Since last week, the ministries of foreign affairs, justice and the interior in Libya have been under siege by armed militias demanding that the government and the General National Congress (GNC) pass the political isolation law that would ban all associates of the former regime from positions in government, especially in ministries such as foreign affairs, justice and finance. In addition to this campaign of legislation at gunpoint, the recent attack against the French embassy in Tripoli underscores the fragility of the security situation in Libya, where militias at the command of various ideological camps and rival interest groups are increasingly dominating the complex political checkerboard in this country. The conflict between the current Prime Minister Ali Zeidan and his Interior Minister Ashour Showeil, on the one hand, and the armed militias, on the other, has been seething beneath the surface for several months. With the advent of the new political isolation law, the conflict has reached a head as the government insists that the militias lay down their arms and subordinate themselves to the legitimacy of the state, while the militias remain bent on forcing the passage of the controversial law. Zeidan had hinted at the possibility of such a scenario in November, when he introduced his cabinet nominees to the GNC. At the time he said that he had had troubles forming the government due to pressures exerted by forces opposed to the return to power of affiliates of the former regime. The militias, for their part, allege that Zeidan wants to use former regime affiliates to impose his government's agenda, and they have declared their opposition to what they claim is his approach to handling the country's pressing needs, such as the restoration of security, the imposition of the rule of law, and the development of a strong police force and a modern and well-equipped army. In the capital, the militias have asserted their control over the vicinity of the Foreign Ministry since Sunday. They are threatening to “withdraw confidence from the government of Ali Zeidan” if it refuses to yield to their demands to pass the political isolation law. The “coordinating committee” that organised these protests with the militias has given the government a three-day ultimatum, beginning on Sunday to “purge the cabinet of symbols of the former regime”, as coordinating committee spokesman Adel Al-Ghiriani put it. As though the situation were not fraught enough, more than 100 policemen stormed the Ministry of Interior headquarters on Sunday, where they began an open-ended sit-in to press previously voiced demands for adequate protection for the police in the course of the performance of their duties, health insurance, better job and pay conditions, and the restoration of the prestige and full rights of policemen. The following day, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was still under siege, other militia bands stormed the Ministry of Finance located in downtown Tripoli and began to assault the guards. These quickly withdrew in order to avoid a confrontation with their attackers. Also last week in Tripoli, a third band of armed men attacked a Ministry of Justice police vehicle that was transporting prisoners and three escort vehicles. One prisoner was killed and several others were severely injured during the attack, according to the Libyan minister of justice. As tensions spiralled, Prime Minister Ali Zeidan cautioned that his government “might be forced to confront the violence with force”. He also warned that “if the violence and security breakdown continue, the international community may be compelled to intervene.” This was the seventh time that the prime minister had issued such warnings to the militias which he blames for the deteriorating state of security in the country. The militias appear unfazed as they have responded in kind, threatening to bring down the Zeidan government if it persists in its “intransigence” with respect to the passage and implementation of the political isolation law. The security breakdown is also affecting other parts of the country. To the east, the Birka Police Station in downtown Benghazi was struck by a massive explosion that entirely destroyed the building, although only one person was injured. It is uncertain whether this incident was connected with remarks by Chadian President Idriss Deby on the Qatari news channel Al-Jazeera charging that Chadian rebels were being sheltered in camps in Benghazi. Shortly afterwards, officials in Chad announced that they had thwarted a coup attempt by Chadian rebels coming from the Libyan border. In southern Libya, a GNC member from the city of Al-Kufra, which is located near the border with Chad, announced on Friday that Chadian forces had penetrated more than 100 km into Libyan territory without encountering the Libyan armed forces. The incursion further throws into relief Libya's weak security at a time when neither the army nor the militias are capable of controlling the country's far-flung borders. Many quarters in Libya and abroad are deeply disturbed by the volatile security situation in Libya at present. Officials in the UN have urged Libyans to choose the path of dialogue over violence in order to solve the many problems in their country. Prime Minister Zeidan cautioned that “if the siege of the Foreign Ministry continues, it will certainly harm the Libyan people and the reputation of the country. It will keep foreign companies from investing here and drive foreign embassies out of the country.” Zeidan added that there had been intensive efforts to persuade the militias to lift their siege of the Foreign Ministry because the longer it persisted the more it would affect foreign diplomatic missions. “Already the German embassy has suspended its operations, which has brought to a halt the issuing of medical treatment visas for the wounded. We are uncertain whether the situation will aggravate further.” The attack against the French embassy raised considerable alarm. The mufti of Libya, Sheikh Al-Sadeq Al-Ghiriani, stated that “at a time when we are condemning all incidents of bombing and disruption of security that strike the country to the south, east and west, we also stress that the bombing of the French embassy in Tripoli has wrought material and moral harm and terrorised peaceful people.” Al-Ghiriani urged the government and security agencies to take all necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents and to intensify the protection of foreign embassies. He also called for investigation into the incident and into all the other bombing incidents that are jeopardising the security of the country, adding that the results of these investigations and the identities of the perpetrators needed to be made public. The Libyan justice minister, who survived an attack by militia forces last week, struck a defiant tone in the face of the spreading lawlessness. “In spite of the challenges facing the judicial police which are seeking to impose the rule of law at all levels of the institutions concerned with reform, rehabilitation and prisons in Libya, the members of this agency remain determined to perform the duties with which they are charged,” he said. Yet, it appears that the militias nevertheless have the upper hand. They are better armed than the government forces and they are also said to possess sophisticated eavesdropping equipment which they use to spy on government officials. In April, Libyan Interior Minister Ashour Showeil stated during an interview on Libyan television that certain parties had bugged the phones of Libyan officials. Although he did not identify these parties, the implication was that these were the militias that had taken part in the overthrow of the former Gaddafi regime and that had then seized possession of the surveillance equipment that had been housed in security agencies and subsequently refused to hand it over to the new government. Libyans are naturally worried by the deteriorating state of security in their country. They fear that if the situation degenerates further, UN Security Council Resolution 1973 will be invoked again, leading to another round of international military intervention similar to that which took place during the civil war against the Gaddafi regime. Libya continues to fall under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which sanctions intervention in the event of a threat to international peace and security. In January, the possible invocation of this article in Libya was renewed for another year.
