Libyan militia group demands new intelligence head before giving up seized buildings

Even though the Libyan Government of National Accord's(GNA) intelligence headquarters was seized back on August 14th, the GNA and the UN are silent on the issue.

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The raids by the Tripoli Revolutionary Brigades (TRB) headed by Haitham Tajouri were reported by several sources including Digital Journal. A recent tweet indicates that the TRB are still in control of their headquarters: "‏@SamiBerriwen #Libya | Tripoli Revolutionaries Brigade says won't hand over Intelligence agency HQs unless new chief appointed." The GNA intelligence headquarters has been occupied for four days but the government seems not to have noticed. The UN's Special Representative of the Secretary General, Martin Kobler, has said nothing about the issue though he had time to tweet condolences to the families of those killed in an Islamic State suicide attack today.

Mohammed Nuh was thought to be visiting Turkey when the attack happened. A member of the State Council of the GNA, Belgasim Igzit, demanded that the Presidential Council (PC) of the GNA clarify its position "regarding the bad-reputation militia that are messing around the capital, Tripoli." He said that the GNA needs to inspect its security preparations that are very fragile. He said political parties could not work in the capital without the threat of extortion or even abduction. Apparently some intelligence personnel were kidnapped in the recent raids. Igzit said: "Libyans refuse the fact that the UN-proposed government is at the mercy of the militias no matter to which party they belong, so the Presidential Council must come to grips with this fact.”

The Libya Observer even remarks that it is not clear whether the act was coordinated with the PC or whether it was an individual act. It seems bizarre that the PC should approve the seizing of its own intelligence headquarters.

The Libya Herald reports that over last weekend, Tajouri, head of the TRB was targeted for assassination. Apparently an attack was made on a TRB post at the Mitiga airport. The attack was said to have been made by the Al Buni brigade whose leader is an ally of intelligence chief Nuh. It is not clear whether the attack was before or after Tajouri seized Nuh's intelligence headquarters. The Libya Herald understands that the attack was the day before Tajouri's raids. The report also said that Tajouri accused Nuh of bribery to advance his personal ambitions that was disrupting normal operation of the intelligence organization. A TRB statement also claimed that intelligence officer Joudet Al-Khadar also had been using bribes to induce colleagues to spy for "foreign countries". The statementconcluded: “We are ready to hand over all the administration buildings once the Presidency Council has assigned a new intelligence head in accordance with the Libyan Political Agreement”. These events show how completely out of control militia groups are in Tripoli. The GNA appears to be ignoring what is happening and doing nothing to rectify the situation.

Militia group takes over Libyan unity government's intelligence headquarters

Two different sources report that Haitham Tajouri's militia, the Tripoli Revolutionaries' Brigade(TRB) attacked predominantly Misratan intelligence personnel associated with the UN-backed Government of National Accord.

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The Libya Herald reports that in early morning raids armoured cars and members of the TRB took over the intelligence headquarters in Fornaj, a building in Salahedding, a site in Ain Zara and intelligence offices at Mitiga Airport as well. It is thought the group want to arrest Sheikh Sadek Ghariani, Grand Mufti. Mohamed Nuh, the head of intelligence, from Mistrata is thought to be visiting Turkey.

There are unconfirmed reports that one person was killed in the attack on Fornaj. In Ain Zara three portable cabins used by intelligence officers came under heavy fire and all three were burned down. The militia also stormed apartments nearby seeking certain individuals. Although there are no precise figures, many intelligence personnel are said to have been seized. Apparently, the TRB had the support of some intelligence officers who see the intelligence system as being too much dominated by Misratans and Islamists.

Nuh is said to be close to the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group(LIFG) and his appointment of Misratans to key positions has caused resentment among some of the intelligence establishment. The LIFG no longer exists as such but members are associated with Libya Shield apparently. Ghariani is the Grand Mufti and supports the Defend Benghazi Brigades. Posters had been appearing in Tripoli with a photo of Ghariani reading "No to the Muslim Brotherhood" and "Stop the bloodshed"".

For some reason, the Presidency Council of the Government of National Accord (GNA) has been silent about what is happening although it is an obviously serious attack on key elements within the GNA. Last week the same militia took over the health ministry building and there was no public reaction. It is not clear why Tajouri is acting in this way at this time. Last November, Tajouri briefly seized prime minister of the Salvation Government Khalifa Ghwell. At one time Tajouri said he favored the monarchy. He has been accused of murdering Gadaffi regime personnel in an illegal prison at his camp in Tajoura.

The Libya Observer report on the attack says that the TRB attacked the headquarters of General Intelligence Department (GID) in the Al-Firnaj area: “The armed brigade sent all the employees and workers in the headquarters out and then it attacked the Study Scholarships HQS, which is located next to the GID.” The report also noted that the same group had seized the Health Ministry headquarters in the same area the week before. Two weeks ago the same brigade took over the Ministry of Telecommunications. The Observer claims it unclear whether the PC knows about the incident. How could the GNA not know when one of their own ministries is occupied? It now has happened at least three times! The TRG is one of the largest armed groups in Tripoli. Obviously, the GNA lacks the most rudimentary control over security and almost no control of the actions of competing militia groups.