Libya’s New Border Monitoring Satellite Program

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Libya will build a satellite surveillance system with Italian expertise to help secure its borders in order to stem the flow of Islamist militants and illegal immigrants, its defense minister has said.

Western powers worry that the sprawling North African state has become a safe haven for al Qaeda fighters as its government struggles to rein in militias and former rebels who helped topple longtime autocrat Muammar Gaddafi two years ago.

Weak border controls and a small army lacking training and equipment have turned Libya into a weapons smuggling route for al Qaeda in sub-Saharan countries and also a transit corridor for Islamist fighters heading to Syria’s war.

iHLS – Israel Homeland Security

Human traffickers also smuggle refugees over the remote desert borders with Egypt, Sudan or Chad into Libya from where they try to reach Italy by boat. Hundreds have died recently on their way to Lampedusa, an island south of Sicily.

Defense Minister Abdullah al-Thini told Reuters Libya had contracted an Italian company to start setting up from December a satellite-based surveillance system to monitor the border from the Mediterranean coast to the sub-Saharan boundaries.