Ansar al-Sharia (Libya)

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Ansar al-Sharia flag

Ansar al-Sharia ( Arabic أنصار الشريعة Anṣār al-Sharīʿa  'follower of Islamic law') is the name of several Salafist Libyan militias. Above all, thisrefers to the militia operatingfrom Benghazi under Mohammed al-Zahawi , less often the militia under Abu Sufian bin Qumu in Darna ( see below ). The militia is loosely linked to the terrorist organization Islamic State .

Structure & ideology

Ansar al-Sharia’s leader is Mohammed al-Zahawi, who was imprisoned in Abu Salim prison during the rule of Muammar al-Gaddafi . Formally, the leadership is subject to a council of eight members, including al-Zahawi and Nasser al-Tarshani, who is responsible for religious matters (also a former Abu Salim inmate).

Ansar al-Sharia demands the introduction of Islamic law for Libya and rejects democracy as un-Islamic. Sufism is judged by her as heretical. Ansar al-Sharia is said to have connections to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) , among others by Mohamed Yusuf al Magariaf . There are contradicting statements from American government officials as to whether there was any communication between Ansar al-Sharia and AQIM on September 11, 2012, the day of the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi (see below).

history

Ansar al-Sharia split from the February 17th Brigade in the summer of 2011 during the civil war in Libya . It first appeared during the fighting for Sirte in 2011; at that time it had around 200 to 300 members. According to the leader of the February 17 brigade, Fawzi Bukatef, members were involved in the attack on Abd al-Fattah Yunis .

Ansar al-Sharia announced its establishment in February 2012. After Gaddafi's fall, they established their headquarters in Benghazi, where they also provided security for the local al-Jala hospital and, for a time, the airport. Other local services performed by Ansar al-Sharia include street cleaning and maintenance and relief services during Ramadan, as well as the opening of a clinic with free treatment for the poor and the establishment of a rehabilitation center for drug addicts.

In June 2012, Ansar al-Sharia organized a conference with other militias and a total of around 1000 visitors, at which she demanded the introduction of Islamic law ( Sharia ) for Libya. A parade of armed supporters with pickup trucks through Benghazi to propagate this demand was met by local residents with counter-protests with rap music and stone throwing. Ansar al-Sharia is suspected of having carried out a reactive anti-tank rifle attack on a vehicle belonging to British Ambassador Dominic Asquith on June 10 , in which two of his bodyguards were injured. On June 18, supporters of Ansar al-Sharia attacked the Tunisian embassy on the occasion of an art exhibition with Islamic motifs in La Marsa, Tunisia . Days before the 2012 election for the Libyan National Congress , al-Zahawi declared elections un-Islamic in a television interview.

In August it was reported that Ansar al-Sharia destroyed Sufi shrines in the country, which was admitted by al-Zahawi in September. Ansar al-Sharia is also held responsible for the desecration of British soldiers' graves from the Second World War.

Ansar al-Sharia is held responsible for the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi on September 11, 2012, which was allegedly caused by the anti-Islamic film Innocence of Muslims and in which four people, including the American ambassador J. Christopher Stevens , were killed . An alternative occasion is a call by al-Qaeda leader Aiman ​​az-Zawahiri to take revenge for the death of Abu Yahya al-Libi . Witnesses say that Ansar al-Sharia led the attack. At a press conference on September 13, she denied responsibility for the attack through her spokesman, Hani Mansouri, and later repeated this point of view several times.

On September 21, demonstrations to disarm the militias in Libya led to protests against Ansar al-Sharia, with hundreds storming their headquarters in Benghazi. On September 22nd, Ansar al-Shariah was driven from their headquarters and military base in Benghazi by thousands of protesters; four people were killed and 34 injured. Many members stayed in town. 150 to 200 members of Ansar al-Sharia fled to al-Jabal al-Achdar ; Libyan armed forces then blocked the coastal road near Susah and Darna with mobile anti-aircraft guns. On October 3, Ansar al-Sharia attacked a police station in Susah, killing four police officers. Employees at Jala Hospital in Benghazi called for Ansar al-Shariah to return and complained about a lack of security forces.

In mid-October 2012, Libyan authorities identified Ahmed Abu Khattala as the commander of the attack on the American consulate; Khattala is said to have been a leader of Ansar al-Sharia and a former inmate of Abu-Salim. Khattala denied membership of Ansar al-Sharia and responsibility for the attack on the consulate and the course of events based on testimony. In late July 2013, the United States filed the first criminal complaints against suspects in connection with the attack on the consulate, including Khattala. In June 2014, Ahmed Abu Khattala was caught by US special forces in Benghazi . He is accused of being the mastermind behind the attack on the consulate.

Ansar al-Sharia has been concentrating on Daʿwa activities since mid / late October 2012 , often in cooperation with local authorities, companies and other institutions. These include religious instructions for young people, street repair and cleaning work, night patrols on the outskirts of Benghazi, the confiscation of alcohol and other drugs , the distribution of slaughtered sheep to families in need for the festival of sacrifice , the sending of aid for Syria and Gaza , and Koran competitions for children, maintenance of shelters for the poor, cleaning schools, garbage collection and bridge repairs as well as the opening of a clinic for women and children, an Islamic center for women, an emergency room and a religious school.

Around January 2013, Ansar al-Sharia had openly returned to Benghazi, where they carried out controls at the borders in the west of the city and again ensured the security of the local central hospital. A Libyan government spokesman said the return was supported by the local population, which in turn was due to a severe shortage of police and military personnel in the country.

At the annual Ansar al-Sharia conference in early June 2013, around 2000 participants were present. On June 28, she set up a branch in Sirte, and on August 6, another in Ajdabiya .

On September 11, 2013, a bill with the short title Ansar al. Was passed in the United States House of Representatives by Ted Poe , Ron DeSantis , Jack Kingston , Ted Yoho , Louie Gohmert , Joseph R. Pitts , Randy Weber , Tim Walberg , Steve King and Joe Wilson - Introduced the Sharia Terrorist Designation Act of 2013 which was referred to the United States House Committee on the Judiciary . This is to instruct the US State Department to put Ansar al-Sharia on the list of terrorist organizations it administers abroad .

Since the night of November 24th to 25th 2013, clashes between the Libyan army and Ansar al-Sharia in Benghazi took place. At least three people were killed and a dozen injured. The Libyan state news agency reported seven Libyan soldiers killed and more than 39 injured. Clashes took place again on November 26 and 27, killing nine people. At the end of the week, members of Ansar al-Sharia seriously injured three Libyan soldiers in an attack. On December 1st, Ansar al-Sharia's black magic treatment clinic in Benghazi was damaged by a bomb attack.

In an interview with al-Quds al-arabi published on December 3, Mohammed al-Zahawi denied any connection between Ansar al-Sharia and al-Qaida and also denied Ansar al-Sharia’s involvement in the recent attacks on Libya Judges and security guards; In this context, al-Zahawi spoke of a media campaign against his organization.

In August 2014, fighters from Fajr Libia , which is allied with Ansar al-Sharia, captured Tripoli International Airport . Ansar al Sharia fighters brought parts of Benghazi under their control.

In May 2017, the group announced its breakup. Almost all of the leadership and other militants were killed in fighting with the groups surrounding Khalifa Haftar , and many of their fighters defected to the Islamic State and other jihadist militias in the Zawiya and Tripoli area.

Darna

Ansar al-Sharia in Darna is led by Abu Sufian bin Qumu , a former inmate of the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base detention center . Bin Qumu is a former tank driver in the Libyan army who spent ten years in prison until he escaped in 1993, after which he migrated to Afghanistan via Egypt and trained in Osama bin Laden 's Torkham camp . He took part in the battle of the mujahideen against the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan and then worked as a driver for a bin Laden company in Sudan . According to the Libyan government, he was also a member of the Libyan Islamic Combat Group and its military committee during this time . In 1997 he went to Peshawar, Pakistan . From 1998 he took part in the Taliban's fight against the National Islamic United Front to save Afghanistan . After being arrested by the Pakistani police and handed over to the US military, he was admitted to Guantanamo on May 5, 2002. On September 28, 2007 he was deported to Libya, where he was released on an amnesty in 2008. Since March / April 2011 he participated as a trainer in Darna on the side of the insurgents in the civil war.

In an online article by Fox News , citing intelligence sources, it was reported that bin Qumu was believed to have participated in the attack on the American consulate and may even have led it. A representative of the Obama administration for external security contradicted this report to Mother Jones that there was no evidence to lead, direct, plan or coordinate the attack by bin Qumu.

Abu Sufian bin Qumu was shot on April 14, 2013 in Darna.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Jihadists: IS is setting up training camps in Libya. spiegel.de, December 4, 2014, accessed on February 19, 2015 .
  2. ^ A b c d e Aaron Y. Zelin: Know Your Ansar al-Sharia. (No longer available online.) Foreign Policy, September 21, 2012, archived from the original on September 25, 2012 ; Retrieved October 16, 2013 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h Mary Fitzgerald: It Wasn't Us. (No longer available online.) Foreign Policy, September 18, 2012, archived from the original on September 23, 2012 ; Retrieved October 16, 2013 .
  4. ^ A b Tim Lister and Paul Cruickshank: What is Ansar al Sharia, and was it behind the consulate attack in Benghazi? CNN, November 16, 2012, accessed October 16, 2013 .
  5. ↑ a b c d e f Ségolène Allemandou: Who are Libya's Ansar al-Sharia? France 24, September 14, 2012, accessed October 16, 2013 .
  6. ^ A b Geoff D. Porter: The Attack on the US Consulate: Emerging Signs of Jihadist Sentiment in Libya. CTC Sentinel, September 26, 2012, accessed October 16, 2013 .
  7. ↑ Maggie Michael and Hamza Hendawi: A Benghazi power, Libya militia eyed in attack. AP, September 18, 2012, accessed October 13, 2013 .
  8. ↑ a b c David D. Kirkpatrick, Suliman Ali Zway and Kareem Fahim: Attack by Fringe Group Highlights the Problem of Libya's Militias. The New York Times, September 15, 2012, accessed October 16, 2013 .
  9. ^ Michel Cousins: Tunisian Consulate attacked in Benghazi. Libya Herald, June 18, 2012, accessed October 16, 2013 .
  10. ↑ Ahmed Maher: Meeting Mohammad Ali al-Zahawi of Libyan Ansar al-Sharia. In: BBC Arabic. BBC News, September 18, 2012, accessed September 19, 2013 .
  11. ^ Robin Banerji: Did Ansar al-Sharia carry out Libya attack? In: BBC World Service. BBC News, September 12, 2012, accessed October 20, 2013 .
  12. ^ Nic Robertson, Paul Cruickshank and Tim Lister: Pro-al Qaeda group seen behind deadly Benghazi attack. CNN, September 13, 2012, accessed October 16, 2013 .
  13. ^ Protesters storm main Islamist militia HQ in Libya's Benghazi. Reuters, September 21, 2012, accessed October 16, 2013 .
  14. ↑ UPDATE 2-Libyan Islamist militia swept out of Benghazi bases. Reuters, September 22, 2012, accessed October 16, 2013 .
  15. ↑ a b c Aaron Y. Zelin: Libya's jihadists beyond Benghazi. Foreign Policy, August 12, 2013, accessed October 20, 2013 .
  16. ↑ Chris Stephen: Libyan army blockades Islamist militia suspected of killing US ambassador. The Guardian, October 9, 2012, accessed October 16, 2013 .
  17. ↑ Maha Ellawati: Benghazi hospital staff want Ansar Al-Sharia back. Libya Herald, October 4, 2012, accessed October 20, 2013 .
  18. ↑ David D. Kirkpatrick: Libya Singles Out Islamist as a Commander in Consulate Attack, Libyans Say. The New York Times, October 17, 2012, accessed October 16, 2013 .
  19. ↑ David D. Kirkpatrick: Suspect in Libya Attack, in Plain Sight, Scoffs at US The New York Times, October 19, 2012, accessed October 20, 2013 .
  20. ↑ Abby Ohlheiser: The US Files Its First Benghazi Criminal Charges. The Atlantic Wire, August 6, 2013, accessed October 20, 2013 .
  21. ↑ Pete Williams and Richard Esposito: US charges Libyan with role in deadly attack on Benghazi consulate. NBC News, August 6, 2013, accessed October 20, 2013 .
  22. ^ New York Times: US captures Benghazi suspect in secret raid , June 17, 2014
  23. ^ A b Alison Pargeter: Islamist Militant Groups in Post-Qadhafi Libya. CTC Sentinel, February 20, 2013, accessed October 16, 2013 .
  24. ↑ Hadeel Al Shalchi: Libya militia linked to US attack returns to Benghazi. Reuters, February 17, 2013, accessed October 16, 2013 .
  25. ↑ Geoffrey York: Notorious Islamist militia linked to US ambassador's death back in Benghazi. The Globe and Mail, February 15, 2013, accessed October 20, 2013 .
  26. ↑ http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c113:HR3082.IH :
  27. ^ Libya army in Benghazi clashes with Ansar al-Sharia. BBC News, November 25, 2013, accessed November 25, 2013 .
  28. ^ Libyan army clashes with militants, three killed: sources. Reuters, November 25, 2013, accessed November 25, 2013 .
  29. ↑ BREAKING NEWS: Fierce fighting in Benghazi. Libya Herald, November 25, 2013, accessed November 25, 2013 .
  30. ^ Yousuf Basil: Report: 7 soldiers killed in clashes with the Islamist group in Benghazi, Libya. CNN, November 25, 2013, accessed November 25, 2013 .
  31. ↑ Breaking news: further clashes in Benghazi. Libya Herald, November 26, 2013, accessed December 3, 2013 .
  32. ^ New clashes between army, Islamists in Libya's Benghazi. Reuters, November 26, 2013, accessed December 3, 2013 .
  33. ↑ AFP: Three Libyan soldiers wounded in new Benghazi attack. (No longer available online.) France24.com, November 29, 2013, archived from the original on November 29, 2013 ; Retrieved December 3, 2013 .
  34. ↑ Ansar Al-Sharia's Benghazi clinic bombed. Libya Herald, December 2, 2013, accessed December 3, 2013 .
  35. ↑ زعيم مجموعة أنصار الشريعة في ليبيا ينفي أي صلة مع القاعدة. al-Quds al-arabi, December 3, 2013, accessed December 3, 2013 .
  36. ↑ http://www.dw.de/kairo-warnt-vor-weiterer-destabilisierung-libyens/a-17878129
  37. ↑ Who flew air strikes in Libya? ( Memento from August 27, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) tagesschau.de from August 27, 2014
  38. ↑ The jihadists are looking to Tunisia. July 15, 2019, accessed August 7, 2019 .
  39. ^ Libya: Ansar al-Sharia dissolves. Retrieved May 28, 2017 .
  40. ↑ Abu Sufian Ibrahim Ahmed Hamuda Bin Qumu. In: The Guantánamo Docket. The New York Times, accessed October 20, 2013 .
  41. ^ Charles Levinson: Ex-Mujahedeen Help Lead Libyan Rebels. The Wall Street Journal, April 2, 2012, accessed October 20, 2013 .
  42. ↑ Al Qaeda, ex-Gitmo detainee involved in consulate attack, intelligence sources say. FoxNews.com, September 20, 2012, accessed October 20, 2013 .
  43. ^ Adam Serwer: Obama Official Says No Evidence Gitmo Detainee Behind Benghazi Attack. Mother Jones, September 20, 2012, accessed October 20, 2013 .
  44. ^ Esam Mohamed: Head of Libyan Islamic extremist militia shot. In: AP. Yahoo News, April 14, 2013, accessed October 20, 2013 .