187 new security posts taken over from militias – PM declares victory for the state as all vital Tripoli sites come under its exclusive control for the first time since 2011
Tripoli's new Security Arrangements Plan
Aldabaiba was speaking on Wednesday while chairing an expanded security meeting in Tripoli to follow up on the implementation of the new Security Arrangements Plan in the capital, in the presence of Acting Interior Minister Emad Trabelsi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior for Security Affairs Mahmoud Saeed, Tripoli Security Director Khalil Ohiba, and a number of security leaders.
The new Security Arrangements Plan for Tripoli entails Ministry of Interior or Ministry of Defence forces taking over the securing of key government ministries and sites such as the Central Bank of Libya, the Audit Bureau and all the ministries, from militias. In the longer term it entails pushing all militias to the outer perimeter of Tripoli to protect civilians (and their property) from being caught in the crossfire of possible state v militia or militia v militia clashes.
Successive governments since the 2011 revolution (that ended the 42-year Qaddafi regime) have attempted to impose their will on the militias by taking over this task but have been too weak or unsuccessful.
No room for revolutionary warlords and leaders in regular forces
Aldabaiba said: 'The era of Sheikh and Hajj (tribal and holy leaders) in our security and military services is over, and there is no place in the (security) ranks except for those who are qualified, disciplined, subject to authority, and servants of the law alone.'
Aldabaiba here was sending a message to militias such as those led by a popular or warlord leader and to the powerful Abdelrauf Kara, the head of the Special Deterrence Force (SDF / RADA), who considers himself and is considered by his devout followers a Salafi religious leader. Kara controls Mitiga prison where he is accused by the international community of permitting human rights abuses. His presence on Mitiga airport is also a latent threat to the airport itself.
A new maturity of the Interior Ministry in dealing with demonstrations?
Continuing, Aldabaiba added that the demonstrations that took place in the capital during the past period passed without any attack, harassment, arrest or prosecution, which reflects the maturity of the Ministry of Interior and its deep respect for public freedoms and citizens' natural rights to peaceful expression.
Police, Defence Ministry and Internal Security coordination
For his part, Interior Minister-designate Emad Trabelsi reviewed the new security arrangements plan, stressing that the ministry is working according to a clear vision to extend security, enhance the deployment of police stations, and ensure effective coordination with the Ministry of Defence and the Internal Security Agency.
Trabelsi stressed their commitment to implementing the Security Plan in accordance with the instructions issued by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, and to ensure the protection of citizens and state institutions.
187 new security posts secured from militias
Tripoli Security Director Major General Khalil Ohiba also confirmed that the field plan included 187 new security posts, implemented in the sites previously occupied by armed formations (militias). He said that the redeployment was carried out in a deliberate manner to secure the capital's locations, end any security vacuum, and fully extend the authority of the state.
Plan needs continued government and public support
The attendees at the meeting stressed that the success of the Security Plan depends on the continuation of political and administrative support for the security authorities, and strengthening citizens' confidence in their regular institutions.
.
The Interior Ministry had spent LD 50 billion in 13 years with no result: Acting Interior Minister Trabelsi
Nearly 1 million crimes reported to police stations – confirms urgent need to dissolve all parallel security agencies / militias
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
19 hours ago
- Times
Afghans in MoD data breach can claim £4,000 compensation
Afghans who had their 'lives put at risk' because of a data breach have been told they can claim up to £4,000 in compensation four years after the incident happened. Human error resulted in the personal information of 265 Afghans who had worked alongside British troops being shared with hundreds of others who were on the same email distribution list in September 2021. In December 2023 the UK information commissioner fined the Ministry of Defence (MoD) £350,000 and said the 'egregious' breach could have been life-threatening. John Healey, who was shadow defence secretary, said in 2021: 'We told these Afghans interpreters we would keep them safe, instead this breach has needlessly put lives at risk.' On Friday afternoon the MoD slipped out a statement to update MPs and the Afghans on the case, saying that Afghans were now entitled to compensation. In a written ministerial statement, Lord Coaker said the MoD was taking a 'proactive' approach to the historical data-handling incident involving those who had applied to the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (Arap) scheme in 2021. He said the emails mistakenly made recipients' email addresses visible to all, instead of using the blind carbon copy function. Coaker said the MoD would 'make good' on previous ministers' commitments to financially compensate those individuals affected. It was unclear why it had taken a year since Labour had entered government to arrange the payments. He said: 'I can confirm to members the Ministry of Defence will be directly contacting those individuals who were affected by the data incident. Once a response is received and the affected individual's identity confirmed, a single ex-gratia payment of up to £4,000 per individual will be made.' The total cost is expected to be in the region of £1.6 million. Lord Coaker said 'every effort will be made to ensure payments are made as quickly as reasonably practical'. 'I cannot undo past mistakes, but I wish to assure members that in my role, as minister for the armed forces, I intend to drive improvement in the department's data handling training and practices. '[The Ministry of] Defence's record on these topics must improve and I am determined to ensure it does,' he added. The UK information commissioner found previously that the department did not have the procedures in place to ensure group emails were sent securely to Afghans seeking relocation. 'This deeply regrettable data breach let down those to whom our country owes so much,' John Edwards, who was the UK information commissioner, said in 2023. He said it was a 'particularly egregious breach of the obligation of security owed to these people, thus warranting the financial penalty my office imposes today'. The Times reported in September 2021 how the MoD sent an email to a distribution list of Afghan nationals eligible for evacuation using the 'To' field, with personal information inadvertently disclosed. The email addresses could be seen by all recipients, including the thumbnail pictures that 55 people had on their email profiles. Two people even 'replied all' to the entire list of recipients, with one of them providing their location. The original email was sent by the team in charge of the Arap, which is responsible for assisting the relocation of Afghan citizens who worked for the UK government in Afghanistan. There were concerns at the time that the data disclosed could have fallen into the hands of the Taliban. The Information Commissioner's Office said the team had relied on 'blind carbon copy' (bcc) when sending emails at the time, which carried a 'significant risk of human error'. Soon after the data breach, the MoD contacted the people affected asking them to delete the email, change their email address, and inform the Arap team of their new contact details via a secure form.
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Payout offered to Afghans hit by UK data breaches
Afghan nationals whose personal information was mistakenly exposed by the Ministry of Defence in 2021 will be offered up to £4,000 each in compensation, the government has said. The data breaches affected 277 people, some of whom had worked for the UK government and were in hiding from insurgent Taliban forces at the Minister Luke Pollard said he could not "undo past mistakes" but promised that the payments would be made "as quickly as reasonably practical". The government expects the total cost to be around £1.6m and comes on top of the £350,000 it had to pay after receiving a fine from the data watchdog. The biggest breach took place in September 2021 when the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) team was working to evacuate people from Afghanistan following the chaotic withdrawal of western troops.A mass email was sent to those, such as interpreters, whose work with the UK government meant they could be targeted by the Taliban and therefore made them eligible to be relocated. Their email addresses were added to the 'To' field instead of the 'blind carbon copy' (Bcc) section, meaning their names could be seen by all Ministry of Defence later launched an internal investigation that revealed two similar breaches on 7 September and 13 September of that Humber from the Leigh Day law firm which is representing some of those affected said the government's statement about compensation contained "little information"."As far as we are aware, there has been no consultation with those affected or their legal advisors about the scheme - it is not clear the criteria that will be used to identify the proposed payment amount."In our client's case, he and his family spent five very scared months in hiding in Kabul concerned that the Taliban were now aware that he had assisted UK forces and were looking for him. "He feared for his life and was aware of the Taliban beating and killing others that had assisted UK forces. "We will need to review critically with our client whether any sum that is now being offered adequately compensates him for distress that he has undoubtedly suffered." After investigating the breaches in 2023, information commissioner John Edwards said the error could have led to a "threat to life" and had "let down those to whom our country owes so much".The commissioner initially fined the government £1m but that was reduced to £700,000 in recognition of the measures taken by the Ministry of Defence to report the incident, limit its impact and the difficulties of the situation for teams handling the relocation of was further reduced to £350,000 as part of a change in approach by the watchdog to public sector fines. Announcing the compensation payouts in a statement on Friday, Pollard said his department would "drive improvement in the department's data handling training and practices".Earlier this week, the government announced that the Arap scheme was closing to new applicants, having resettled 21,316 Afghans in the half of those brought to the UK were children, and a quarter were women. A Home Office paper published on Tuesday said Defence Secretary John Healey believed the scheme had "fulfilled its original purpose".It said the scheme could now be shut down "not least so that defence efforts and resources can be focused where they are most needed - on our nation's security, to combat the acute threats and destabilising behaviour of our adversaries".
STV News
a day ago
- STV News
Chinook 1994 helicopter crash families criticise MoD for ‘losing moral compass'
Families of the victims of the 1994 RAF Chinook crash have hit out at the Ministry of Defence for refusing a public inquiry into the incident and sealing key documents for 100 years. Relatives of the 29 victims who died on the aircraft have written to the Prime Minister to demand a full, independent, judge-led public inquiry to establish the truth into the disaster, accusing the MoD of 'losing its moral compass'. RAF Chinook ZD576 crashed on the Mull of Kintyre on its way from RAF Aldergrove in Northern Ireland to Fort George in Scotland, and all 25 passengers and four crew members were killed in the incident. A verdict of gross negligence against the pilots, flight lieutenants Richard Cook and Jonathan Tapper, from a review into the incident by two senior RAF officers in 1995 was overturned by the Government in 2011 after a 16-year campaign by the families. Relatives have now written to the Prime Minister to intervene and are seeking a judicial review in the High Court. PA Media Undated family handout photo of pilot Richard Cook, who was killed in the 1994 Chinook crash (Family/PA) Mr Cook says there are 47 individuals that lost their fathers in the crash, most of whom were children and some not yet born, who have lived their whole lives without answers. Jenni Balmer Hornby, daughter of Anthony Hornby who was killed in the disaster, said: 'It was a week before my 10th birthday when the crash happened and so obviously I wasn't old enough to go to any of the earlier inquiries, but my mum went to those. 'For some time she felt that it was an accident because of these inquiries. 'But now we know that the full information wasn't given, so we know over time that these inquiries were completely ineffective. 'I think it's very clear to myself and everyone in the campaign that the MoD have lost their moral compass – I'm so certain now that the MoD is hiding something. 'I can't go another 31 years not knowing what happened to my father. 'Him and his colleagues risk their life for their country and in return, we have just been dismissed and fed lies for three decades and we all deserve a lot better.' Andy Tobias, who was just eight when his father John Tobias went on board RAF Chinook ZD576, has branded the response from the MoD as a 'betrayal'. He said: '(It's been) really tough. 'My brother and myself have not had a father, he's not been around to direct us through the challenges that you face in life. 'You never get over it but you learn to live with it. 'For us, the MoD have really let us down as families. 'It's been a complete betrayal to all of those men who boarded that flight and gave their life and service. 'If my father knew that his family were fighting so hard to get answers and to get the truth, he would be turning in his grave. Sue Sparks, whose husband Gary was killed in the crash, said: 'I think it would give us closure. 'Over the 30 years, we were led to believe it was an accident, which it wasn't. 'It could have been prevented. 'The helicopter was declared unairworthy and they were made to fly in it. 'It makes us feel angry and not treated properly by the MoD. 'As a war widow, I feel very, very let down by the Government and the MoD.' The MoD has been approached for comment. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
