Jenan Moussa Profile picture
Sep 4, 2018 12 tweets 4 min read Twitter logo Read on Twitter
1/ I spent 3 weeks in east #Libya.

We were 1st foreign journalists to enter Derna after Libyan army began operation to clear city from ISIS, AlQaeda etc.

Army now controls large parts of Derna but extremists still in old city.

We took drone with us.

2/ Happy to be safe after 3 weeks in east Libya. Difficult area to reach.

I met great people in Benghazi. Thank u all for keeping me safe &helping me get great stories.

I'll update this Derna-thread in English later today. But 1st let me call my mom that I'm okay.

@akhbar
3/ As East Libya is largely forgotten by int media, a bit of context:

Benghazi was center of Libyan uprising in 2011. After Gaddafi’s fall, extremists took advantage of the chaos.

From 2012-2014 Al-Qaeda +ISIS linked groups started reign of terror in Benghazi +Derna.

@akhbar
4/ Imagine that at one point in 2013/2014 there were 10 executions per day in Benghazi by extremists.

Main targets: Army officers, policemen, social activists, lawyers etc. Also Ansar al Shariah (same group that attacked U.S. consulate in 2012) had 120 checkpoints in Benghazi.
5/ By mid 2014 situation in Benghazi &rest of East Libya had become so grim that various jihadi groups (Qaeda, ISIS, etc) were on verge of declaring an Islamic State or Islamic Emirate in East Libya. (this was same period when ISIS declared caliphate in Syria/Iraq) @akhbar
6/ Demoralized by rise of extremists &weakened by all executions of its officers, Libyan army in Benghazi (which had joined anti-Ghadaffi uprising from beginning), pulled in mid 2014 out of Benghazi.

The city had effectively fallen into the hands of the extremists.

@akhbar
7/ Turning point came when Khalifa Heftar, head of Libyan army in the East, organized army &Libya's tribes and created "Operation Karama" (Operation Dignity).

Libyan army supported by locals fought from 2014 till end 2017 against ISIS, Al-Qaeda &all groups affiliated with them.
8/ After defeat of extremist groups in east Libya, by 2018 there was only one place where Al-Qaeda, ISIS etc still controlled territory.

That place was Derna.

Heftar's forces entered Derna on May 2018. They 1st took Temsekt hill, overlooking Derna. (see start of my report)
9/ Libyan army then conquered Derna's suburbs and pushed extremists deeper into Derna, a city which didn't see police or army presence since early 2013.

@HaraldDoornbos and I were first foreign reporters allowed into Derna since army offensive. This was our army escort:
10/ Some observations from my visit to Derna:

- Large parts of city liberated from extremists.

- Near to old city center still a pocket controlled by extremists. Libyan army surrounds it. I heard in distance shooting.

- New: Police is back in Derna, police cars drive around.
11/ Derna observations, part II:

- In army controlled parts, many cars on road, normal life returns.

- Some markets/shops open.

- Areas I visited weren't much destroyed. This isn't another Raqqa. (I don't know level of destruction inside extremists pocket).

@akhbar
12/ Derna observations, part III:

- In areas I visited, there was electricity.

- The extremist pocket inside city is marked with barricades, old cars, containers, rocks etc. Inside pocket fighting army vs extremists. Outside pocket locals move around as "normal" as possible.

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More from @jenanmoussa

Sep 17, 2018
1/ Much cultural heritage was destroyed in Mid-East. Look at Palmyra, Mosul...

Luckily ancient Greek city of Cyrene in east Libya was spared.

We took a drone to Cyrene +horse tracks of Benghazi +ruins of Susa.

Fly with me above a Libya u don't often see
2/ Cyrene (in the town of Shahat) is just a stunning place.

Luckily ISIS/Qaeda never reached it but were kept near to Derna, around 60 km to the east. Nothing in Cyrene was vandalized.

The tribe of Shahhat protects this historic site.

@akhbar
3/ These days Cyrene is open to the public.

Not a lot of foreign visitors due to Libya's problems but many local people visit it.

I wouldn't say it was crowded but I saw around 100 visitors in one afternoon.

@akhbar
Read 14 tweets
Sep 11, 2018
1/ Six yrs after US consulate attack in Benghazi, I got NEW FOOTAGE.

In Benghazi I identified 17 extremists seen near/in consulate during attack.

6 out of 17 are in vid.

Witnesses say: Most of 17 killed/fled city. 1 lives in Berlin. 1 might be in Sweden
2/ As you know by now, my tv report for @akhbar is in Arabic.

But please do follow this thread where I will tweet out the relevant details in English.

#Benghazi
3/ Ten days ago I left Benghazi where I spent 3 weeks.

Ansar al-Sharia, the terrorist group that attacked US consulate on 11 Sept 2012 is now dismantled, defeated by Libyan army.

Although it happened 6 yrs ago, I used my time in #Benghazi to re-investigate the attack.

@akhbar
Read 22 tweets
Sep 5, 2018
As world focused on ISIS in Raqqa& Mosul, another city was destroyed: Benghazi.

After ISIS &AlQaeda took city in 2014, Libyan army fought extremists &defeated them end 2017.

Price of victory high.

Our drone footage shows what's left of center Benghazi

2/ I have to tell you that when I recently arrived in Benghazi, I was really shocked by the destruction of the city.

Much worse than I thought it was.

As you can see in our drone video, center is fully destroyed during fighting between extremists & army.

Very painful to see.
3/ I had tears in my eyes seeing Benghazi like this. I can't even start to explain to you how the people feel.

This is for example the now destroyed court building.

This was the center of 2011 uprising against Ghadaffi. It was blown up by Al-Qaeda group Ansar al Sharia.
Read 14 tweets
Aug 8, 2018
1/ After recent gains by Syrian regime, all eyes now on Idlib.

Via intermediary I got in touch with 3 European jihadists in Idlib. I sent my questions+fixer to Idlib.

Jihadists expect an attack &say they'll fight till end.

My story, English subtitles.👇
2/ It's difficult to reach foreign jihadists in Idlib. And even more difficult to record interviews with them.

The 3 foreign fighters in Idlib I got in touch with via intermediary are from Holland (2) &from Belgium (1).

They've been in Syria 5+ yrs.

#EuroJihadists

@akhbar
3/ The foreign jihadists in Idlib answered my questions in Dutch &Flemish. They also know Arabic.

Their (jihadi) names are: Abu Mohammad alHollandi, Abu Zubair alHolandi & Abu Abdul Rahman alBelgiki.

Here is same story but with Arabic subtitles. @akhbar
Read 21 tweets
Aug 3, 2018
1/ Today is 4th anniversary of Yazidi genocide by #ISIS. Thousands of Yazidis killed &enslaved.

In Syria I found #ISISfiles, some on treatment of women by ISIS.

Here my story for @akhbar

It's in Arabic but in thread I'll explain in English
2/ The #ISISfiles about women can be divided into 2 categories.

a. Restrictive laws mainly meant to control local female population in ISIS parts of Syria.

b. Rulings regarding behavior of ISIS-female members. What work can ISIS-women do? Can ISIS-women fight? Etc.

@akhbar
3/ ISIS files show court cases whereby (male) ISIS “spies” accuse Syrian females of having attended "mixed" weddings (males and females attended wedding). Also women were accused of wearing make-up.

@akhbar
Read 15 tweets
Jul 24, 2018
I recently visited #Hungary and went horseback riding in a Vincent van Gogh painting. Wonderful.
On the pic I was actually riding a Lipizzaner, which are famous horses in central Europe with a long tradition in former Habsburg empire.

Next time I hope to visit Spanish Riding school in Vienna.
This was actually my view from top of the horse. How beautiful.
Read 4 tweets

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