Haftar’s terrorist cell: mercenaries and a Repsol CEO

Behind the attacks in recent months on the oil refineries in Zawiya, some sixty kilometres west of Tripoli, is the deputy commander-in-chief of eastern Libya, Saddam Haftar, who has also allegedly made use of a cell of Spanish mercenaries as well as the CEO of a Repsol subsidiary, Mikel Aguirre. Drone attacks on what is the country’s main oil refining hub have been ongoing since July, but the identity of those behind them had remained a mystery. The fires at fuel depots caused by Chinese-made fibre-optic drones have created major problems for the extractive sector, which had already been hit by a series of acts of sabotage and the mobilisation of the oil facility security guards. This has also had a significant impact on Italy.

According to the authorities in Tripoli, the person materially responsible for the attacks on Zawiya is Omar al Majarhi, commander of the Tariq bin Zayed Brigade (TBZ), one of the most important in Cyrenaica. However, al Majarhi could never have coordinated such an operation without an order from Haftar. According to many observers, Saddam is said to have taken advantage of the ongoing conflict in Zawiya between Tripoli’s Prime Minister, Abdulhamid Dabaiba, and Mohamed Bahroun – known as ‘the Rat’ – who controls the city, by backing the latter. The aim was to put pressure on Dabaiba, who was accused of holding up the US-backed plan for the unification of Libya – a plan that would see Haftar himself become the country’s next president. Yusef al Ubeidi, a young man with dual Libyan and Spanish nationality who has been looking after Haftar’s interests in Madrid for years, is said to have acted as a mediator between Saddam and the Spanish. Three years ago, al Ubeidi was arrested in Spain by the Civil Guard for acting as an intermediary between Saddam and Shadow Lynx, a private Spanish company, in the sale of 44 drones and the supply of several mercenaries, in breach of the UN embargo.

Alongside the men from TBZ, in what has been described as the ‘Tripoli cell’, is Mikel Aguirre, the Spanish CEO of Repsol Murzuq Oil Company, the firm managing exploration operations in the Murzuq basin, 800 kilometres south of Tripoli. Aguirre has been living and working in Libya on behalf of Repsol for several years now, and it is unclear what role he played within the cell. It is difficult to imagine him having been directly involved in operational activities; rather, it is likely that he was used as a front by Haftar’s men to expand operations into Zawyia. Aguirre is now on the run. Local sources report that he allegedly attempted to cross into Tunisia without success and is believed to be in hiding somewhere in the west. When contacted by Il Foglio, Repsol declined to comment on Aguirre’s involvement, although this has been implicitly confirmed by Mohamad al Manfi, President of the Libyan Presidential Council. On Saturday, al Manfi sent a letter to the International Criminal Court asking it to send an investigative team to Tripoli to look into the terrorist cell and “the involvement of foreign actors”.

Whilst involved in negotiations led by Donald Trump’s special envoy, Massad Boulos, to unify eastern and western Libya, Haftar’s priority was to keep his involvement behind the ‘Tripoli cell’ under wraps. Libyan sources have reported a telephone call that is said to have taken place on Sunday between Saddam and Prime Minister Dabaiba. The two are said to have reached an agreement to resolve the entire matter concerning Zawiya and the terrorist cell. It appears that Saddam offered Tripoli significant concessions, including in the oil sector, in order to avoid retaliation.

Yesterday, however, an act of sabotage led to the closure of a valve on the oil pipeline running from the al Sharara oil field – Libya’s largest – to Zawiya. It is unclear whether the incident is linked to protests by the oil facility security guards or whether it is instead a reprisal for the involvement of mercenaries and the Spanish CEO in the ‘Tripoli cell’. Al Sharara is operated by Akakus Oil Operations, a joint venture in which the Spanish company Repsol is one of the major shareholders.