NATO seems to be seeking to intervene in Libya’s internal affairs and impose its control over the Libyan people’s oil and gas capabilities using soft power. It is seeking to achieve this through the so-called European Legion coalition, which consists of the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and the United States of America, in addition to the participation of armed militias in western Libya.
The declared goal of forming the European Legion is to combat illegal immigration, given that Libya is the main transit gateway to Europe. From this standpoint, Europe seeks to penetrate Libya by sending forces and military equipment to the Government of National Unity headed by Abdel Hamid al-Dbeibeh.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said during the Trans-Mediterranean Migration Forum, that Italy’s role is to combat human smuggling networks and large migration flows, which have made the situation difficult to manage. She has emphasized that a long-term strategic plan for African action must be developed to manage the illegal migration crisis.
According to news and reports, Italy, which is heavily affected by the issue of illegal immigration, is leading this alliance and has been forming it for months. Since Italy is financially unable to pay for the European Legion, it has reportedly used Libyan funds frozen abroad to provide the necessary liquidity to establish it.
To disguise the fact that the funds that have been spent to form the European Legion come from Libya’s frozen funds, the head of Government of National Unity, Abdel Hamid al-Dbeibeh, has said during the Migration Forum that funds should be spent in source countries to combat illegal migration and create stability there.
This statement according to the writer and political researcher Ahmed Khaldoun, is a prelude to the idea of the European Legion, which publicly will work to secure the borders and extend security and stability in the country with Libyan funding and European powers. But the goal of the European Legion for Italy is alleged to be to secure Italian companies’ investment in the Libyan gas and oil sector using Libyan funds. As for the United States of America and France, they see Libya as a perfect country to establish a foothold in Africa after having quit a number of countries, in order to counter the growing Russian influence in Africa.
The presence of the European Legion in western Libya, according to experts in Libyan affairs, will increase divisions between competing powers in Libya. The presence of Western countries in Tripoli may also provoke the Russian Africa Corps, which is present in eastern Libya and is working to provide military support to the forces of the Libyan National Army led by Khalifa Haftar.
Russia and Turkey also have military deployments in Libya; Turkey has stationed Syrian fighters in the country. But in daily life, their military presence is hardly noticeable even in the immediate vicinity of their bases. According to Wolfram Lacher, an analyst with SWP in Berlin, both Turkey and Russia have adopted a low profile in order to stay in Libya for the long term. They have, however, come under criticism for being destabilizing influences.
The possibility of a conflict igniting again in Libya was flagged by Nasser Ammar, commander of the support forces of “Operation Volcano of Rage,” commenting on the arrival of Russian ships to the port of Tobruk last June. He said that Western countries are fully prepared to sacrifice Libya and its people in order to confront Russia. He believes that the formation of the European Legion has nothing to do with combating immigration or establishing security and stability.
The head of the National Security Committee of the Libyan House of Representatives, Talal al-Mayhoub, said that the Libyan people completely reject the idea of the presence of the United States alongside Western countries and the formation of the European Legion in Libya, because they are convinced that the presence of this Legion will lead to the outbreak of a proxy war inside Libyan territory and a return to the situation to the days of NATO’s bombing of Libya in 2011.
The presence of the European Legion in western Libya has led to an escalation in Tripoli and its suburbs, as the elders and notables of the Zintan region have expressed their complete rejection of foreign forces in the country, led by the European Legion.
According to recent reports, the formation of the European Legion has led to a resurgence of violent armed clashes between militias fearing the loss of their areas of influence in the country. This was apparent in August, when clashes occurred between the “Rahbat Al-Duru” Battalion, led by Khalaf Allah Bashir, and the “Sabria” Battalion, stationed in the city of Tajoura, located ten kilometers east of Tripoli and near the Mitiga Air Base.
Regional news suggests that the presence of the European Legion in the west of the country represents a direct threat to Libya’s neighbouring countries, in particular Algeria. This threat was highlighted by the movements of the Libyan National Army forces, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, towards the Ghadames area near the Algerian border. While some parties have described these movements as a bid to sate Field Marshal Haftar’s ambitions to control Libyan territory, the official spokesman for the Commander-in-Chief of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces, Major General Ahmed Al-Mismari, stated that these movements are in response to the foreign presence, security chaos, and violent armed clashes in the western region, which have led to civilian casualties. The purpose of these movements is to protect Libya’s borders from any internal or external threats.
Various regional media outlets and social media networks have circulated recordings and photos of military units belonging to the European Legion heading to the southwestern regions of Libya for the first time and deploying along the border with Algeria.
