Latest news with #Trabelsi
Libya Herald
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Libya Herald
The Interior Ministry had spent LD 50 billion in 13 years with no result: Acting Interior Minister Trabelsi
Speaking on Sunday during a seminar held by his Tripoli based Ministry of Interior entitled 'Security Performance Assessment and New Arrangements for a Secure Capital', Acting Interior Minister Emad Trabelsi said the Ministry had spent 50 billion dinars over 13 years, and the result was nothing. In his 45-minute answer to questions from the podium and interjections, Trabelsi warned that if Libya does not come out of this year's security (militia) crises it will be a disaster. At the end of 2025, he said, Libya should be celebrating the real end of years of tribalism, regionalism and militias and should be celebrating the consolidation of state agencies. If all current security agencies (state recognised but unaccountable militias) affiliated with the Minister of Interior, the Presidential Council, and the Prime Minister's Cabinet are not dissolved, he cautioned, Libya will return to square one in a few months. He further added that if the Security Committee created in 2011 is not disbanded, ''we will be back to square one'' in terms security reform. He said that committee was created during the period of a security void when there were no regular state security forces. Tripoli government to dissolve all militias The Tripoli government, he reconfirmed, has taken it upon itself to dissolve all armed formations and support the military and security institutions, and citizens must support this approach, he stressed. Militia reintegration into the police and army All security agencies must be dissolved and their members absorbed within the Ministry of Interior, confirming that he had submitted a proposal to the Prime Minister in this regard. He stressed the state must have control over prisons. Dominance of militias over state institutions He acknowledged the government's inability to maintain security and acknowledged the dominance of armed groups over state institutions. Militias stronger than police We have been unable to arrest more than 40,000 wanted individuals over the past three years because they belong to armed groups (militias) that are superior to the security services in armament and equipment. This, he admitted was at a time when police officers do not even possess personal weapons to defend themselves, When we try to arrest them, he bemoaned, we find they are members of heavily armed militias – armed more than the police. We have little arms in comparison, he admitted. Militias had pressured government sectors to allocate budgets to parallel security agencies and not to the police. Militias used to influence government decisions. Now the Ministry of Interior is getting support from the government. We hope it is real, clear support, he said. Trabelsi complained that militias have armoured vehicles while the police have ordinary cars. They picked the most qualified police members and reassigned them to their militias. Yet people complain that we are not doing a good job – without support, funding and our best qualified personnel, he exclaimed. We had not received the required financial support for the Ministry of Interior, and the ministry only provides food supplies to the Tripoli Security Directorate, the Tripoli Periphery, and the (Western / Nefusa) Mountain. We do not have the capacity to fund the remaining Directorates, ''even with a bottle of water'', he revealed. He acknowledged the government's inability to maintain security and admitted that armed groups had controlled state institutions in Tripoli in 2023 and 2024. He admitted militias secure all the top state agencies such as the Central Bank of Libya, the Ministry of Finance, the Audit Bureau, and influenced government decisions. These militias are loyal or aligned to political streams, cities, tribes etc – not the state. Division of power Those freed by the Public Prosecution after investigation (for lack of evidence, for example), are not our responsibility once freed, he stressed, noting the different roles the police, the Public Prosecution and the Courts play. The Police cannot carryout all roles, he said. Anti-drug smuggling effort He said Libya has become a real conduit for drug smuggling. He revealed that Libya is ''contracting with one of the largest international companies'' (without naming it) to secure all air, land, and ports in Libya to eradicate drug smuggling. ''Why are current security personnel wearing ranks and receiving salaries when they can't even secure the country's ports'', he lamented. Need US$ 5 billion – There is nothing without security He requested US$ 5 billion from the Ministry of Finance to invest in security, saying, 'The best investment is in security, even better than reconstruction.' There can be no health, education, development, construction. There is nothing without security, he stressed. Future support only to regular security forces He linked support for the Western Region's Security (police) Directorates to their unity, saying, 'Support is given to the Directorates, not to the armed groups.' He also revealed the sale of official security vehicles after they were repainted, and the seizure of offices and public funds allocated for security. We give militias cars and money and offices. They repaint the cars and sell them. There will be no more money to militias. Only to Security Directorates, he warned. The Security Plan – dissolving militias Referring to the spate of Tripoli militia versus regular security forces clashes in May and June, he said these are not a (militia) struggle for control, but rather a security plan that will be extended to other cities. Its success requires dissolving the security services and reorganizing them according to the Security Plan. There is real action by the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Defence (Zubi), he said. He said in the absence of the state, the militias filled the security void. There had been no choice in the past years but to use militias to impose security, but now, the regular police cannot work with parallel security agencies (militias), he stressed. Reached out to Kara and Ghnewa to demobilise and reintegrate Trabelsi revealed that he had spoken with all the heads of military formations (militias), including Abdel Raouf Kara (the head of the Special Deterrence Force (SDF/Rada) and (the recently killed in opaque circumstances) Abdelghani Ghnewa Al-Kikly, (former head of Stability Support Agency SSA). He said they had spoken more than once (at Abdul Hakim Al Sheikh's house) to work together to build a police force and enforce the rule of law and the state. He said he had offered to reintegrate them by offering them leadership of any existing regular police force (implying they had not taken up his offer). 60 percent of Tripoli militias demobilised While another speaker at the seminar stated in Trabelsi's presence that 60 percent of Tripoli militias had been demobilised and reintegrated, Trabelsi interjected a piece of honest caution, saying that his previous experience of militia agreements to reintegrate was not good. He said they would agree and then renege on their agreement. Army Trabelsi said there is no army in the capital, Tripoli, to apprehend criminals, and that he will undertake real action in cooperation with the armed forces. Focus on security in Tripoli The Security Plan will focus on the capital, which has a population of 3 million. If the security problems there are resolved, they will be resolved throughout Libya. Tripoli has a mixed population, and it is more complicated to solve the security problem here, he explained. Fuel smuggling Libya used to suffer from the total control of militias affiliated with political parties, tribal leaders and elders, who in the absence of the state, controlled the state institutions. Government officials and elders and leaders from the tribes of the West Coast are behind fuel smuggling operations, and their daily revenues reach more than 2 million euros, he claimed. More than 2 million litres of petrol were smuggled daily, in addition to the smuggled quantities of diesel. Of course they are going to resist anti-fuel smuggling efforts, he exclaimed. Anti-fuel smuggling Security Room Trabelsi said a Joint Security Room is going to be created to monitor petrol trucks going to petrol stations using tracking and cameras to distribute fuel. Today, fuel is available at petrol stations in the smuggling areas of Western Tripoli (west and southwest of Tripoli) as part of the Ministry of Interior's Security Plan. Call for public support Trabelsi called on the public to support regular regional security institutions, not political or personal support. Support the police, he pleaded. When the people support the police, we can operate. But when the tribes and regions work against the police, the police cannot operate. Accountability Commenting on his own financial transparency and accountability, Trabelsi said Libyans are free to pray to God and curse him if it transpires that he has stollen ''a quarter of a dinar'' from their public money. I bear full responsibility for the mistakes of my brother Abdalla and the transgressions of the General Security Service, which his brother heads. . Nearly 1 million crimes reported to police stations – confirms urgent need to dissolve all parallel security agencies / militias Continue Reading Tags: Emad Trabelsiminister of interiorMinistry of Interior
Libya Herald
04-06-2025
- Politics
- Libya Herald
Aldabaiba hails recent security operations, vows to end militias – warns against illegal eastern parallel spending leading to inflation and LD devaluation
Speaking at yesterday's 2nd Ordinary Cabinet Meeting of 2025 held at Tripoli's Al-Nasser Woods Complex (formerly Rixos Complex), Tripoli based Libyan Prime Minister, Abd Alhamid Aldabaiba, said that the recent security operations (clashes with the Stability Support Apparatus (SSA) militia and Abdelraouf Kara's Special Deterrence Force (SDF) / RADA, and their allies), were successful. He blamed the subsequent disorder, fear and damage caused by these clashes and counter-clashes on the militias. Aldabaiba also called on the Attorney General, the Audit Bureau, and the Administrative Control Authority to investigate the over LD 100 billion of parallel spending by the eastern Libyan administration. This parallel spending, he warned will increase inflation, cost of living and reduce the foreign exchange value of the Libyan dinar. It will lead to the economic ruin of Libya, he warned. Security initiative Aldabaiba hailed the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defence for their role in imposing security on behalf of the legitimate state. He stressed that the people support state security and not unaccountable militias and that he had received wide international support for the recent anti-militia security operation. On the other hand, he criticised, domestically and internationally, those who supported these militias – implying Hafter and the eastern Libyan administration – militias that engage in illegal activity including illegal detention and imprisonment. Demobilisation of militias, Interior Ministry and Presidency Council forces Speaking at the prompting of his PM on planned security reforms, Acting Interior Minister Imad Trabelsi bemoaned the fact that militias were better armed and stronger (and actually more battle experienced due to their fighting in the February 2011 revolution) than the official Interior Ministry forces. He said there can be no state without security and proposed (to applause from the PM and cabinet members) the demobilization of militias and some Interior Ministry and Presidency Council forces. The plan to demobilise even some Interior Ministry forces implies, and simultaneous confirms, if needed, that some Interior Ministry forces were infiltrated and controlled by militias. He called on all current members of these forces intended for demobilisation to join the Interior Ministry or the Defence Ministry if they wished to continue their careers in the security forces. Interjecting, the PM also vowed to demobilise any security forces under his Office. Continuing, Trabelsi said how can Interior Ministry forces operate and respond to government calls for help and intervention if there are forces operating in the field that are stronger. Trabelsi said how can he be held responsible and accountable if there are other stronger forces operating in the field. Interjecting during Trabelsi's speech again, Aldabaiba stressed that this is the state's project that will be implemented. He warned militias hiding behind tribes and cities, saying that time was over. The Libyan people want a strong state Aldabaiba said the Libyan people want a strong state. He said militias must not be feared and that there is no going back (to a state dominated by militias). There is no other option, he stressed, we must impose the state on them. Militia coercion of Ministers Aldabaiba pointed to various ministers (which the cameras refrained from showing), implying that they were coerced to make decisions by militias. ''No more coercion of Ministers or Ministries like the coercion of the Minister of Health (who is currently under arrest) into importing medicine from a non-medicine origination country (Iraq)'' Aldabaiba revealed that militias even interfered in the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. He vowed to refer them to investigation after the pilgrimage is over. He warned his attentive Ministers that there will be no more excuses for them and their officials for giving into militia coercion. Those who cannot perform their jobs (due to militia coercion) should resign, he stated. We will no longer keep quiet on militia coercion, he vowed. We will pursue those who do not give in the state, he explained. Resuming his speech, Interior Minister Trabelsi said his ministry was following up on all crimes from 2012, whether criminal or financial, and referring them to the Attorney General's Office. To which Aldabaiba added ''we will not protect any Minister or his employees against the law''.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
SuperCom Awarded North Carolina Sheriff's Association Technology Procurement Contract
Competitive statewide RFP win provides a platform for efficient expansion within the state TEL AVIV, Israel, June 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- SuperCom (NASDAQ: SPCB), a global provider of secure solutions for the e-Government, IoT, and Cybersecurity sectors, announced today that it has been awarded a statewide technology procurement contract by the North Carolina Sheriff's Association, emerging as the only new electronic monitoring technology provider selected through this competitive RFP. This contract serves as a procurement vehicle to allow all counties in North Carolina to contract directly with SuperCom on preset terms, most of the time without an additional RFP process. This strategic win is another testament to the Company's rapid expansion across the North American public safety market. The North Carolina Sheriff's Association runs these competitive processes to identify high-quality providers and facilitate efficient purchasing for law enforcement and public safety agencies both within North Carolina and across the United States. SuperCom met stringent requirements, including an assessment of financial stability and direct positive feedback in regards to quality and satisfaction from five active U.S. SuperCom customers. Multiple solutions from SuperCom's Pure Security suite were approved for procurement under the contract, including PureOne – SuperCom's one-piece GPS solution; PureTrack – its two-piece GPS solution with smartphone; and PureShield – its Domestic Violence solution. The Company plans to attend a large conference this summer of the North Carolina Sheriff's Association, where it will present its technology to many counties across the state. Counties that will procure SuperCom's solutions through this contract will follow a recurring revenue model, billed monthly by daily unit count. "We are pleased with this new milestone as part of our expansion across the U.S. Winning in this competitive RFP, governed by an esteemed state-level association, signals clear progress in our business plan as we expand our presence as a valuable provider of electronic monitoring technology. Beyond the quality of our technology and services, we were happy to see that formal analysis of our financial stability and direct references from our active U.S. customers led the North Carolina Sheriff's Association to award us this contract," commented Ordan Trabelsi, President and CEO of SuperCom. "We are continuously exploring new avenues to accelerate our U.S. expansion, and this award opens the door to a potentially impactful one," Trabelsi added. "Procurement vehicles like this—whether statewide, regional, or national—enable faster sales cycles and broader access to counties across the U.S. Given that state-level organizations often share similar requirements, this strengthens our confidence in our expansion trajectory across the U.S." About SuperCom Since 1988, SuperCom has been a global provider of traditional and digital identity solutions, providing advanced safety, identification, and security solutions to governments and organizations, both private and public, worldwide. Through its proprietary e-Government platforms and innovative solutions for traditional and biometrics enrollment, personalization, issuance, and border control services, SuperCom has inspired governments and national agencies to design and issue secure Multi-ID documents and robust digital identity solutions to its citizens and visitors. SuperCom offers a unique all-in-one field-proven RFID & mobile technology and product suite, accompanied by advanced complementary services for various industries, including healthcare and homecare, security and safety, community public safety, law enforcement, electronic monitoring, and domestic violence prevention. For more information, please visit SuperCom's website: Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements preceded or followed by or that otherwise include the words "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "projects", "estimates", "plans", and similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as "will", "should", "would", "may" and "could" are generally forward-looking in nature and not historical or current facts. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from the statements made. Examples of these statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding business and economic trends, the levels of consumer, business and economic confidence generally, the adverse effects of these risks on our business or the market price of our ordinary shares, and other risks and uncertainties described in the forward looking statements and in the section captioned "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on April 28, 2025, our reports on Form 6-K filed from time to time with the SEC and our other filings with the SEC. Except as required by law, we do not undertake any obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, after the date of this press release. SuperCom Investor Relations:ir@ Logo - View original content: SOURCE SuperCom
Libya Observer
04-06-2025
- General
- Libya Observer
Interior minister calls for disbanding of all security bodies outside state control
Interior Minister, Imad Trabelsi, has called for the dissolution of all unofficial security agencies, including those affiliated directly with the Presidential Council and the cabinet. Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Trabelsi said, 'We must dissolve all security bodies without exception and integrate their members—particularly the youth—into the police and army.' He added that if necessary, he was ready to dissolve the General Security Directorate and the Support for Directorates Authority 'within half an hour.' Trabelsi defended the performance of the General Security Apparatus, led by his brother Abdullah, following criticism of its involvement in a controversial security operation in Abu Salim last month. He also condemned years of interference by armed groups in internal security affairs, which he said had weakened the ministry's performance. However, he stressed that the ministry had made significant progress in fighting crime and solving cases. The interior minister confirmed that his ministry is capable of securing the capital without the help of any parallel forces. He announced the creation of a complaints fund, allowing citizens to report abuses—especially those involving the General Security Apparatus—through official channels. In response, Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah expressed support for the minister's call and reiterated his government's readiness to dismantle any non-state armed groups and incorporate them into the country's formal security institutions. He added that the government would formally request the Presidential Council to disband any security bodies not affiliated with the Ministry of Interior. 'After Eid al-Adha, we will announce comprehensive security arrangements, and this state project will proceed without compromise,' Dbeibah said.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Yahoo
Jewish jeweler hospitalized after axe attack in Tunisia
DJERBA, Tunisia (AP) — The Jewish owner of a jewelry store in Tunisia was hospitalized Thursday after an axe attack on the island where Africa's oldest synagogue is located. The 50-year-old man was admitted to a hospital in Djerba, where many of Tunisia's remaining 1,500 Jews reside, community leader Rene Trabelsi told The Associated Press. The attack comes one week before Jewish pilgrims are expected in Djerba for the holiday Lag B'Omer. Across the island and at the 26-century-old El-Ghriba synagogue, Jews welcome thousands each year for three days of festivities. Trabelsi, who is Jewish and served as Tunisia's tourism minister from 2018 to 2020, said little was known about the attacker, adding he did not assume it had to do with religion or the holiday, but would await findings from Tunisian authorities about potential motives. 'We fully trust Tunisian authorities because we're Tunisian too,' he said. Trabelsi said that the store owner was expected to be released from the hospital on Friday after sustaining defensive wounds. Tunisian police have expanded security on the island, Trabelsi said. Two years ago, a 30-year-old Tunisian national guardsman killed two Jewish pilgrims and three security officers during the festival. Events were scaled back last year. Tunisian authorities have not commented on reports of the attack.
