Militia leader in deal to stem migrant flow

LIBYA: A powerful Libyan militia commander and suspected trafficking kingpin has struck a deal with Tripoli to stem the flow of migrants to Europe in exchange for cars, boats and the recognition of his force as a legitimate security body.

Ahmed Dabbashi, who commands the Anas Dabbashi brigade, told The Times that he met officials from Libya’s United Nations-backed government in July to discuss how to shut down people trafficking along the coast. In the meeting the officials agreed to clear the accusations of criminality hanging over his brigade.

The deal coincides with a sharp fall in the number of migrants crossing from Libya to Italy in the past few weeks, down 86 per cent in August. However, the militia warned that migrant numbers would climb again if the brigade stopped receiving financial help.

Dabbashi, known by his nickname alammu or ‘‘The Uncle’’, has long been accused of running a trafficking network from the smuggling hub of Sabratha. Security officials in Sabratha and Tripoli said this week that his militia was paid millions of euros by Italy in a deal with the Libyan government to stop his trade.

It would not be the first time that Europe has paid unsavoury figures in Libya to halt the flow of migrants to its shores. The EU pledged €50 million to Libya in 2010, when it was ruled by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, to fight illegal migration.

Dabbashi denied the smuggling charges and the Italian deal. He said that his brigade, which has 500 men and is part of the unity government’s defence ministry, was just policing the coastal city.

‘‘We did meet with the unity government to counter illegal immigration through assisting the security of Sabratha,’’ he said from the city, east of Tripoli. ‘‘This was done in exchange for cleaning the record of the group, and equipment.’’ The equipment included a fleet of police cars, and his forces recently documented the delivery on their Facebook page.

Dabbashi added: ‘‘The rumours about receiving money from Italy are mere rumours.’’ He now runs a detention centre holding migrants and refugees that his forces have arrested. ‘‘We also had a visit from the head of the immigration department to our detention facility recently,’’ he said.

Bashir Ibrahim, the militia’s spokesman, echoed his comments. He said Libya’s government had sent them equipment, boats and salaries in exchange for combating illegal migration.

Ibrahim called the situation a ‘‘truce’’ dependent on continued support to the militia. ‘‘If the support to the brigade of Dabbashi stops, it won’t have the capacity to continue to do this job and trafficking will be back,’’ he said.

More than 98,000 migrants have crossed from Libyan shores to Italy this year. But last month only about 2936 crossings were recorded, compared with 21,294 in August last year.

Frontex, Europe’s border agency, and charity rescue vessels patrolling the Mediterranean Sea have struggled to explain the sudden fall. Some have pointed to poor weather and the increased activity of the Libyan coastguard.

But security officials in Sabratha and Tripoli said the lull was due to a deal struck between the Dabbashi militia, another armed group called Brigade 48, and Italy, whose officials came to Libya.

A security source close to the brigade told The Times that the meeting took place in July with Libyan and Italian officials, after which it stopped smuggling. ‘‘The Italians agreed to pay millions of euros to support the brigade in combating immigration,’’ the source said, adding that it was likely the money came through the unity government.

Abdel-salam Helal Mohammed, a general director of the interior ministry force that is responsible for combating smuggling, said Italians met members of the militia in Sabratha and came to a deal. ‘‘Now there is no trafficking for the past 10 days,’’ he said.

The Italians denied claims they were involved in a deal. ‘‘The Italian government does not deal with traffickers,’’ a foreign ministry official said.

The Anas Dabbashi militia has long had connections with Italy. Ibrahim said that since 2015 it had been paid to guard the Mellitah oil complex west of Sabratha, a joint project between Libya and Italian oil company Eni.

On August 19 the militia said on its Facebook page that it had received delivery of the first of three shipments of medical aid from the Italian government.

- The Times