- Italian
press today published claims that ISIS has threatened to release the
huge wave of migrants to cause chaos in Europe if they are attacked
- And letters from jihadists show plans to hide terrorists among refugees
- In 2011, Muammar Gaddafi ominously predicted war would come to Libya
- He was deposed in a violent coup and killed in October of the same year
- Islamic State executed 21 Egyptian Christians on Libyan beach this week
- Crisis in Libya has led to surge in number of migrants heading for Europe
Published:
15:54 GMT, 18 February 2015
|
Updated:
18:51 GMT, 18 February 2015
ISIS
has threatened to flood Europe with half a million migrants from Libya
in a 'psychological' attack against the West, it was claimed today.
Transcripts
of telephone intercepts published in Italy claim to provide evidence
that ISIS is threatening to send 500,000 migrants simultaneously out to
sea in hundreds of boats in a 'psychological weapon' against Europe if
there is military intervention against them in Libya.
Many
would be at risk of drowning with rescue services unable to cope. But
authorities fear that if numbers on this scale arrived, European cities
could witness riots.
Separately,
the militants hope to cement their control of Libya then cross the
Mediterranean disguised as refugees, according to letters seen by
Quilliam the anti-terror group, reported by the Telegraph.
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Breaking point: The officials at
Lampedusa airport (pictured) are struggling to process the 1,200 newly
arrived migrants in a reception centre built for a third of that number -
and now Islamic State has threatened to send 500,000 to Europe's shores
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Escape: Today, the spread of violence
and extremism in Libya has forced thousands to flee to Italy (ferry port
of Lampedusa pictured) where officials are struggling to deal with the
sudden influx
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Prophecy: Muammar Gaddafi predicts the
Mediterranean would become a 'sea of chaos' four years before Islamic
State beheaded 21 Egyptian Christians on a beach in Libya - prompting a
swift and brutal response from the country who launched airstrikes on
their locations
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Violent coup: Muammar Gaddafi was
deposed as Libya's leader in August 2011 and killed in October, when
forces loyal to the government that overthrew him found him hiding in a
drainage pipe in Sirte
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Dangerous: Egypt's brutal airstrikes
on the Libyan village of Derna - in retaliation for the mass murder of
21 of its countrymen - forced many to abandon their homes
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Anxious: The Egyptians who fled their adopted home in Libya face a nervous wait before passing through the border village Sallum
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Searching for safety: With militancy
and violence spreading through Libya, many Egyptians living there are
now returning to their home country (pictured on the border village
Sallum)
Italian
Minister for the Interior Angelino Alfano said on Monday that Libya was
the 'absolute priority' and insisted there was 'not a minute to lose'
for the international community.
He
said: 'If the militias of the Caliphate advance faster than the
decisions of the international community how can we put out the fire in
Libya and stem the migration flows? We are at risk of an exodus without
precedent.'
More than 170,000 migrants arrived in Italy by boat last year. Since last Friday almost 4,000 have been rescued.
The
spread of militancy across Libya was predicted by the country's
deceased leader Muammar Gaddafi, who warned the Mediterranean would
become 'a sea of chaos'.
ISIS
had not yet made frightening inroads into Libya when he made this
chilling prophecy during his last interview in March 2011.
But
the Arab Spring uprising that year sparked a civil war in Libya and
opposition forces - backed by NATO - deposed Gaddafi in violent coup
just five months after his ominous prediction.
In
October 2011, forces loyal to the country's transitional government
found the ousted leader hiding in a culvert in Sirte and killed him.
Four
years later, Islamic State kidnapped 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians in
Sirte - Gaddafi's birthplace - before releasing gruesome footage of
their beheading on the shores of the Mediterranean, just 220 miles south
of Italy. In it the terrorists warned that they 'will conquer Rome'.
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Fleeing terror: Over 170,000 migrants
arrived in Italy by boat last year and since last Friday alone almost
4,000 have been rescued
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Forced to leave: Migrants wait to
board a plane at Lampedusa airport in Italy, bound for a detention
center elsewhere in the country
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Safe: The mainly African migrants were
among some 3,800 would-be immigrants to Europe rescued in the
Mediterranean since Friday, according to figures compiled by the
International Organisation for Migration
Bloody
realisation: Four years after Gaddafi's chilling prophecy that the
Mediterranean would become 'a sea of chaos' ISIS murdered 21 Egyptian
Christians on a beach in Libya
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Total control: ISIS' have spread their
brutal regime throughout Gaddafi's former home, with recent footage
showing a fleet of brand new cars carrying its notorious black flag
driving freely through Benghazi
In
response, Italian security chiefs have approved plans to put 4,800
soldiers on the country's streets to help prevent terrorist attacks.
The
statement from the Interior Ministry said they would guard 'sensitive
sites' until at least June and reports claim 500 will be deployed in
Rome - where soldiers are already guarding diplomatic residences,
synagogues and Jewish schools.
The troops are also expected to be deployed at tourist venues such as archaeological sites and monuments.
A
treaty between Gaddafi and the Italian premier provided for joint boat
patrols which curtailed the departure of migrant boats from Libya.
But, as the Libyan despot predicted back in 2011, if the Gaddafis were brought down, Islamists would exploit the power vacuum.
Still
holding court in a Bedoin tent while holed up in the fortified citadel
of Bab Al Azizya, Gaddafi warned: 'If, instead of a stable government
that guarantees security, these militias linked to Bin Laden take
control, the Africans will move en mass towards Europe.'
He added: 'The Mediterranean will become a sea of chaos.'
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Insecurity: Four years later Lybian soldiers gather in the same square after an Islamist-led militia seized the capital
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Military intervention: As Libyan
soldiers protected the capital Tripoli (pictured on February 9), the
elected parliament was forced to relocate in the eastern city of Tobruk
That very sea ran red with blood when Islamic State brutally executed 21 Egyptian Christians on its shores.
The
accompanying video, released on Sunday, showed the men dressed in
orange jumpsuits and shackled - kneeling in the sand before the
militants slit their throats and watched them bleed to death.
Egypt retaliated furiously by launching coordinated airstrikes on ISIS targets in Libya.
The European powers were putting their own security at risk by helping the rebels, Gaddafi pointed out.
He told Il Giornale,
the Italian newspaper owned by his former friend Silvio Berlusconi he
was saddened by the attitude of his friend. They no longer spoke.
'I
am shocked at the attitude of my European friends. They have endangered
and damaged a series of great security treaties in their own interest.'
Without his harsh, but effective, regime, the entire North African Mahgreb 'would become another Gaza,' he claimed.
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Power: The ominous show
of discipline and wealth shows how the country has been overrun by
extremism as efforts to suppress ISIS focus on Iraq and Syria
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Chilling: Even young children salute the procession of cars as they pass undeterred through the streets of Benghazi
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Support: The parade of Toyota Land
Cruisers is welcomed by the locals in Benghazi. The video was posted by
terrorist group Ansar Al-Sharia - who pledged allegiance to Islamic
State last October
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Overrun: The majority of Libya's
coastal cities have surrendered control to Islamic State and other rebel
extremist groups created to oppose the NATO-led invasion which removed
Gaddafi from power
The telephone transcripts, seen by Il Messaggero
newspaper claimed to provide evidence 'that IS will use the migrants as
a "psychological weapon" against countries that say they want to
intervene in Libya, in particular, against Italy.'
'As
soon as our country mentioned armed intervention on Libya the jihadists
suggested they let drift, bound for Italy, hundreds of boats full of
migrants. The figure discussed is five hundred thousand, most of the
700,000 that are on the coast waiting to board,' the newspaper
reported.
Following
the dire threat Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi immediately
backtracked from his government's previous rhetoric saying that 'it was
not the time for military intervention'.
Foreign
Minister Paolo Gentiloni said this morning that Italy does not want to
embark on 'adventures, never mind Crusades' in Libya.
But
former President Giorgio Napolitano said that the 'biggest error' in
the post-Gaddafi's period was the European Unions 'lack of involvement'
in the country.
Meanwhile
following direct threats on Rome, the commander of Vatican City's
110-man Swiss Guard said his forces are ready to defend Pope Francis if
ISIS attempt a strike .
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Executed: On Sunday, ISIS released a video showing the brutal mass murder of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians on a beach in Libya
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Horror: Blood is seen in the Mediterranean Sea four years after Muammar Gaddafi predicted it would become a 'sea of chaos'
Colonel
Christoph Graf said 'Following the terrorists' threats, we're asking
the guards to be more attentive and observe peoples' movements closely.
If something happens we're ready, as are the men of the Gendarmerie.'
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