Gadaffi home town sirte falls to islamic state

Map of final battle for Sirte in 2011 rebellion

Almost all of the coastal city of Sirte is now under control of the Islamic State or ISIS. Sirte was  one of the last cities to hold out against the rebels in 2011 and Gadaffi was killed near Sirte. The city was filled with Gadaffi loyalists. Ironically, Gadaffi was an enemy of jihadists and mistreated many in his jails. Now his home town is in the hands of radical jihadists except for some troops of the Tripoli government who hold a position on the western outskirts of Sirte.

There are two competing government in Libya, the internationally-recognized government in Tobruk in the east, and the rival General National Congress (GNC) government that controls much of  western Libya located in the capital Tripoli. The Islamic State has for long held most of the city of Derna located in territory of the Tobruk government.

Several bombing raids have been made on the city by the Tobruk government but IS remains firmly in control. The group has been in control of Derna since last year. IS has also launched suicide attacks in the eastern city of Benghazi.

Many in the Libyan Islamic State appear to be former members of Ansar al Sharia, the group suspected of launching the attack on the US embassy in Benghazi. The group was associated with Al Qaeda but since the rise of the Islamic State many members of Al Qaeda groups have changed their allegiance to the Islamic State and this appears to have happened in Libya.

The Tripoli government has often allied itself with Islamist groups but the Islamic State now fights against them just as they do against the rival government in Tobruk. This adds another dimension to the conflict in Libya and worries Libya's neighbours in Africa and European countries as well.

The Islamic State has been occupying Sirte since last February. They made headlines when they beheaded more than 20 Coptic Christians on a beach in the area and then posted the event on the internet. The group recruits fighters locally. Some are jihadists returned from battle in Iraq and Syria. Sirte is strategically located on the road that links east and west parts of Libya along the Mediterranean coast.

Neither government appears to have the power to control territory very effectively. The Islamic State has taken advantage of this situation by extending their own influence and power. At times the two rival governments have been busy fighting each other leaving areas unprotected against the advance of the Islamic State fighters. Sirte was seized while Tripoli government forces were busy trying to capture eastern oil ports from the rival Tobruk government.

Sirte is now surrounded by forces from Misrata loyal to the Tripoli government. They control checkpoints at all the exits from the city. The inhabitants are suffering shortages of goods especially fuel. Residents say that power in the city is quite intermittent and that there is a shortage of water as well.

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In spite of the huge ideological difference between Gadaffi's ideology and that of radical jihadists, the Misratans claim that the strength of the Islamic State comes from former Gadaffi loyalists supplemented by former fighters from Syria and Iraq. While this seems paradoxical it would explain how a former Gadaffi stronghold is now held by the very jihadists Gadaffi himself fought against.

Residents of Sirte feel that they gained little from the revolution. Mohammed Ali a student who lived in a suburb now controlled by IS said: "Before the revolution life was so much better. We had electricity, security. Schools were always open,They (Islamic State) are fine. They leave you alone unless you fight them." The vast ideological difference between the Gadaffi regime and IS just does not seem to register in his mind. Some Gadaffi loyalists it would appear are now keen IS fighters just another bizarre feature of the Libyan conflict.

Sources:
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/militias-islamic-state-extremists-clash-central-libya-31182019
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/21/us-libya-security-insight-idUSKBN0O610M20150521
http://news.yahoo.com/gaddafis-home-town-falls-islamic-state-anarchic-libya-094455638.html