The Commander of the Western Mountain Military Region, Osama al-Juwaili, was reported saying by local Arabic-language Libyan media yesterday, in a widely circulated video clip, that the Western Mountain Military Region’s borders are now secured and that it has ‘‘completely eliminated’’ fuel smuggling via tankers in its region.
He said any fuel smuggling operations in his region are now limited to the addition of extra diesel tanks to trucks. He added that they cannot control this phenomenon of additional or larger diesel tanks on trucks - added on specifically to engage in diesel smuggling.
He said that curbing this practice requires legislation that specifies the quantity of diesel each truck is allowed to transport.
Juwaili added that the phenomenon of fuel being sold at roadsides or at unofficial sites outside the legal channel of petrol stations has also been eliminated in the Western Mountain Military Region.
Comment
It is unclear to what extent and for what past, and future, period of time the Western Mountain Military Region has indeed been able to eliminate industrial-scale fuel smuggling through its area of command. If it is accurate, it is a major achievement.
It is no secret that the Western Mountain area, and specifically the foot of the mountains, has historically been a very active area for smuggling in general over the decades.
However, until Commander Juwaili subjects himself to more media scrutiny, it is unclear what his geographical definition of the area under his command.
Fuel smuggling is continuing at a fast pace and in huge volumes. We can deduce this from the quantities of fuel Libya is importing each month.
Most of this smuggled fuel seems to emanate from the Zawia refinery, north of the Western Mountain area - and generally heads south towards it. It must either pass through it or circumvent it.
The question is then, has Commander Juwaili simply pushed the fuel-smuggling activity out of the area under his command to areas beyond?
Time will tell if his actions are contributing to reducing fuel smuggling – or simply pushing it elsewhere.