SUMMARY
In 2015, the Islamic State (IS) gradually expanded its presence in Libya; the group had emerged in the country in late 2014, as various local militant groups pledge allegiance to the organization (for more information, see Libya: Islamic State). In May 2015, IS captured the coastal town Sirte and established it as its “capital” in Libya. Following a common pattern seen in for example Syria and Iraq, IS attempted to establish a governance system based on its extremist interpretation of Islam in Sirte. The group also committed abuses against the town’s population, including killings and other forms of repression. This led to considerable animosity against IS among Sirte’s population. On 7 August, a local Salafist preacher - Khalid bin Rajab al-Farjani – spoke out against IS in one of his sermons, denouncing the group and urging Sirte residents not to join its ranks. Within just a few days, IS assassinated Khalid bin Rajab al-Farjani in an apparent act of retaliation.
The killing of the preacher sparked outrage in Sirte, and on 11 August members of the newly formed Salafist group Shabab al-Tawhid wa al-Aqiyda alongside a considerable number of armed residents began attacking IS positions. The anti-IS forces – which appears to have included former fighters of the 136 “Jalit” Battalion, a militia previously defeated by IS – attacked several parts of the town, successfully taking control over the Raqm Thalatha (“No. 3”) neighborhood. It should be noted that the driving party behind the uprising appears to have been the al-Farjani tribe, one of the largest and most influential communal groups in Sirte. However, since the UCDP as a principle prioritizes formally organized groups over communal groups – such as tribes and ethnic groups – the events described here were attributed to Shabab al-Tawhid wa al-Aqiyda, since the group participated in the fighting. As such, the armed residents were considered to have supported Shabab al-Tawhid wa al-Aqiyda, even if the al-Farjani tribe appears to have comprised a majority of the anti-IS fighters.
While the uprising against IS was initially successful in wresting parts of Sirte from the group, the momentum quickly turned against Shabab al-Tawhid wa al-Aqiyda and the al-Farjani tribe. IS began pouring reinforcements from the nearby towns Harawa and Nofaliya into Sirte, and also made use of artillery to break resistance in Raqm Thalatha neighborhood. On 13-14 August, there was fierce fighting, with IS eventually gaining the upper hand. It was suggested that Shabab al-Tawhid wa al-Aqiyda and the al-Farjani tribe simply lacked the weapons necessary to resist the violent IS attacks. Furthermore, despite pledges from both the Government of Libya and the House of Representatives to support the anti-IS uprising, no significant external help was sent to Sirte. By the morning of 14 August, IS had decisively defeated Shabab al-Tawhid wa al-Aqiyda and the al-Farjani fighters, and retaken control over all Sirte neighborhoods.
In the aftermath of the uprising, there were reports of atrocities committed by IS against wounded and captured opponents and civilians. However, the poor quality of the reporting of these events meant that the UCDP could not include revenge killings and executions allegedly committed by IS in the immediate aftermath of the uprising.
The non-state conflict between IS and Shabab al-Tawhid wa al-Aqiyda is first included in UCDP data in 2015. In August of that year, clashes between the two groups had resulted in more than 25 battle-related deaths.
