Since the 17 February Revolution to overthrow the Muammar Gaddafi regime, the city of Misrata, located about 208 kilometres west of Tripoli, has acquired increasing influence and power in Libya. In large measure, this stems from the crucial role this city played during the revolution, for it was one of the first to declare its opposition to Gaddafi's rule and one of the most steadfast in its resistance. Had it not been for Misrata, western Libya would still be in the grip of the Gaddafi regime, writes Kamel Abdallah. With a population of 400,000, Misrata is the third most densely populated city in Libya, after Tripoli and Benghazi. Situated on the Mediterranean Coast at the western edge of the Gulf of Sirte, it sits atop fertile agricultural land and it is also the site of the country's largest iron and steel plant — a public company that employs more than 6,000 workers. As it evolved into an economic hub since the 1970s it experienced a boom in urban expansion as it attracted more and more inhabitants. Misrata has been nicknamed the “City of the Sands” because of the surrounding belt of high sand dunes, formed by millennia of tidal processes, that stretch from the village of Qasr Ahmed to the east of the city, in which is located the Qasr Ahmed Port and the Misrata free trade zone, to Al-Dafiniya village in the west. Misrata is Libya's commercial port. Indeed, its reputation as a centre of trade dates back centuries. In the post-Gaddafi period, Misrata quickly emerged as a dominant power in the country. During the revolution, it sustained more than five months of bombardment by Gaddafi's forces but it also received massive regional and international aid in order to help it sustain the resistance. The city benefited greatly from this support after the declaration of independence, capitalising on the fact that it had altered the balance of powers in the west in favour of the revolutionaries. In terms of military strength, Misrata is the most powerful city in the country at present. It has no less than 50,000 militiamen, half of whom have been incorporated under the command of the Libyan chief of general staffs and the other half of whom operate outside the official forces of the state. The city also possesses enormous weapons arsenals. It is estimated to have more than 1,000 tanks, huge quantities of missiles and untold numbers of light weapons. There are more than 80 armed formations in the city, of which the most prominent is the Central Libyan Shield, one of the seven Libyan Shield formations that have been incorporated into the forces under the chief of general staffs and the most powerful militia in Libya at present. Paradoxically, Misrata is the most stable and secure city in a country plagued by numerous conflicts. Its streets are monitored round the clock by around 500 digital cameras strategically positioned on 65 streets and the three city entrances and linked to a closed-circuit television system. The surveillance system covers the city's banks, police stations and other security agencies, universities and other public buildings. Politically, during the revolution city leaders succeeded in weaving a network of powerful alliances that enabled them to enhance and expand the influence of the city in the interim phase. Misrata is likely to retain its degree of prominence for some time to come if its alliances weather the upheavals that Libya is experiencing these days. The Islamists are currently the city's most important allies at present. It also succeeded in winning over the Zintan tribe from its traditional kinship based alliance with the Warfala tribes, the largest of all of Libyan tribal groups and the historical and most formidable of Misrata's adversaries. However, recent developments have triggered major tensions in the relations between Misrata and the Zintan. The strains are largely the product of the nature of their respective political alliances. Misrata is linked with the Islamists and, most notably, the Muslim Brotherhood and its political wing, the Justice and Construction Party. The Zintan, by contrast, are allied with liberal and secularist forces, in particular the National Forces Alliance headed by Mahmoud Jibril. The tensions between the allies of the revolution against Gaddafi have escalated sharply against the backdrop of recent developments, especially after the Zintan militias — the Qaqa and Madani regiments and the Sawaeq Brigade — threatened to arrest members of the General National Congress (GNC) if they refuse to resign. Misrata continues to hold out against the call to dissolve the GNC. One major reason why tensions between the Zintan and Misrata have remained contained resides in the nonaggression pact the two sides signed in November 2013. This agreement may have been responsible for bringing the country back from the brink of civil war following the Gharghour incident. On 15 November, Misrata militias stationed in Gharghour, an upscale neighbourhood of Tripoli, opened fire on peaceful demonstrators, who were demanding the evacuation of militias from the capital, killing and wounding dozens. Against the backdrop of heightened political tensions throughout the country, Misrata's relations with its neighbouring towns and cities are not faring as well as they once had. For one, the behaviour of some of the more undisciplined of the Misrata militias has triggered strong animosities to the degree that we can say that the city has become surrounded by a belt of enemies. The animosities would also be fed by the city's conflicts with major tribal groupings, most notably the Warfala and Tarhuna. Economically, Misrata, with its strategic position on the Sirte gulf on the Mediterranean, its strong commercial reputation and its large non-petroleum commercial port, has become Libya's engine of economic development. Last year 208,339 containers were unloaded in the Misrata port compared to 159,634 containers in 2012, according to Mohammed Al-Sowieh, director of marketing and cooperation in the Misrata Free Zone Company. In a statement to Reuters on 26 December 2013, Al-Soweih also said that 18 companies had invested in the local free trade zone and that there were 50 more applications for investment in that zone that were currently under study. According to Abdel Mawla Boulwiefa, project director of the Misrata Port Free Zone, in 2009 this company contracted the Turkish TML firm to undertake 145 million dinars worth of infrastructural projects to develop the port. Misrata hosts the headquarters of the Libyan Businessmen's Council. Much of the credit for the city's post-revolutionary revival is due to the businessmen who, in the aftermath of the fighting, rushed in to repair the renovate the city's airport, seaport and commercial centres which had been severely damaged during the war of liberation.
