What role did the leader of Tunisia’s Ennahdha Party Rached Ghannouchi play in Libya?

Tunisia is witnessing rapid developments after President Kais Saied’s decision last week to freeze the Parliament, and lift the immunity of its members.

Saied’s decision has opened the door to prosecuting those involved in acts of violence and terrorism, the discharge of terrorists, and therefore the smuggling of mercenaries and extremists across the border. These are believed to be linked to Parliament Speaker, and therefore the Head of the pro-Muslim Brotherhood Ennahdha Movement, Rached Ghannouchi.

Over the past years, Ennahdha Movement has allegedly involved itself in neighbouring Libya; by heavily supporting the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies including militias in Libya with weapons and mercenaries.

Ghannouchi is believed to possess had a prominent role in supporting the militias in western Libya, as he helped release extremist suspects in Tunisia, and worked to transfer them to Tripoli. Many of whom fought during the recent conflict in exchange for promises including obtaining Foreign citizenship.

Moreover, Ghannouchi’s party supervised the smuggling of weapons to Libya across the Tunisian border, in coordination with prominent members of the Muslim Brotherhood in Libya. As he’s thought to possess an in depth relationship with variety of figures affiliated with the group, like Ali al-Sallabi and Abdelhakim Belhadj.

In the aftermath of the 2011 war, which led to the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in Libya, Al-Sallabi acknowledged Tunisia’s role in supporting the “rebels” by smuggling weapons across the Tunisian border into Libya.

Libya Review spoke to a Tunisian political figure who said “Qatar & Turkey are financing & supporting Ghannouchi for years. they need granted him approximately 200 Million Dollars. This money has been wont to help extremists in Libya thrive”

The practices of the Ennahdha Movement and its President have fueled the conflict in Libya, leading to severe internal tensions within Tunisia. This has resulted in Tunisian parties condemning Ennahdha’s support for Libya’s militias, fearing it could drag the country into alliances harmful to Tunisia and Libya.