The spectre of jihad in Libya

While Britain agonised over deploying attack helicopters to Libya, the conflict seems to have escalated of its own accord. Noman Benotman, a former member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, has described the current dispositions for the Times this morning (£). He has learned that many of Gaddafi’s military leaders are planning a coup to save their skins; Colonel Gaddafi is reluctant to arrest their nascent treachery for fear of triggering open rebellion. Other officers are following the example of civilian administrators like Moussa Koussa, feeling that now is the time to cut and run.

News of Gaddafi’s withering power will please NATO, even if it is exaggerated. However, Benotman’s other revelations will unnerve the alliance. In lawless Benghazi, the rebels are growing fractious and jihadists are providing order with their singular brand of justice. He writes:

‘Former jihadists from the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, of which I was once a senior leader, who have recently returned to the UK from fighting against Gaddafi have told me of impromptu death squads in Benghazi that have begun killing former regime loyalists there.