On Saturday, the French Special Assize Court sentenced Moroccan-Frenchman, Chaïb A. to 17 years in prison, in addition to a 5 year-jail term for his wife, for joining the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group in Libya in 2016.
They are also being prosecuted for evading their legal obligations and compromising the health, safety, morals, or education of their two young children. Chaïb A., was radicalised online and had already attempted to join IS in 2012 but without success to join Syria.
Chaïb A. was planning to go to Syria, but because of the setbacks suffered at that time by the IS group in this country, he moved towards Libya. There, the country is still in chaos since the uprising that brought down the regime of Moammar Gaddafi in 2011, with rival powers, a myriad of armed militias, and foreign mercenaries scattered in the country, against a backdrop of foreign interference. Taking advantage of the absence of the state, IS established itself in several Libyan cities, making Sirte its stronghold in June 2015 before being driven out in 2016.
Over the last few years, the Libyan National Army (LNA) launched massive campaigns against IS militants in southern and central Libya. LNA forces carried out a qualitative military operation, during which they targeted a number of militants and destroyed armored vehicles.
Oil-rich Libya plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gaddafi in 2011. In the chaos that followed, the county split, with the rival administrations backed by rogue militias and foreign governments. The country’s current political crisis stems from the failure to hold elections on the 24th of December 2021.
The country’s Prime Minister, Abdelhamid Al-Dbaiba, who is leading a transitional government in Tripoli has refused to step down. The country’s eastern-based Parliament appointed a rival Prime Minister, Fathi Bashagha, who is seeking Libya’s United Nations (UN) seat.
