ISIS is consolidating its grip on Sirte and the surrounding regions, while executions of members of the large local tribes Furnaj and Gadadafa have continued. ISIS reportedly executed three Libyan National Army soldiers in Sirte on 25 March after they were kidnapped in their hometown of Ajdabiya, while on leave from Benghazi. Another man was flogged in the city centre …

ISIS continues to keep a tight grip on Sirte despite increasing hardship faced by the city’s population. Basic food and other items are increasingly scarce, while the exodus of Sirte’s residents is ongoing. ISIS has also enforced mandatory Sharia courses and regularly conducted raids on the homes of local dissidents. An ISIS video statement on 19 March titled ‘Message to …

Sirte On 14 March, ISIS published a video titled ‘Messages to Benghazi’. ISIS filmed the execution of 2 Libyan National Army (LNA) soldiers, while issuing threats against Haftar loyalists in Derna and Benghazi and pledging support for jihadists fighting them. In the 21st weekly issue of the ISIS official magazine, Al Naba, the group published an interview with the new …

As ISIS loses key personnel and territory in its battles with local fighters in Benghazi and Sabratha, the group is being forced to expedite its plans of establishing an emirate in Southern Tunisia. Developments over the course of the last two weeks indicate that ISIS has yet to find a hospitable environment in Libya, especially where Libyans have the means …

Since 16 February, the last edition of the Eye on ISIS in Libya report, major shifts in ISIS presence and impact in Libya have taken place, reducing the threat somewhat in Eastern Libya, while escalating it in Western Libya. In Eastern Libya, ISIS lost its bastion of Al Lithi in Benghazi on 23 February. This occurred after the latest Libyan …