Three networks, all closely intertwined, have emerged out of the Libyan conflict: trade, smuggling and militant routes. A new flourishing trade, smuggling goods north and south, has brought militants, migrants and water north, while bringing cheap petrol being smuggled to Niger and Chad. Further south, the Libyan spillover has emboldened local regionalist groups, many of which pledged allegiance to ISIS, including Boko Haram. The Tebu, an ethnic group living in northern Chad and northeastern Niger, control most of the Libyan south border, and levy a tax for every person smuggling north. Smugglers also work closely with Libya’s different factions, upon which Libya’s de facto two governments don’t have enough power to intervene.

Source: The North Africa Journal August 28, 2016 10:36 UTC