Since the outbreak of the Libyan revolution, the desert road between Al-Jaghbub, in southeastern Libya and the Egyptian Siwa oasis has witnessed a persistent increase in the smuggling of not only goods, but also weapons, wine, drugs, and illegal migrants.

This process of exchange, say locals, increased after the regimes in both countries were toppled, leading to chaos and the inability of authorities to control border crossings in the eastern Sahara.

Since the outbreak of the Libyan revolution, the desert road between Al-Jaghbub, in southeastern Libya and the Egyptian Siwa oasis has witnessed a persistent increase in the smuggling of not only goods, but also weapons, wine, drugs, and illegal migrants.

This process of exchange, say locals, increased after the regimes in both countries were toppled, leading to chaos and the inability of authorities to control border crossings in the eastern Sahara.

Jaghbub is a border area with a population of no more than 3,000 according to pre-revolutionary statistics. Head of the Supreme Security Committee (SSC) in Jaghbub Region, Ali Hashem Zawi, expresses his disappointment over the condition of the once serene Jaghbub. Its people are renowned for their piety and religious commitment and for many decades it was a major Senussi center and the destination for scientists and Koran scholars.

“The flow of smuggling was unprecedented in the first months after Gaddafi was killed. A large volume of Libyan weapons were moved from Tobruk, Ajdabiya, and Jalu across Jaghbub,” said Zawi, stressing that they were sometimes stored in Jaghbub for some periods of time before they were moved into Siwa Oasis, no more than 100 kilometers away.

Beyond Egypt

Smuggled weapons, according to Zawi’s account, vary between “Kalashnikovs, FN, RPG, thermal missiles and Sam-6 Missiles.”

These weapons enters Egypt through Siwa across the desert, said Al-Zawi. “We have no idea whether they are transported to other places, but we are affirmed by smugglers that light weapons have a large market in Upper Egypt and among the Bedouins of Western Egypt. As for the heavy weapons, they are likely to reach farther places. According to the confessions of smugglers who were arrested and interrogated in Tobruk, thermal missiles for example are taken to the Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza,”Zawi added but could not confirm this information.

He believes that there are middlemen rather than real weapon traders in Jaghbub and weapons are often not directly moved into the region; rather, the exchange activities are carried out behind its mountains many kilometers away.

Imbalance of power

Zawi, as well as other SSC members, complains about weak capacities since there are only 52 untrained soldiers, less than 10 weapons, and three cars. “How can we face international smugglers using heavy weapons?” he said.

Zawi narrated the events of previous confrontations between SSC members and smugglers when the latter achieved victory due to an imbalance of power, and acknowledged that he stopped giving orders to pursue them since he was unwilling to bear the responsibility of the risk. “I did not want to involve untrained youth lacking experience and capacities in a losing battle Jaghbub could not wage alone, especially under such circumstances,” he said.

Double standards

SSC called the administration in Tobruk, but these calls were always replied to by “indifference, procrastination and delay. The head of Tobruk SSC has never visited Jaghbub, which is a gateway for the smuggling of wines and weapons as well as illegal immigration,” Zawi said.

Zawi suggests that Musaid border crossing is differently dealt with not only by the government but also by media, even though the goods smuggled through Jaghbub crossing significantly exceed in terms of both quantity and quality those smuggled through Musaid; which, is secured by two of the strongest brigades in Eastern Libya (Tobruk Armor and Ali Hassan al-Jaber) and by the Egyptian border guards in Sallum in Egypt.

Smuggler tribe

Tobruk SSC Head, Lieutenant Noureddin Swedek, says contraband in Jaghbub used to be made by one tribe only. He refuses to name it, but locals say it is Shehibi, which resides in the region and has its own extension into Egypt, in Siwa Oasis in particular. It started its activity under Gaddafi, by smuggling cigarettes.

According to Swedek, its activities have greatly increased and it now has set off stations where immigrants are kept within a desert area – Shoba – between Tobruk and Jaghbub as well as in the areas of Watar and Bi’r al-Ashhab in Tobruk outskirts.

Forced seizure

Complaints leveled by Jaghbub SSC about lack of capacities find their place in Tobruk too. However, the situation here is more dangerous since “Wines and drugs seized in Jaghbub are attacked on their way to Tobruk by smugglers and seized once again by them by force,” said Swedek, adding that “lack of capacities abstains us from storming these areas. We had previously clashed with gunmen while we were pursuing a car carrying immigrants to Watar area.”

The tight control of Musaid land crossing brought 80% of smuggling activities to an end, leading, however, all Tobruk smugglers to move their activities to Jaghbub which has become their sole vital crossing where they smuggle weapons, especially light ones, to Egypt and wines, alcohols and illegal immigrants to back Libya, according to Swedek.

He defends himself as well as his friends, saying the weapons they use to resist those organized gangs are personal and that they buy their loads at their own expense since there are no sufficient allocations by the government or the Local Council in Tobruk.

Illegal immigration

Despite lack of capacities, as Swedek says, Tobruk’s administration has been able to seize large quantities of weapons, explosives, wines, alcohols and ecstasy pills and has formed committees and patrols for fighting illegal immigration.

Since establishment, according to Swedek, these committees have been able to arrest more than 15,000 illegal immigrants, mostly Egyptians, in addition to Sudanese and Palestinians and people of other African nationalities. Illegal immigrants are smuggled not only by Libyan smugglers but also by Egyptian smugglers driving Egyptian cars, where they have been repeatedly caught by the committees, according to the lieutenant.

Government solutions

Swedek believes that the proper solution lies in accelerating the SSC affiliation with the Ministry of Interiors and providing capacities and weapons required “to create strong security services able to protect the country of potential risks.”

The Ministry of Interior has previously declared the SSC dissolving and affiliating all its members with its police service, a procedure Swedek says will take at least six months.

Observers underline that contraband has witnessed a persistent decrease since last December when Ali Zeidan Government green lighted Libyan Air Force to make air raids against cars smuggling heavy weapons and drugs when they enter the Libyan territories.

Pending the restoration of security and re-controlling the borders through the current government decisions, the SSC members in tension and confrontation areas are exposed to all risks implied by defending the country boundaries and sovereignty against smuggler gangs, traders and those aiding them from within the government bodies themselves.