BENGHAZI: Western Libyan security forces said on Friday they had killed a notorious migrant smuggler in the coastal city of Sabratha after “criminal gangs” affiliated with him attacked one of their checkpoints overnight.
The Security Threats Combating Agency, a security agency under western Libya’s Prime Minister Abdulhamid Al-Dbeibah, said they raided the group’s hideout in response to the attack and killed its leader, Ahmed Al-Dabbashi, also known as “Al-Amu.”
Dabbashi’s brother was arrested and six members of the force were wounded in the fighting, the agency said in the statement on its Facebook page.
Dabbashi had been under US sanctions since 2018. Washington described him as the “leader of one of two powerful migrant smuggling organizations” based in Sabratha and said he had “used his organization to rob and enslave migrants before allowing them to leave for Italy.”
Human trafficking is rife in Libya, which has been divided between rival armed factions since a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime leader Muammar Qaddafi in 2011.
The proliferation of smuggling gangs and the absence of a strong central authority have made the country one of the main staging points for migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe.
Dbeibah was installed through a UN-backed process in 2021, but significant parts of western Libya remain outside his control. Dbeibah’s Government of National Unity, or GNU, is not recognized by rival authorities in the east.
An armed alliance affiliated with an earlier UN-backed government in Tripoli – the Government of National Accord – had taken on Dabbashi’s forces in a three-week battle in 2017 that killed and wounded dozens and damaged residential areas and Sabratha’s Roman ruins.
Western Libya forces kill notorious migrant smuggler, security agency says
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Western Libya forces kill notorious migrant smuggler, security agency says
- The Security Threats Combating Agency raided the group’s hideout in response to the attack and killed its leader, Ahmed Al-Dabbashi
- Dabbashi had been under US sanctions since 2018
UAE closes embassy in Tehran, withdraws ambassador
- UAE foreign ministry said Iranian strikes represented serious and irresponsible escalation
DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates closed its embassy in Tehran on Sunday and has withdrawn its ambassador and all diplomatic staff from Iran following Iranian missile strikes targeting the Gulf country.
In a statement, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the decision came in response to what it described as “blatant Iranian missile attacks” on Emirati territory.
The ministry said the strikes targeted civilian sites, including residential areas, airports, ports and service facilities, and represented a serious and irresponsible escalation.
“These hostile attacks constitute a flagrant violation of national sovereignty and a clear breach of international law and the Charter of the United Nations,” the statement said.
The ministry added that the move reflects the UAE’s “firm and unwavering stance against any aggression” that threatens its security and sovereignty. It accused Iran of continued hostile and provocative conduct that undermines de-escalation efforts and pushes the region toward a dangerous trajectory, threatening regional and international peace, energy security and global economic stability.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi have faced hundreds of missile and drone attacks since Saturday, as Tehran retaliates against US-Israeli airstrikes.
While the majority of the projectiles have reportedly been intercepted, there have been reports of casualties and damage in several areas of both cities.
