Summary:

On 24 July 2024, Tripoli’s Minster of the Interior, Imed Trabelsi, announced that the Tunisian government successfully arrested two Libyan suspects allegedly involved in an assassination attempt against one of Prime Minister Hamid Debaibah’s advisors in Libya. 

                                    [mepr-show if=”loggedout”] Please login or purchase an InBrief membership to view the rest of this report [/mepr-show] [mepr-show if=”loggedin”] 

The two suspects, along with two other individuals, allegedly attempted to kill the government official in Tripoli on 14 June 2024 with a car bomb. After the bombing failed, the attackers fled to Tunisia, evading Libyan authorities. 

Tunisian authorities arrested two of the four suspects in a coordinated operation with INTERPOL. Discussions are now ongoing as to the timing and details of their transfer to the Libyan government. 

The arrest came a day prior to the Libyan government’s announcement that they had reached an agreement with Tunisia to cancel an international arrest warrant for a Libyan businessman detained for 65 days in Saudi Arabia. 

Outlook: 

While the arrest is a demonstration of strong coordination and cooperation between the Tunisian and Libyan governments, as well as INTERPOL, the events following the assassination attempt raise concerns about potential security threats emanating from political and security instability in Libya.   

These events are an illustrative example of how Tunisia can easily be drawn into Libya’s political instability and forced to make challenging diplomatic and security decisions as a result. These most recent arrests come in a long sequence of events involving Libyan fugitives and political figures fleeing to Tunisia.  

The arrest by Tunisian authorities may be linked to Tunisia’s pursuit of justice regarding the Libyan businessman, whose bank accounts were frozen in Tunisia due to money laundering suspicions.  

Furthermore, Tunisian cooperation on arresting the Libyan suspects in the assassination plot could result in direct or indirect backlash against its interests from the parties that planned the assassination, as these actors have already shown a willingness to use violence. 

[/mepr-show] 

Explore our services or speak with our team of North Africa-based risk experts.