ISIS reappearing in southern Libya

Aya Ezz

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (aka ISIS) is reemerging in southern Libya. The Libyan National Army (LNA) has already spotted moves by the terrorist organization in this part of Libya.

LNA Spokesman Ahmed al-Mesmari said on August 27 that ISIS is especially present in an area called Umm al-Aranib.

ISIS members, al-Mesmari said, move freely in this area, receiving backing from Chadian mercenaries.

The Turkish newspaper Zaman had previously revealed that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had coordinated the transfer of ISIS members from Syria and Iraq to Libya.

ISIS redeployed itself in southern Libya in the past few months. It succeeded in controlling the main road connecting the northern city of Sirte with the southern city of Sabha.

Deployment

According to AFP, ISIS succeeded in regrouping and forming different convoys. Each of the convoys contains between five and seven vehicles that move together in areas where there is no security presence.

Southern Libya is a fertile soil for the presence of ISIS, AFP said.

It said this part of Libya is controlled by a radical ideology.

This makes it easy for ISIS members to draw in recruits from the area or from neighboring states, AFP said.

American journalist Emily Steel said ISIS has become a formidable threat in southern Libya.

She added in an interview with Fox News that the terrorist organization wants to control southern Libya and turn it into a launch pad for its aspired expansion in the region.

Libyan political analyst Mahmud Ismail said Turkey works to use the security vacuum present in some parts of Libya in transferring ISIS members to these areas.

ISIS wants to be present in the Libyan desert at any cost, Ismail said.