@Mohamed alJarehs latest article The Lesser of Two Evil The importance and effectiveness of local stakeholders in addressing the issue of rising extremism is obvious. Haftar seems to be using this strategy in Benghazi militarily by calling on youth groups in various neighborhoods in Benghazi to take control and squeeze extremist militants out of their neighborhoods. Haftar’s forces are making gains in Benghazi and his strategy seems to be working—but at what cost to the society in Benghazi? The use of civilians in armed battles such as that raging in Benghazi could lead to revenge and retribution attacks against families of Ansar al-Sharia militants accused of carrying out assassinations. At least one revenge attack took place against the Swaid family in Benghazi, resulting in the killing of a father, his son, and brother-in–law, because a Swaid family member is linked to the extremist group, Ansar al-Sharia. The incident prompted Haftar to send a message to “the sons of Benghazi” during a TV interview: “I urge all the brave sons of Benghazi to avoid revenge attacks. Any captured militants should be handed over to an army unit,” he said. There is no doubt that the social fabric is the hardest hit as the battle for Benghazi heats up. To mitigate the negative consequences of using civilians to counter the extremist problem, a strategy is desperately needed. Unlike in Derna, the smaller towns of al-Guba and Labraq only few kilometers away allow civil society to flourish and play an increasingly important role. “We would not have been able to continue our work and mission for realizing a civil and democratic Libya if we allowed extremist groups to find a foothold in our towns,” said the young activist from al-Guba. “Look at what has happened to the city of Derna, when extremist groups were unchallenged.” The governments of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States understandably condemn the ongoing violence in Libya, calling for the anti-terrorism campaign to fall under the authority of Libya’s legitimate and democratic authorities. But Haftar’s otherwise military campaign fills the gap created by the paralysis of democratically elected authorities in Libya and reluctance of the international community to take decisive action to counter the rising extremist threat. During his brief visit to Tripoli to encourage dialogue between Libya’s parliamentarians, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon demanded that Haftar stop his attacks in Benghazi. A Benghazi resident of told me, “To whom does Ban Ki Moon plan on leaving us? And what is his alternative to counter the terrorist groups in Benghazi?” In the absence of an alternative strategy to counter the rise of extremism in Libya, the military approach employed by Haftar and his allies is starting to look like the only viable option for many Libyans.
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 18:12:16 +0000
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