Libyan tribes warn Dbeibeh against handing over Senussi to Washington
The handover to Washington of a Libyan citizen accused of involvement in the Lockerbie bombing led by the outgoing government of national unity led by Abdel Hamid Dbeibeh has raised serious concerns that the unity government will hand over others, led by Abdullah Senussi, former intelligence chief under the late leader Muammar Gaddafi.
The Russian news agency ‘Sputnik’ reported, citing Libyan sources, that Libyan tribes are concerned about the fate of a number of symbols of the Gaddafi regime who are detained in prisons in Tripoli, and that they may be handed over as part of a deal made by Dbeibeh with the United States to strengthen its influence and position in a conflict of legitimacy with a rival government in the east of the country.
According to the same source, the Libyan sources warned of the escalation of tribes against the Dbeibeh government in case it did not release political prisoners, confirming that Washington has already asked the authority in Tripoli to hand over Abdullah Senussi, who had kept the secrets of the former regime.
The Libyan tribes’ warnings came after confirmed information that Senussi would be handed over to the United States after the former officer, Abu Ujaila Massoud, who is currently accused of being the partner of the late Abdelbaset Al Megrahi, was the sole defendant in the Lockerbie case. The case was supposed to be settled and its file was closed based on a settlement that took place during the era of Gaddafi.
According to the Russian news agency, citing its sources, the Libyan tribes demanded the Dbeibeh government to immediately release four of the former regime’s figures: Abdullah Senussi, Abdullah Mansour, Ahmed Ibrahim, and Mansour Dhao.
Abdullah Senussi is a member of the Maqara tribe, one of the largest in Libya. The tribe closed off the water valves of the man-made river in Tripoli in protest to pressure Tripoli authorities to release the former intelligence chief.
Abdullah Mansour belongs to the Awlad Sulayman tribes, while Ahmed Ibrahim and Mansour al-Daw are descended from the Qadhadhfa tribes.
“The Libyan tribes are serious in their warnings and the information available so far indicates concerns about the extradition of Abdullah Senussi,” Ashraf Abdel Fattah, a member of the Supreme Council of Libyan Tribes, told Sputnik.
He threatened to escalate if the authorities in Tripoli did not release Senussi, saying that the Libyan tribes have more than one card to resort to in order to escalate, including returning to close the valves of the industrial river or closing the main roads between the cities, in addition to possibly closing the oil fields.
The member of the Supreme Council of Libyan Tribes pointed out that the Lockerbie case was closed based on a previous settlement and compensation paid during the era of the late Muammar Gaddafi, warning that the handover of Senussi to the American authorities would lead to a major explosion.
He said everyone views the handover of Abu Ujaila as “treason” and that “any move in the street will lead to unpredictable results and a big clash”.
“Abdullah Senussi, the former head of Libyan intelligence, was one of the most close associates of the late President Muammar Gaddafi, but he left Libya in 2011, and Mauritanian authorities arrested him in 2012 and deported him to Libya.”
“The Dbeibeh government’s handover of Abu Ujaila Massoud al-Marimi to Washington has further exacerbated divisions in Libya, where the parliament-backed Libyan government based in Sirte (east) is moving to release Abu Ujaila while the parallel government in Tripoli faces charges of treason.”
The head of the Libyan presidential council, Mohamed al-Manfi, entered into a crisis line, stressing that dealing with the extradition of the Libyan citizen, Abu Ujaila al-Marimi, must be done by law before politics.
“The extradition of a Libyan citizen to any entity outside the legal jurisdiction of the Libyan state is a measure that must be dealt with from a legal, before political, point of view,” he said in a statement.
Western countries regard Abdullah Senussi, one of the leaders who was close to Gaddafi, as the black box of the former regime, while he has remained silent since his arrest and trial over the past years.
In 2015 he was sentenced to death by firing squad in one case, but almost four years later he and others were dropped on all charges.
