Classes at Sabha’s Higher Institute for Comprehensive Studies have been suspended since students and staff began protesting the presence of a brigade that seized the institute on February 16.

Classes at Sabha’s Higher Institute for Comprehensive Studies have been suspended since students and staff began protesting the presence of a brigade that seized the institute on February 16.

The Deterrence Special Force brigade, affiliated to the salvation government in Tripoli, took over the institute claiming it was “protecting the building from thugs.” Since the students refused to stay with the brigade in the same building, the brigade built a fence between the parts it occupied, including the sports hall, inside the buildings, the mosque, and the remaining parts frequented daily by the students.

However, the brigade’s fence only increased anger on the part of the students and the school board. After a strike initiated by students on February 16, and the institute director’s decision to close the institute, student strikers moved on February 21 to sit in in front of the Municipal Council, demanding the evacuation of the brigade from the institute.

Breaking up the sit-in

The sit-in, with participation by dozens of people including the director of the institute, board members, and many students, lasted for hours before it was broken by force.

The institute’s director, Professor Mahdi Bu Bakr said: “They broke up our sit-in by force and we received threats, but we will not be silenced by this irresponsible behavior that disrupts the educational process at the institute.”

The Deterrence Special Force claimed that the buildings it occupied were not being used by the institute’s administration.  But the institute is concerned that the brigade may not be disciplined and cannot be stopped from entering the institute and crossing their lines if they do so with the power of arms, which might entail altercations with students, of whom a large number is also armed.  

Human shields

Professor and Board Member Fathi Mohammad who joined the strike said, “We will not stand as human shields to protect anyone, especially the militias that want to use us such, and we will continue the sit-in and the pressure and we will turn this into a case of public opinion.”

Mohammad further explained: “The institute not only serves Sabha, rather it provides educational services to the entire Libyan south, and it is not a property of a certain tribe. At the moment we are raising social pressure and the municipal councils in the entire south must intervene to solve the problem and push the brigade out of the institute.”

The director confirmed that the brigade has previously attempted without success to take over the building. He believes the brigade wants the institute because of its location for it is close to its headquarters and its vast space, as it has four residential buildings, a sports hall, and a number of warehouses.

According to the director, the institute has filed a complaint to the new police department since the institute lies within its jurisdiction and also complained to the National Commission for Higher Education and also to the Municipality of Sabha. Classes at the institute remain suspended. 

Security reasons

The brigade says that it is acting on orders issued by the Security Directorate of Sabha. However, the brigade failed to provide any document to prove its claim.

According to the Spokesperson of the Deterrence Force, occupying the institute buildings was a response to counter efforts of those he referred to as “thugs of the former regime” to target the celebrations of the revolutions’ anniversary on February 17. He claimed the brigade took over the institute buildings to prevent armed groups affiliated to the former regime from seizing these buildings as their headquarters.

Mohammad Ahmad, a fifth year student at the institute strongly refused this notion saying that the strikers have a shared refusal of the de facto policy imposed on them by the brigade. Ahmad added, “A misunderstanding happened when the strike took place at the same time when mortar shells fell on people celebrating the anniversary of the revolution.”

The sanctity of institutions

Mohammad says that the institute could be evacuated if all resorted to the voice of reason. It is unreasonable to have an educational institution side by side with a military institution; however, if we lose the voice of reason says Mohammad, “We will not only lose the institute, we will also lose what is even more valuable.”

The institute’s director holds the Sabha Security Directorate and the Brigade of Deterrence responsible for the safety and soundness of the institute, its facilities and its students and board members. The Municipal Council of Sabha supports the director’s, the students’ stance since educational institutions must enjoy its sanctity, and armed people should not be allowed into these institutions.

This support was voiced in an official statement by the Municipal Council of Sabha, whereby the council demanded the evacuation of all buildings and facilities taken by armed formations. The Institute is not the only institution trespassed by these formation in Sabha, for these formations have previously taken the Faculty of Agriculture in the University of Sabha along with a number of other schools.

The solution is tribal

According to the Municipal Council statement, this problem can only be solved socially and tribally, especially since most of the Deterrence Force members belong to one tribe. At the moment, the council is contacting tribal councils to solve the problem with social pressure.

Most of those interviewed by Correspondents agree on the effectiveness of the social tribal solution. Mustafa Qasem Al-Zain, a fifth year student at the institute says that the problems of the city stem from tribal sensitivities, and these problems would remain in place as long as certain sensitivities remain unresolved.

Al-Zain is confident that even if the educational process was resumed at the institute, it would be taken again by the brigade since this was not the first attempt. Moreover, he believes that aggression will be extended to other educational and overall governmental institutions.