The meeting between Libya's central government Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh with leaders and representatives from the coastal city of Zawiya was not a regular, routine protocol meeting akin to other meetings with leaders of western Libyan cities. Instead, it seemed to carry messages beyond the local Libyan interior.

Smuggling Militias at the Heart of the Political Scene

Noteworthy was the appearance of the leader of the "Special Support Brigade," Mohamed Amin Kashlaf, nicknamed "Al-Qasab," who is internationally wanted on charges related to "human smuggling," shaking hands with Dbeibeh as part of the visiting delegation. This comes at a time when tension is escalating between smuggling gangs in Zawiya, considered a main hub for gathering migrants before transporting them to Europe across the Mediterranean coast, amid government efforts to curtail the leader of the so-called "Security Support Brigade," Mohamed Bahron, nicknamed "Al-Far," involved in cases of murder and smuggling, who has increasingly opposed Dbeibeh and his Interior Minister Imad Trabelsi in recent months.

Al-Qasab's appearance in the presence of the Prime Minister at the Council of Ministers headquarters in the capital Tripoli has heightened doubts about the propaganda campaign launched by the Government of National Unity in recent weeks regarding confronting militias outside the control of the state, and the preparation for yet another security campaign attempting to take control of the city of Zawiya and liberate it from smuggling gangs. Meanwhile, southern European nations exert pressure on Libyan security authorities to halt rising migration flows in the past year. Officially, the government statement explained that the meeting of Dbeibeh with the mayor and leaders of Zawiya addressed local issues and the challenges facing project implementation in Zawiya, and ways to ease them.

Rescue of illegal migrants from a ship in the Mediterranean Sea, north of Libya. (AFP)

Human Rights Advocates: A Message of Impunity

The head of the National Human Rights Commission in Libya, Ahmed Hamza, told "An-Nahar": "We were surprised by the Prime Minister welcoming a criminal fugitive instead of arresting him and bringing him to justice, to enhance the rule of law and respect for UN resolutions," explaining that "Al-Qasab" is listed on the international sanctions list by a Security Council resolution in 2018. He is a militia leader who controls the Zawiya refinery and is among the most prominent fuel and human traffickers in the west of the country. He also leads a detention center called "Shuhada Al-Nasr," but it is widely used for migrant smuggling operations.

Hamza considers the reception of the "Special Support Brigade" leader as concrete evidence of a relationship between the Government of National Unity and fuel and human traffickers, granting them immunity from punishment.

Similarly, prominent Libyan human rights advocate Tarek Lamloum told "An-Nahar" that the government's and its leader's disregard for the decision of imposing international sanctions on a person who has controlled one of the most vital facilities in western Libya for years, and his official reception, "can only be read as a green light for him, and for anyone involved in or condoning violations of the rights of citizens and foreigners in Libya," considering what happened as "a dangerous message that says continue your actions, as no accountability will touch you, which undermines the rule of law, legitimizes immunity from punishment, and entrenches an environment that allows continued violations without fear of consequences," suggesting "reactions from the Sanctions Committee of the Security Council and the International Criminal Court following this meeting."

Lamloum explains that Mohamed Kashlaf is "a militia leader who emerged after 2011 within groups calling themselves revolutionaries, and due to his proximity to the Zawiya refinery, run by an Italian company for gas export, he was among the first to guard the refinery, before his role grew to control the area which includes a prison that followed the migration agency called the Shuhada Al-Nasr center, assisted by other small groups." In this region, international sanctions were issued against three individuals, including "Al-Qasab" and Abdelrahman Milad, nicknamed "Al-Bidja," who used to bring in migrants and was assassinated last year. The Libyan human rights advocate points out that "Al-Qasab, relying on his tribal influence in Zawiya, sought through his meeting with Dbeibeh to whitewash his files after the International Criminal Court moved in recent months to prosecute many of his colleagues, while on the other hand, it appears that the Dbeibeh government still relies on alliances with such allies despite being aware of their poor records."