram flag flies from an abandoned command post, Gamboru, Nigeria, February 4, 2015. (Getty Images)
A Boko Haram flag flies from an abandoned command post, Gamboru, Nigeria, February 4, 2015. (Getty Images)
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Turkey Accused of Seeking to Use Libya to Establish ‘African Idlib’

A Boko Haram flag flies from an abandoned command post, Gamboru, Nigeria, February 4, 2015. (Getty Images)
A Boko Haram flag flies from an abandoned command post, Gamboru, Nigeria, February 4, 2015. (Getty Images)

Libyans and extremist groups experts have expressed concerns that radical organizations may exploit the unrest in Libya to establish new strongholds for their activities in northern and western Africa and the Sahel region. Such concerns are justified as Turkey continues to bring in droves of mercenaries and extremists from northern Idlib in Syria to Libya.

Ankara had intervened in the Libyan crisis in favor of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA).

Founder of the “Silphium center for studies and research” Gamal Shallouf said Turkey has transformed Libya into a “backyard base” for terrorists because it continues to bring in extremists from Idlib and northern Syria to Tripoli.

This may pave the way for Libya to turn into an open ground for such terrorist organizations or for the emergence of new groups that may defect from present ones, he warned to Asharq Al-Awsat. “These new groups could be more radical than the original ones.”

He explained that after any defeat, terrorist groups often split up into smaller ones. This was demonstrated in Syria, where some terrorists have moved from one old battleground to a new one.

The international community should have rid Syria of these organizations, but Ankara swept in instead and moved them to Libya, he remarked.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had revealed that Turkey has transferred some 10,000 extremists from Syria to Libya. Many of these fighters were members of al-Qaeda and are wanted internationally on terror charges.

Shallouf cited confirmed reports in March that said members of the Hurras al-Din al-Qaeda affiliate had moved to Libya’s Misrata. Some have even headed to Mali. Former members of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group also headed to Libya in April

As for ISIS, members of the group have joined the affiliate in southern Libya, know as the “army of the desert”, that operates in southern Algeria, Chad and Niger.

Shallouf warned that the emergence of such fighters and new alliances will pose a danger not only to Libya, but the entire region. Some new groups, including ISIS affiliates, may align themselves with Boko Haram that is active in Nigeria, Chad and Mali. Others may join the Ansar Beit al-Maqdis.

Moreover, Shallouf warned that the extremists may take advantage of Libya’s strategic location and head to Europe. Unconfirmed reports said that some have even made it to the continent after traveling onboard illegal migrant boats.

Tunisian extremist groups expert Dr. Alaya Allani said Turkey is seeking to reduce the number of ISIS members in camps it oversees in Syria by transferring them to Libya under the pretense of backing the GNA.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he said ISIS and al-Qaeda extremists will join present groups that are active in Africa. “Even though they follow contradictory ideologies and different leaderships, they have recently divided areas of influence, namely in Mali and Burkina Faso,” he added.

Despite the seemingly bleak outlook, he expressed confidence that the radical extremist groups will no longer be able to keep a foothold in Libya once the Berlin conference agreements are implemented.

“Contrary to Syria, no one in Libya will accept them, which means they will have to move to the Sahel region that borders Libya and also towards the Sahara Desert,” he said. The Sahara could some day become a main stronghold for such groups.

A report by the Egyptian Center for Strategic Studies found a sharp rise in terrorist activity in Africa in 2019. It documented 3,471 terror attacks that killed at least 10,000 people.

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What Has Assad’s Fall Revealed about the Captagon Drug Trade in Syria?

A Syrian member of the opposition shows amphetamine pills known as Captagon hidden inside an electrical component at a warehouse where the drug was manufactured before the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government at a facility in Douma city, outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)
A Syrian member of the opposition shows amphetamine pills known as Captagon hidden inside an electrical component at a warehouse where the drug was manufactured before the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government at a facility in Douma city, outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)
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What Has Assad’s Fall Revealed about the Captagon Drug Trade in Syria?

A Syrian member of the opposition shows amphetamine pills known as Captagon hidden inside an electrical component at a warehouse where the drug was manufactured before the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government at a facility in Douma city, outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)
A Syrian member of the opposition shows amphetamine pills known as Captagon hidden inside an electrical component at a warehouse where the drug was manufactured before the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government at a facility in Douma city, outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP)

Since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, industrial-scale manufacturing facilities of Captagon have been uncovered around the country, which experts say helped flourish a $10 billion annual global trade in the highly addictive drug.

Among the locations used for manufacturing the drug were the Mazzeh air base in Damascus, a car-trading company in Latakia and a former potato chips factory on the outskirts of Damascus.

The factory that once produced the crunchy snack in the suburb of Douma under the name, Captain Corn, was seized by government forces in 2018.

"Assad’s collaborators controlled this place. After the regime fell... I came here and found it on fire," Firas al-Toot, the original owner of the factory, told The Associated Press. "They came at night and lit the drugs on fire but couldn’t burn everything."

"From here, Captagon pills emerged to kill our people," said Abu Zihab, an activist with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the main group now ruling the country, as his group gave access to journalists to the site.

Syria's nearly 14-year-old civil war fragmented the country, crumbled the economy and created fertile ground for the production of the drug. Militias, warlords and the Assad government transformed Captagon from a small-scale operation run by small criminal groups into a billion-dollar industrial revenue stream.

The recent ousting of Assad has disrupted these networks and has given a closer look at its operations — revealing the workings of a war economy that sustained Assad’s power over Syria. Experts say the change in Syria might create an opportunity to dismantle the Captagon industry.

How did Syria build its Captagon empire?

Captagon was first developed in Germany in the 1960s as a prescription stimulant for conditions like narcolepsy. It was later outlawed due to heart issues and its addictive properties.

Its amphetamine-like effects made it popular in the Middle East among both elites and fighters, as it enhanced focus and reduced fatigue.

Assad's government recognized an opportunity in the cheaply manufactured drug amid Syria’s economic turmoil and the heavy sanctions imposed on it.

Captagon is produced through a simple chemical process that involves mixing amphetamine derivatives with excipients to form tablets, typically in makeshift labs.

The Captagon trade began industrializing around 2018-2019 as the Assad regime — and other armed groups in Syria -- invested in production facilities, warehouses and trafficking networks. This allowed Syria to emerge as the largest producer of Captagon globally, with some production also occurring in Lebanon.

Most seized consignments of Captagon originated from Syria, according to data by the New Lines Captagon Trade Project, an initiative of the New Lines Institute think tank.

Evidence of the Assad regime’s sponsorship of the Captagon industry is overwhelming, the report published in May said. The Security Office of the 4th Armored Division of the Syrian Arab Army, headed by Bashar al-Assad’s brother Maher oversaw operations and created a coordinated production system, the report added.

Where and how was Captagon smuggled?

Captagon was smuggled across the border using various methods, hiding Captagon in trucks, cargo shipments and goods. Some shipments are concealed in food, electronics and construction materials to evade detection.

The primary smuggling routes were Syria’s porous borders with Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, from which the drug is distributed throughout the region. Some were also shipped from Latakia port.

In Lebanon, the Captagon trade has flourished, particularly near the Syrian border and in the Bekaa Valley. Lebanese authorities struggled to curb the flow of Captagon from Syria, which analysts say was facilitated by the Hezbollah group, a key Assad ally.

Following the discovery of crates of fruit meticulously packed with bundles of the drug hidden among pomegranates and oranges, Saudi Arabia and the UAE implemented bans on Lebanese agricultural products.

Captagon has also found its way into international markets, reaching as far as Southeast Asia and parts of Europe.

How much revenue did it produce for the Assad regime?

The annual global trade in Captagon has an estimated value of $10 billion, with the ousted Assad family's annual profit reaching around $2.4 billion, according to Caroline Rose, director of the New York-based New Lines Institute Captagon Trade Project.

"Seeing the uncovering of so many industrial-scale facilities affiliated with the regime was shocking but not surprising. There was extensive evidence linking key regime-aligned cronies and Assad family members to the trade," said Rose, whose organization tracks all publicly recorded Captagon seizures and lab raids. The discovery of the facilities, she said, confirmed "the concrete relationship between Captagon and the former regime."

The exact number of factories in Syria remains unclear, but experts and HTS members estimate that there are likely hundreds spread throughout the country.

The future of Captagon in post-Assad Syria

Assad has turned Syria into "the largest Captagon factory in the world," HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa stated in a victory speech at Damascus’s Umayyad Mosque on Dec. 8. "Today, Syria is being cleansed, thanks to the grace of Almighty God."

While Assad and his circle may have been the primary beneficiaries, there is also evidence that Syrian opposition groups were involved in drug smuggling, opposition groups, local militias and organized crime networks manufactured and smuggled the drug to finance their operations, analysts say.

"Likely, we will see a short-term supply reduction in the trade, with a decline in the size and frequency of seizures as industrial-scale production is largely halted. However, criminal actors are innovative, likely seeking out new locations to engage in production and smuggling, particularly as demand levels remain stable," Rose said.

They may also "seek out alternative illicit trades to engage in instead," she said.

In addition to dismantling the Captagon trade, the country's transitional government should "establish programs for economic development that will incentivize Syrians to participate in the country’s formal, licit economic sphere," Rose said.