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North Africa Libya

State of emergency in Tripoli. Talks in Brussels. Preparation in Washington

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The inhabitants of Tripoli demand the departure of the militias who came to support the liberation of Tripoli from the regime of Muammar Gaddafi in August 2011. Taking advantage of the security vacuum, they did not leave the capital. (Credit: lematin.dz)

(BRUXELLES2) The Foreign Ministers will examine, this Monday, the situation in Libya. A subject put on the agenda several weeks ago but which is now taking on increased light with the resurgence of violence in Tripoli in particular.

State of emergency and bloody clashes

The proclamation of the state of emergency in the Libyan capital after clashes between the population and the militias which left at least 43 dead and 450 injured this weekend shows how much security is becoming a challenge. Since the government does not have a sufficiently structured army or police, the security of the country (both of its capital and of its borders) is delegated to militias over which no one has control.

Latent insecurity

This phenomenon is not recent. The escalation of violence has been going on for several months, as recently recalled in the B2 Club, the Portuguese MEP Ana Gomes who was returning from a trip there (read: Securing the Libyan shambles: an emergency but not an easy one). The violence has not spared diplomats in recent months. Several diplomatic representations of European countries have thus been the target of violence since the summer (car bomb attack against the Swedish-Finnish consulate, death threats against the Maltese consul, etc.). And some have left the country as a safety measure.

Diplomats targeted

The European Union as such has not been spared. In addition to a private guard from the EUBAM Libya mission assaulted in the street (read: Some weapons missing in Libya… It happens), the convoy in which the EU ambassador to Libya, Nataliya Apostolova, was the victim of an attack in August. She had just left a meeting with the ambassadors of the Member States in the Corinthia hotel, when one of her escort vehicles was hit by a vehicle which did not have plates. A bodyguard was pointed with a gun. The European convoy then left the scene quickly. But shots were then fired in their direction according to the Libyan press. Under the watchful eye of the Corinthia guards who would not have moved.

An American special forces training project

In this context, Americans are still considering " to train the Libyan conventional forces, between 5.000 and 7.000 members of these forces”. And " an additional effort concerning special operations (will be made) to train a certain number of their forces to carry out anti-terrorist actions “, as confirmed by Admiral William H. McRaven, head of the SOC (Special Operations Command), during the “Reagan National Defense Forum” held this Saturday (November 16), in Simi Valley (California). These forces could be formed in small rotating groups in Bulgaria », according to Reuters. However, nothing is decided yet. It is Africom, the US command for Africa, which coordinates this mission. But the problems are not minor, in particular to select the "trainees", as explained by the New York Times.

(Leonor Hubaut & Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)

Read also: The difficult daily life of EUBAM Libya

Leonor Hubaut

© B2 - Bruxelles2 is a French online media that focuses on political Europe (powers, defence, foreign policy, internal security). It follows and analyzes developments in European policy, unvarnished and without concessions. Approved by the CPPAP. Member of SPIIL. Please quote "B2" or "Bruxelles2" in case of recovery Leonor Hubaut is a journalist. Graduated in international relations from the Free University of Brussels (specialization in globalization). She covers for B2 the work of the European Parliament, CSDP missions and African issues. Sahel specialist.

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