Libya News Agency takes issue with accusations by some African leaders that Libya is fuelling terrorism in region
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Libyan News Agency (LANA) has strongly reacted to some African leaders who, at the African Union (AU) Extraordinary Summit on Terrorism and Unconstitutional Changes in Africa held last Saturday in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, accused Libya of being at the origin of terrorism in the region.
The Agency condemned this attitude as a "policy of headlong rush" and "flimsy" and "illogical" justifications, reflecting an inability of the leaders of the countries and governments concerned to deal with the real problems and complex crises experienced by their countries.
It should be noted that the head of the Transitional Military Council in Chad, Mahamat Idriss Deby, stated at the Summit that the State of Libya had become a space of chaos and a breeding ground for "jihadists" and criminal gangs due to the proliferation of weapons of all kinds in this North African country.
Commenting on these remarks, LANA said in an analysis published on Monday that it had observed that some of the heads of state and government who spoke at the summit once again resorted to what it described as the "politics of flight" when referring to the growing phenomenon of terrorism in the region by linking it to the Libyan crisis and the state of instability and insecurity in Libya since 2011.
"These justifications are fragile and illogical, and can, in fact, be considered as a headlong rush and reflect an inability at the level of the leaders of the countries and governments concerned to deal with the real problems and complex crises experienced by their countries, whether on the security, economic, social or political level.
It should be noted that Chad is known for its endemic insecurity marked by coups d'état and violent regime changes with the existence of a plethora of armed opposition that has constantly harassed the regime of the late President Idriss Deby Itno throughout his 30-year reign since he took power in 1990 following a coup against Hissène Habré.
Mr Deby was killed in November 2021 in fighting with Chadian rebels. The Libyan news agency recalled that the phenomenon of terrorism, the spread of organized crime, cross-border crime, arms and drug trafficking, human trafficking and illegal migration, in this particular region, dates back several decades before the Libyan crisis.
Aware of the existence of security problems in this vast desert region between Chad, Niger, Sudan and Libya, a treaty was signed in 1989 between the authorities of the four countries to secure the common borders, which are skimmed by trafficking gangs of all kinds that collude with terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda in the Arab Maghreb (AQIM), which finds in this trafficking a source of funding for its activities, including hostage-taking.
LANA acknowledged that "instability in Libya may have exacerbated these crimes, but it is by no means a major factor, especially considering that the worsening security crisis in the region, particularly in Libya, is largely due to the inaction of African countries to act, with its duties and inability to control its border areas with Libya, which has become a hotbed for armed groups, criminal gangs and international networks of trafficking in migrants and wealth".
It should be noted that the problems of insecurity in the Sahel region existed long before the revolution of 17 February 2011 that toppled the regime of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi with the issue of Tuareg rebels in northern Mali and Niger before 1987 and the emergence following the July 2009 conflict in Nigeria with the uprising in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, of an Islamist sect nicknamed "Boko Haram", founded by Mohamed Yusuf. In addition, the rise of jihadist groups in the Sahel region has increased pressure on the regimes in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso, countries that are used to regime changes following military coups.
Thus, in its analysis, LANA stressed that "Libya is one of the countries most affected by the spread of terrorism and the spread of armed opposition groups from neighbouring countries on its territory, not to mention mercenaries".
It noted, in this regard, that "Libya is not talking about hundreds of thousands of citizens from neighbouring countries, including Chad and Niger, who crossed Libyan borders by illegal means, some of them several years ago, and today they live and work in many Libyan cities, in the South, East and North, and transfer their money to their families".
The Libyan News Agency urged African leaders to avoid exporting their problems abroad and to look for ways to find real solutions to the chronic problems of their people.
Indeed, the deficit of good governance with its corollary of corruption, mismanagement, and the plundering of the enormous and diversified resources of these African countries, has led to the maintenance of the populations in pauperization so that only an elite benefits while the majority is marginalized and forced to live on the margins of society.
They are also forced to seek alternatives through the adventure of illegal immigration and its drama of death in a desperate attempt to get to the Eldorado that life in Europe holds out.
In this context, LANA said that African leaders must put in place serious policies to achieve development, and this can only be achieved by declaring a war on corruption, achieving social justice, stopping policies of marginalization of remote areas and opponents, spreading a culture of peaceful alternation of power, strengthening the independence of judicial institutions and guaranteeing freedom of expression and opinion.
Pointing out the weakness of government institutions in some countries, including Libya, LANA said this has pushed armed groups to take hold, in addition to the effect of marginalizing remote areas politically, economically and socially, seeking to escape the maze of perdition.
The Libyan News Agency concluded its analysis by calling on African leaders to put an end to the policies of plundering the resources of the African continent and to adopt policies adapted to the African reality and to manufacture African raw materials by transforming them on the spot in order to gain added value and create millions of jobs for the African youth torn between dying in the desert or at sea or falling into the clutches of terrorist and extremist organizations.
-0- PANA BY/IS/BBA/RA 30May2022
