The Islamic State (IS) has strengthened its grip in its Libyan stronghold Sirte as new recruits and foreign fighters join its ranks while world attention focuses on Iraq and Syria.
Experts and sources in Libya say Sirte has become a new focal point for the militant group as it comes under increasing pressure in its traditional Iraqi and Syrian power bases.
“It is clear ‘IS central’ made an investment on Libya a long time ago,” in a strategy dating back almost two years, European Council on Foreign Relations policy fellow Mattia Toaldo said. “Foreign fighters from North Africa are increasingly flocking to Sirte rather than going all the way to Syria.”
Photo: Reuters
Exploiting the chaos in Libya as rival militias and governments battled for power, IS seized Sirte in June, beheading and putting on crosses the bodies of militiamen who had been fighting them in the coastal city.
Officials in the army loyal to the internationally recognized authorities in the east say Sirte, the hometown of late Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, has become a destination of choice for new recruits.
“Sirte is now the center ... where new recruits are trained and instructed in the ideology of IS,” said Mohamed Hijazi, a spokesman for the military led by General Khalifa Haftar.
“Hundreds of foreign fighters have flowed in from Tunisia, Sudan, Yemen and Nigeria to be trained and ready to carry out attacks in other countries,” said an army colonel who spoke on condition of anonymity.
A foreign ministry source said the number of IS recruits in Sirte was “several thousand” and growing, thanks to the “pressure” the militants are being put under in Iraq and Syria.
Another government official, using an Arabic acronym for IS, said the “strikes against Daesh [in Iraq and Syria] could force it to relocate its leaders and command centers to Libya.”
The UN, in a report issued on Tuesday, estimated that the number of IS fighters in Libya is 2,000 to 3,000, including 1,500 in Sirte.
“Everything has changed in Sirte. Daesh fighters roam the streets as though at home,” a former leader in Sirte’s local council said.
“They do checks to make sure people aren’t skipping prayers and enforce Shariah law, and women are rarely seen” in public, said the former official, who fled to Misrata.
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