Interior Minister Omar al-Sinki tells Correspondents in an exclusive interview that Tunisian journalists, Sofien Chourabi and Nadhir Ktari, who have been missing in Libya since September 2014, are still alive. Although the Islamic State (IS) claimed on January 8 to have executed the two journalists, Minister al-Sinki insists that his ministry has information proving otherwise.
The minister also gave details about the security situation in his civil war-torn country and the struggle to keep some groups safe.
Interior Minister Omar al-Sinki tells Correspondents in an exclusive interview that Tunisian journalists, Sofien Chourabi and Nadhir Ktari, who have been missing in Libya since September 2014, are still alive. Although the Islamic State (IS) claimed on January 8 to have executed the two journalists, Minister al-Sinki insists that his ministry has information proving otherwise.
The minister also gave details about the security situation in his civil war-torn country and the struggle to keep some groups safe.
Minister Omar al-Sinki what information do you have about the two Tunisian journalists Sofien Chourabi and Nazir Ktari kidnapped in Libya?
We have information about them and we are sure that they are alive. We hope that they return home soon and we are handling the case with extreme care. However, we are taking cautious steps with this incident because we do not want our actions to have any impact on their lives or their safety.
Are you making any effort to release them?
I have reservations about revealing any information for reasons related to the safety of the two young men.
Are you at least coordinating with the Tunisian government on this issue?
There is coordination between the two sides, and the interior ministry has a security delegate who is now working with the embassy on this issue.
Why did the interior ministry issue a ban on the entry of Sudanese, Palestinians and Syrians to Libya?
The ban was based on confirmed security information on the participation of members of these nationalities in fighting against the army in Benghazi, as well as in west Libyan cities. This decision comes within the framework of our efforts to cut off the manpower supply for these groups.
Wouldn’t your ban decision on granting visas to Maltese citizens to enter Libya affect Libyans who want to travel to Europe via Malta?
We explained our reasons for the ban to the Maltese authorities. It is not a final ban decision. It is taken in the context of our strict security measures and any Maltese citizen who wishes to enter Libya can get a security clearance when we know the reasons for his visit.
Our measures were based on security considerations. Before taking this decision, the ministry observed that some Maltese citizens were providing logistic services to the Libya Dawn militias and this of course will negatively impact our security, this justifies our decision.
Is there a direct reason for the recent focus on the Ghat district as reflected by the many visits to the district, the training of security personnel and the provision of resources? Is there any direct threat to Libya’s security coming from that district?
Ghat is a Libyan city and we should focus on it in the same way we focus on other cities. Threats coming from border areas to our country are present because there are extremist groups in some of the neighboring countries and of course there are extremist groups and their leaders in the south. We want first of all to observe their movement and we also want to prevent others from coming to the country. At a later stage, we need to deal with them on a security level.
What are the measures being taken by the ministry to protect foreign, non-Muslim communities in areas under government control?
We, at the Ministry of Interior, are trying, as much as possible to protect all people living in Libya. However, in some cases, we give the priority to some nationalities when we receive reports on the possibility that they may be targets for kidnappers. We have warned our Egyptian brothers and told them that it is important that they leave Sirt city because Ansar al-Shariah wants to kidnap the largest possible number of Egyptians. This cowardly terrorist act will not pass without punishment, but as a precautionary measure, Egyptians should leave this city.
In other cities, we have notified all security agencies and directorates that they should monitor any moves against members of any community, Arab or foreign embassy, or any religion. Based on our assessment of the situation, we will take the necessary actions, and I can say that the ministry has succeeded in thwarting several terrorist operations, even in cities that fall outside the government’s control, and where there are security men who are communicating with us in secrecy.
Are there any steps being taken to re-activate the work of the police in Libya?
There are a number of decisions made regarding the reappointment of retired officers for one year only in order to benefit from their expertise. These were given security management tasks and some of them have been assigned to administrate a number of apparatuses and institutions. This decision was taken in order to make things return to normal because unfortunately, a work hierarchy hasn’t been respected in the ministry since the February Revolution.
We have also put a new integrated training program and a hierarchy, the first of its kind to be adopted in the history of the interior ministry in Libya. It states that the minister shall have two specialized assistants who shall assume the job on the conditions of seniority, membership in the police and specialization in the job. Thus, according to these conditions, no civilian in the future can assume a leadership position in the police force.
