ISIS Seizes Sirte in Central Libya

On May 21, the Islamic State seized the Libyan city of Sirte, the hometown of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi after battles on May 20. The fighting started approximately nine miles south of the city when ISIS fighters attacked the Infantry Battalion 166. Battalion 166, which is tied to the Islamist Fajr Libya (Libyan Dawn) force  had been has been trying to reestablish security and order in Sirte.

Fajr Libya, whose power base is from Misrata, seized control of the capital Tripoli, forcing out the internationally recognized government which remains in Tobruk.  The two sides, both with loose ties to variety of different militia groups, are competing for control over the entire country. As a result of the chaos Libya has become a stronghold for ISIS, which opposes both governments and has taken advantage of the confusion and chaos to advance its own holdings.

Local fighters led by jihadists from Iraq and Syria have expanded the area falling under ISIS control, moving from east to west. Notably, ISIS moved from Derna to Benghazi last year, and by taking over Sirte it has taken over a major city in the center of Libya along the highway that connects the east to the west. ISIS advanced into the region in February when the Tripoli government’s forces were fighting forces from the internationally recognized government in the east for control of an oil port in Es Sider.

ISIS wishes to govern its territories through Sharia law, and it thrives in countries like Libya as a result of the power vacuum and lack of a stable government. Libya is strategically important for ISIS, because as it has expanded its holdings in the Sinai, it gives ISIS the ability to attack Egypt from both sides.  Additionally through tribal smuggling routes, Libya gives ISIS access to Mali, where Islamist groups have been fighting the government for years. By expanding across North Africa along the Mediterranean and taking over port cities, ISIS has given itself greater ability to profit from controlling trade routes and an increased capacity to expand into Europe. It is also taking advantage of the refugee and human trafficking crisis in the Mediterranean, taxing human smugglers and hiding its own fighters among the refugees.

The European Union has just agreed to use naval force to combat the smuggling. Every refugee that enters Europe is entitled to asylum under the Common European Asylum System, but ISIS is gaining technical capability, military strength, and has started inserting its own fighters amongst the refugees. In order for the EU to stop ISIS expansion into Europe, it needs to reconsider granting every refugee asylum. It must create a strategy to properly vet all refugees in order to separate ISIS fighters from those fleeing them.

Additionally, Operation Barkhane, a French operation in the Sahara with the mission of aiding local governments in their fight against terrorist organizations, needs to be expanded to include more Western governments and to cover more of North Africa. Local governments are proving unable to contain the spread of ISIS. The organization is spreading strategically to gain access to important trade routes, giving it even greater capacity to expand quickly. The current United States strategy toward ISIS is focused on the Middle East, but should be enlarged to include opening a front against the organization in Africa before its reach spreads too far.