DERNA, LIBYA // Nestled in the crags of eastern Libya's wild landscape, Derna is a town with a story of resistance, whose people fought Italian overlords a century ago and where its recent history of jihad is a source of great pride.
But in the sleepy town itself, where mountains sweep down to a cobalt sea, people say they crave peace and stability. But their hopes conflict with growing fears that a few extremist Islamist armed groups could create problems here and further afield, as a security vacuum that followed last year's fighting still persists.
Derna became notorious in 2007, when a trove of papers documenting about 700 foreign fighters was analysed by American terrorism experts. They discovered that the town sent to Iraq, per capita, far more men than any other.
Home to about 50,000 to 80,000 people, men from Derna also went to Afghanistan to fight against Soviet forces in the 1980s and local officials think that 200 may have gone to wage war against president Bashar Al Assad in Syria. It was a centre of resistance to the rule of Muammar Qaddafi and one of the first places to rise up against him when he was toppled last year.
But the brigades that liberated the town have become something of a mixed blessing, said Fathallah Al Awany, the head of an elected local council. "There are no police, and no army in the streets," he said. Some members of some brigades, "just act how they want".
Crime has increased, and hardline Islamists have demolished shrines to Sufi saints nearby.
Mr Al Awany's biggest concern, he said, was a group on whom attention has been focused since the storming of the US consulate in Benghazi, a three-hour drive west, causing the death of four Americans, including ambassador J Christopher Stevens.
The local brigade, called Ansar Al Sharia, consists of a few dozen people adhering to an interpretation of Islam that violently rejects secular government and refuses to acknowledge local authorities.
The group shares a name with one that has emerged as a prime suspect in the consulate attack, although it says it has no formal links. "They are extremists," said Mr Al Awany, "they do not recognise the government."
The recent events highlight Libyan and international fears that some splinters from the country's long-established Islamist fighting groups are now beyond the control of the shaky interim government and could be a threat to security in Libya and beyond.
Aaron Y Zelin, who monitors Islamist militant activity at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, noted in a report last week that the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, which fought against the rule of Qaddafi for decades, moved away from armed conflict in 2006 and elements of the group stood in recent elections. But new groups, which oppose the new, democratic government, have emerged, said Mr Zelin, including Ansar Al Sharia in Derna, thought to be led by Abu Sufian Bin Qumu, a one-time inmate of Guantanamo Bay.
"Libyan radicals had every reason to be encouraged by the government's inaction against those responsible for the recent destruction of Sufi mosques and graves," he said, adding that if the attack on the consulate, "prompts little official response, vigilantism will grow and perhaps lead to anti-government violence."
A nationwide effort by Libya's nascent ministries of the interior and defence to recruit fighters to their forces have had limited effect in Derna, said Mr Al Awany.
The Supreme Security Council, an interior ministry body, which now pays thousands of members of the brigades that helped defeat Qaddafi, recruited most of the fighters in Derna during the last six months. "But they get paid for nothing," said Mr Al Awany. "They haven't been seen on the streets."
His views were echoed by local people, who held on Sunday a demonstration to call for an organised security presence in the town. "There's a big lack of security," said Fadlallah Ramadan, who runs a grocery store. "We have only the Abu Salim brigade to provide security - some are good, and some are not."
"The police are scared of the extremists," he added, "if the extremists they get stronger they might cause more trouble."
The headquarters of Ansar Al Sharia in Derna is on a wooded estate with two of the black flags used by many Islamist groups fluttering outside. Members of the group said no commanders were available for an interview, though one or two lingered outside for a chat about their goals.
"People here do not support the police, or the army," said one man, who gave his name as Abu Hamza and said he was 30, had studied mechanical engineering and spent four years in the Abu Slim prison in Tripoli. He said the group sought a strict implementation of Islamic law. Asked about the attack on the American consulate, he denied any connection with the attack but affirmed that he rejected the presence of Americans on Libyan soil, despite their support for the uprising, "because of Iraq and Afghanistan".
In fact, he said, the group was planning to disband. But he said he would continue to reject the idea that voters should choose the future of the country. "It should be the will of God," he said. "If there is no Islamic government, I won't obey the government."
afordham@thenational.ae
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Sreesanth's India bowling career
Tests 27, Wickets 87, Average 37.59, Best 5-40
ODIs 53, Wickets 75, Average 33.44, Best 6-55
T20Is 10, Wickets 7, Average 41.14, Best 2-12
If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The National's picks
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5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
The specs: 2018 Jeep Compass
Price, base: Dh100,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.4L four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 184bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 237Nm at 3,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.4L / 100km
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Juvenile arthritis
Along with doctors, families and teachers can help pick up cases of arthritis in children.
Most types of childhood arthritis are known as juvenile idiopathic arthritis. JIA causes pain and inflammation in one or more joints for at least six weeks.
Dr Betina Rogalski said "The younger the child the more difficult it into pick up the symptoms. If the child is small, it may just be a bit grumpy or pull its leg a way or not feel like walking,” she said.
According to The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases in US, the most common symptoms of juvenile arthritis are joint swelling, pain, and stiffness that doesn’t go away. Usually it affects the knees, hands, and feet, and it’s worse in the morning or after a nap.
Limping in the morning because of a stiff knee, excessive clumsiness, having a high fever and skin rash are other symptoms. Children may also have swelling in lymph nodes in the neck and other parts of the body.
Arthritis in children can cause eye inflammation and growth problems and can cause bones and joints to grow unevenly.
In the UK, about 15,000 children and young people are affected by arthritis.
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
Results
4pm: Maiden (Dirt) Dh165,000 1,600m
Winner: Moshaher, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer).
4.35pm: Handicap (D) Dh165,000 2,200m
Winner: Heraldic, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
5.10pm: Maiden (Turf) Dh165,000 1,600m
Winner: Rua Augusta, Harry Bentley, Ahmad bin Harmash.
5.45pm: Handicap (D) Dh190,000 1,200m
Winner: Private’s Cove, Mickael Barzalona, Sandeep Jadhav.
6.20pm: Handicap (T) Dh190,000 1,600m
Winner: Azmaam, Jim Crowley, Musabah Al Muhairi.
6.55pm: Handicap (D) Dh190,000 1,400m
Winner: Bochart, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
7.30pm: Handicap (T) Dh190,000 2,000m
Winner: Rio Tigre, Mickael Barzalona, Sandeep Jadhav.
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Day 1, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Dimuth Karunaratne had batted with plenty of pluck, and no little skill, in getting to within seven runs of a first-day century. Then, while he ran what he thought was a comfortable single to mid-on, his batting partner Dinesh Chandimal opted to stay at home. The opener was run out by the length of the pitch.
Stat of the day - 1 One six was hit on Day 1. The boundary was only breached 18 times in total over the course of the 90 overs. When it did arrive, the lone six was a thing of beauty, as Niroshan Dickwella effortlessly clipped Mohammed Amir over the square-leg boundary.
The verdict Three wickets down at lunch, on a featherbed wicket having won the toss, and Sri Lanka’s fragile confidence must have been waning. Then Karunaratne and Chandimal's alliance of precisely 100 gave them a foothold in the match. Dickwella’s free-spirited strokeplay meant the Sri Lankans were handily placed at 227 for four at the close.
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Angela Bassett, Tina Fey
Directed by: Pete Doctor
Rating: 4 stars
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
