The Islamic State group is threatening Libya’s fragile peace and gaining ground in the country by aligning with human smuggling networks, according to experts.
These relationships could facilitate the movement of terrorists into Libya through smuggling routes used by irregular migrants in Chad, Mali, Niger and Sudan into southern Libya, Lebanon’s An-Nahar newspaper reported.
While the Islamic State (IS) group is present throughout Libya, it is more of a danger in the south, with links to the Sahel, according to The Jamestown Foundation. Its presence is most consistent in the southern Fezzan region, where its logistical networks are used to transport people, vehicles and weapons from Sudan, through Chad, to the tri-border area of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.
Local authorities have “serious concerns about the return of the organization, like any state seeking to establish security and stability on its territory,” Libyan military analyst Adel Abdel Kafi, told An-Nahar in late January. Kafi characterized Libya as “safe haven” for terror groups that cooperate with criminal and irregular migration gangs “to recruit members, expand their bases, and coordinate cross-border movement operations.”
Abdel Kafi said the group has modified its strategy in Libya.
“After dismantling its core structure, its elements turned to hiding, awaiting an opportunity to establish a new foothold and renew funding sources to become active again,” he told the newspaper.
Migrants, particularly from Syria and Iraq, arrive in Libya at airports through legal means, but smuggling gangs then take charge of them. IS and al-Qaida leaders also use sea routes to move from Iraq and Syria to Libya and other African nations.
Political tensions exacerbate the situation. Eastern Libya is governed by Gen. Khalifa Haftar, who heads the Libyan National Army (LNA) in Benghazi, while the Government of National Unity (GNU) led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah governs western Libya. Both factions claim legitimacy, but neither has been able to hold long-promised national elections, originally scheduled for December 2021.
Analysts began noting the IS resurgence in Libya last year. In August, the Libyan Intelligence Service dismantled three IS-linked cells in southern Libya that had international connections in Africa and Europe.
According to media reports, the first cell recruited fighters and transferred them from North Africa to Somalia and the Sahel using forged passports and safehouses. The second managed money laundering operations that support IS members fleeing from Syria to Libya. This cell used front companies disguised as humanitarian organizations. The third cell handled cross-border financial transfers through cryptocurrency and investments, and was described as the most dangerous.
The arrests followed the discovery of an IS weapons cache in Sabha, where authorities found mortars, anti-aircraft guns, explosives and large quantities of ammunition, according to the Libya Review online newspaper.
In September 2025, the IS wrote an editorial in its publication al-Naba in which it characterized Libya as a “launching platform” for its comeback, and explicitly called for a renewed jihad in the country.
