4-10 October: Eastern Committee for Issuing Fatwas called for Jihad in Sabratha

Oct 11, 2017 | Other Jihadi Actors

Supreme Committee for Issuing Fatwas (Al-Lajna al-‘Ulya li-l-Ifta’), which is based in the eastern city Al-Bayda and is associated with Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA), has called for Jihad in Sabratha against “Kharijites,” a term used by Dignity Operation members to label their opponents. The announcement follows the Committee’s controversial Fatwa denouncing Ibadis earlier this summer, which provoked massive criticism from both local and international actors as inciting violence among Libyans.

Following this announcement the eastern government, headed by Abdullah Al-Thanni, ordered mosques in the region to perform Qunut prayers to ask God to defeat the “Kharijites” in Sabratha. On 6 October, the Anti-ISIS Operations Room (AIOR), a force technically under the authority of the Government of National Accord (GNA) but more closely aligned the Libyan National Army (LNA), announced its control of Sabratha after defeating the Anas Dabbashi Brigade– ending the prolonged conflict in the city and surrounding areas.