LIBYAN SANCTIONS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91B00874R000200060008-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 18
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 6, 2011
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: January 8, 1986
• Content Type: MEMO

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United States Department of State
Washington, D.C. 20520
January 8, 1986
LIBYAN SANCTIONS
BY THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE ON JANUARY 8, 1986.
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Libya Under Qadhafi: A Pattern of Aggression
Character of Libyan Policy
Mu'ammar Qadhafi seized power in a military coup in 1969.
Since then he has forcibly sought to remake Libyan society
according to his own revolutionary precepts. Qadhafi's ambitions
are not confined within Libya's borders, however. He fancies
himself a leader and agent of historic forces that will. reorder
Third World politics to his taste. His vision provides both a
motive and a rationale for providing military and financial aid
to radical regimes, and for undermining moderate governments by
supporting--or manufacturing--subversive groups and abetting
terrorists. Qadhafi's aggressive policies increasingly have
focused on undermining US and other Western interests in the
Third World as he sees these as the main barrier to his radical
and expansionist goals. Qadhafi's commitment of political,
economic, and military resources in support of anti-Western
activities worldwide may be surpassed only by the Soviet Union,
its East European allies, and possibly North Korea or Cuba. He
is particularly hostile to Israel and the US. His tactics
include a mixture of threats and material support for terrorism,
offers of cooperation, economic incentives and intimidation, and
outright military aggression.
Libyan Involvement in Terrorism
Qadhafi has used terrorism as one of the primary instruments
of his foreign policy and supports radical groups which use
terrorist tactics. Tripoli operates numerous training camps for.
foreign dissident groups that provide instruction in the use of
explosive devices, hijacking, assassination, and various commando
and guerrilla techniques. Libya also abuses diplomatic privilege
by storing arms and explosives at its diplomatic establishments,
as occurred during the shoot-out at its embassy in London in
April 1984.
The main targets of Libyan terrorist activities have been
expatriate Libyan dissidents and leading officials of moderate
Arab and African governments. In almost all cases, the assassins
use handguns to kill their victims, often provided by the Libyan
diplomatic establishment in their country. Qadhafi generally
uses Libyans for antiexile operations; for other types of attacks
he tends to employ surrogates or mercenaries.
The Libyan Government in 1980 began a concerted effort to
assassinate anti-Qadhafi exiles. By the time the first phase
ended in 1981, 11 Libyan dissidents living abroad had been
murdered. Libya in 1985 sponsored five attacks against exiled
Libyan dissidents. Targets of these attacks lived in Greece,
West Germany, Cyprus, Italy and Austria.
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Qadhafi has at least twice tried to murder Libyan exiles in
Egypt only to have his agents intercepted by Egyptian security.
In the more recent attempt, a four-man Libyan team was arrested
in November during an attempted attack against a gathering of
exiles near Cairo.
Libya also has plotted antiexile attacks in the United
States. A Libyan exile in Colorado was shot and wounded by a
Libyan-hired assassin in 1981. In May 1984, the FBI arrested two
Libyans near Philadelphia for attempting to buy silenced
handguns--the usual Libyan assassination weapon. A year later in
May 1985, a Libyan diplomat at the United Nations was declared
persona non grata and a ring of nonofficial Libyans was broken up
in connection with a plot to kill Libyan dissidents in four
states.
Qadhafi also targets moderate Arab governments for their
refusal to continue the military struggle against Israel and for
their links to the West. There is evidence of Libyan-backed
assassination plots against such Arab leaders as President
Mubarak of Egypt and former President Nimeiri of Sudan. For
example those arrested after last November's attempted attack on
Libyan exiles in Egypt stated that Qadhafi's target list included
President Mubarak. Jordan's King Hussein and Iraq's Saddam
Hussein are almost certainly on Qadhafi's list because of
restored ties with Cairo and Washington respectively.
Qadhafi also has been implicated in plots to assassinate
other moderate heads of state. In September 1984 the Chadian
government uncovered a Libyan-sponsored plot in which a briefcase
bomb was to explode during a cabinet meeting chaired by Chadian
President Habre. More recently, Zairian officals thwarted a
Libyan-sponsored plot against President Mobutu in September 1985.
Libyan Links to Middle East Radicals.
Longstanding Libyan support for radical Palestinian groups
is growing. Qadhafi has provided safehaven, money and arms to
these groups--including the Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine-General Command, the Fatah dissidents and the notorious
Abu Nidal Group. Training for Palestinians and other radicals
frequently takes place at several locations in Libya. These
anti-Arafat Palestinians are widely engaged in terrorist
activities and focus their terrorist activity on Israel and the
occupied territories. More recently, however, Libya's support
has broadened to include logistical support for terrorist
operations. For example, Libya provided passports to the Abu-
Nidal members responsible for the attack on the El Al counter in
Vienna. The Abu Nidal Group is particularly appealing to Qadhafi
because'of its track record of successful terrorist operations.
Abu Nidal's targeting of moderate Palestinians and moderate Arab
leaders is consistent with Libya's antipathy toward participants
in the peace process. According to Libyan press reports, Abu
Nidal met with Qadhafi in Libya at'least twice in 1985. Abu
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Nidal also gave an interview in Tripoli to a German publication
last year and met with Qadhafi's chief lieutenant, Abd al-Salam
Jallud. In addition, Libya has provided sanctuary, training
assistance, and financial support to the Abu Nidal organization,
and there are reliable press and other reports that its
headquarters have been moved to Libya. The evidence points to
Libya's having been involved in the bloody hijacking of Egyptair
648 (see attached paper on Abu Nidal).
Libya is trying to improve ties with other regional
terrorist groups. Qadhafi would also like closer links to
Tehran's terrorist effort. He announced a "strategic alliance"
with Iran last summer, which he hopes to use as a foundation for
joint operational planning for terrorist attacks against various
regional foes. He also supports Egyptian and Tunisian
dissidents.
Libya also provided refuge for notorious international
terrorist Carlos, who headed a network of terrorists for hire.
His group was responsible for numerous vicious attacks including
the hostage-taking of OPEC oil ministers in Vienna in 1975.
Libyan Terrorism Against the United States
During the past 18 months, Qadhafi has made several public
references to expanding his terrorism campaign to cover US
targets. In a June 1984 speech, for example, he told his Libyan
audience that "we are capable of exporting terrorism to the heart
of America." During a speech last September observing the 16th
anniversary of his takeover, Qadhafi remarked that "we have the
right to fight America, and we have the right to export terrorism
to them..." Qadhafi recently threatened in a press conference on
2 January to "pursue US citizens in their country and streets" if
the United States takes action in response to Libya's alleged
involvement in the Rome and Vienna terrorist attacks.
There have been several instances over the years of Libyan-
sponsored attacks against US interest. These examples include
the sacking of our Embassy in Tripoli in 1979, the discovery by
Sudanese authorities of a Libyan plot to blow up the American
Embassy Club in Khartoum by planting explosives in stereo
speakers. US personnel also have been on Qadhafi's target list,
as indicated by the plan in 1977 to assassinate our Ambassador in
Cairo.
Radicalism in the Arab World
Qadhafi's foremost ambition is to dominate and unite the
Arab World. He frequently compares himself to Garibaldi or
Bismarck and has justified his use of violence and terrorism
against moderate Arab regimes as necessary to achieve Arab unity.
Egypt, because of its peace treaty with Israel, is a special
target. Libyan agents have been active in Egypt since the 1970s,
and Qadhafi has offered support to various opponents of the
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Egyptian government. In October 1981, immediately after
President Sadat was assassinated, Qadhafi called on Egyptians to
overthrow their government; within a week at Cairo International
Airport two bombs exploded that had been concealed in luggage
unloaded from a flight originating in Tripoli.
More recently Qadhafi has sought to embarrass the government
of President Mubarak and undermine the EQvptian economy. A
Libyan ship captained by a senior Libyan naval commando laid
mines in the Red Sea and Gulf of Suez that damaged 18 merchant
ships in July and August 1984. In May 1985 the Egyptians
thwarted a plot by radical Palestinians backed by Libya to
destroy the US Embassy in Cairo with a truck bomb. Last summer
Qadhafi expelled over 10,000 Egyptian workers in Libya--
confiscating their savings and most of their belongings--in what
was in part an effort to place a greater burden on the strained
Egyptian economy. Also during 1985, Cairo captured several teams
of Libyan-supported Egyptian dissidents who reported that their
plan was to destablize the Mubarak government through sabotage
and inciting civil unrest.
Sudan also is a priority target. Qadhafi has long offered
training and support to Sudanese dissidents and sponsored acts of
sabotage against the government of former President Nimeiri. He
was a major source of arms and money for southern Sudanese rebels
that began a guerrilla war against the central government two
years ago. In February 1983 the Sudanese, with Egyptian
assistance, thwarted a Libyan-sponsored coup attempt, and in
March 1984 a Libyan TU-22 bombed Omdurman, Sudan in a failed
attempt to destroy a radio station there that broadcast
condemnations of Qadhafi's policies by Libyan oppositionists.
Since Nimeiri's fall from power Oadhafi has exploited the
resumption of diplomatic ties with Sudan to build a network for
subversion inimical to Sudan's efforts to establish a
parliamentary democracy. A number of known Libyan terrorists
have been assigned to the Libyan People's Bureau (Embassy) or
airline office in Khartoum. Qadhafi also has provided arms,
funding, training and probably direction to the Sudanese
Revolutionary Lommittees, a small group in Sudan dedicated to
establishing a government on the Libyan model in Sudan. In May,
a planeload of these dissidents arrived in Khartoum armed with
assault rifles.
Qadhafi also is working to expand his influence in the
countries of the Arab Maghreb. Qadhafi refuses to negotiate with
Algeria to determine the correct location of the Libyan-Algerian
border. Perhaps angered over President Bendjedid's moderation,
Qadhafi reportedly provides money to Algerian dissidents such as
Ahmed Ben Bella.
In Tunisia, Qadhafi has long sought to bring down the pCo-
Western government of Habib Bourguiba. In 1980, Libyan-supported
guerrillas attacked the southern Tunisian mining town of Gafsa;
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when France offered its support to Tunis, Libyan mobs burned both
the French and Tunisian embassies while security forces stood
idly by. Following bread riots in Tunisia in January 1984
saboteurs originating in Libya dynamited a pipeline near the
Libyan-Tunisian border. In an effort to exacerbate social
tensions, this past year, Qadhafi expelled over 30,000 Tunisian
workers and confiscated their property. In September, when
Tunisian newspapers attacked Qadhafi for the expulsions, a Libyan
diplomat attempted to mail letter bombs to the critical
journalists. Several exploded, wounding two postal workers and
causing Tunis to sever diplomatic relations.
Libya is staunchly opposed to the Middle East peace process,
and Qadhafi is doing all he can to subvert it. In Lebanon,
Libyan arms and money have flowed to different militias and
Palestinian groups actively opposed to the government of
President Gemayel. Qadhafi has been especially eager to
undermine the influence of PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat because
Qadhafi perceives him as too willing to consider a negotiated
settlement with Israel. As a result Qadhafi has thrown his
support to radical Palestinian groups--including the Fatah
Revolutionary Council led by Abu Nidal--that advocate continued
war against Israel. Since 1981 Qadhafi has shipped these groups
items as prosaic as uniforms and as powerful as tanks and BM-21
multiple rocket launchers. In 1984 Libyan troops participated in
the Syrian-backed assault on Arafat's forces in northern Lebanon.
The Persian Gulf also is an arena for Libyan meddling.
Qadhafi has allied himself with Iran in its war against Iraq, and
has provided Tehran with T-55 tanks, anti-tank and anti-aircraft.
artillery, ammunition, and even SCUD rockets. In addition Libva
provides arms and money to Kurdish separatists in northern Iraq
and to the antigovernment group the "Union of Iraqi Democrats."
In 1984 and 1985, Libyan agents attempted to disrupt the Islamic
pilgrimmage ceremonies in Saudi Arabia; in 1984 entire planeloads
of Libyan "pilgrims" were discovered to be carrying arms. Libya
continues to enjoy good relations with and has provided support
to the National Democratic Front that operates out of Marxist
South Yemen against the government of President Salih in North
Yemen. Although Libya restored diplomatic relations with Somalia
last May, Qadhafi has not severed his relationship with Somali
opposition groups he has long supported.
Involvement in Sub-Saharan Africa
Tripoli views Black Africa as a principal arena for forging
a group of anti-Western radical states that will strengthen
Libyan influence in international fora and confer upon Qadhafi
status as a world leader. Qadhafi's aggressiveness has been
strengthened by the propensity of the international community to
ignore his often blatant disregard for the sovereignty of small
African nations.
Chad, of course, is the most egregious example. In 1973
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Qadhafi forcibly annexed the northern portion of Chad known as
the Aozou Strip. Throughout the 1970s Libya supported various
tribal and guerrilla groups in Chad in a bid to install a pliable
regime in N'Djamena. Having failed to achieve this indirectly,
in October 1980 the Libyan army entered Chad and attempted to
impose a union between the two countries. The Libyan occupation
force withdrew in November 1981, but returned in 1983 when the
pro-Libyan Chadian leader Goukouni Oueddei was ousted by current
President Hissene Habre. Only intervention by French armed
forces confined the Libyan occupation to the northern 40 percent
of Chad. French forces were withdrawn in the fall of 1984, but
Qadhafi reneged on an agreement reached with President Mitterrand
and continues to occupy northern Chad with an army of several
thousand.
The drought-battered countries of the Sahel offer Qadhafi
many opportunities for meddling. Qadhafi continues to provide
arms and training to the nomadic Tuareg tribesmen in an effort to
undermine the governments of Mali and Niger.
Qadhafi also is determined to topple President Mobutu of
Zaire. Qadhafi is motivated by hostility to Kinshasa's close
ties to the West, its recognition of Israel, and its support for
Chadian President Habre. Qadhafi also is aware of Zaire's role
as a leading producer of cobalt and other strateqic minerals.
Tripoli provides training in sabotage and small arms to several
different guerrilla groups including the National Front for the
Liberation of the Congo and the Congolese National Movement.
Libyan diplomatic facilities in countries bordering Zaire are
centers of support for these groups.
Meddling in Latin America and the Caribbean
Qadhafi's determination to strike at US interests and to
spread'his philosophy of revolution has led to a more aggressive
Libyan posture in Latin America. Although many governments and
groups in this region are wary of Qadhafi, some are willing to
accept his financial and military support.
Tripoli views Nicaragua as its base in Central America and
accordingly seeks to strengthen the Sandinista dictatorship in
Managua. In addition to several hundred million dollars in
economic assistance, Qadhafi's support to the Sandinistas has
included anti-aircraft guns, SA-7 surface-to-air missiles and
launchers, and small arms. At least several dozen Libyan
military personnel are in Nicaragua. Libyan support has enhanced
the Sandinistas' ability to subvert neighboring states. In
addition, Libya has provided some arms and money to insurgents in
Guatemala and El Salvador, as well as the M-19 terrorist group in
Colombia. During the past year Libya has provided training,
guidance, and funds to a key far-left terrorist group to enable
it to expand armed action against the government of Chile.
Libyan agents have been increasingly active among the
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Caribbean islands, especially since the summer of 1984. The loss
of its People's Bureau in Grenada following the collapse of the
Bishop government in 1983 forced Tripoli to attempt to establish
its centers for subversion in other diplomatic posts in the
region. Qadhafi also has used religion as a cover for
intelligence activities in the area, sponsoring Islamic
conferences in which the Libyan participants often are
intelligence officers or operatives of the Libyan Revolutionary
Committees. Leftist leaders from the Dominican Republic,
Dominica, Barbados, Antigua, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, the French
Departments, and elsewhere have also been invited to Libya for
"seminars" and paramilitary training. Particularly worrisome is
Libyan urging of leftist politicians to undertake violent action
rather than pursue legal means to replace moderate governments in
the region.
South and Southeast Asia
As elsewhere, Libyan diplomatic missions in this region
provide the infrastructure for Libyan subversion, disbursing
funds and arranging for the training of leftists and other
dissidents.
In South Asia, Libyan activities are focussed on the Islamic
states. No doubt reflecting his dependence on Russian arms,
Qadhafi is one of the few Muslim leaders who does not criticize
the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Although Libya maintains
relations with Pakistan, it has also been involved with the "al-
Zulfiqar" terrorist group. Qadhafi in addition has provided
training and money to opponents of President Ershad of
Bangladesh.
In Southeast Asia, Qadhafi concentrates on Muslim
minorities. For some time he has provided paramilitary training
to the'small Muslim insurgency in southern Thailand. In the
Philippines, Libya continues to send assistance to the Muslim
Moro separatists on Mindanao despite a 1976 agreement with Manila
to cease such aid. New Caledonia, a French possession in the
South Pacific, has no appreciable Muslim population, but Libya
has nevertheless provided military training and some funding to
the Kanak Socialist National Liberation Front, the group
responsible for most of the pro-independence violence on the
island. Libyan intelligence operatives are known to be active on
other islands in Oceania.
The Erosion of International Norms
Qadhafi's subversion is not confined to those countries that
are the direct object of his ambitions. The international
community as whole suffers from Qadhafi's disrespect for
international norms of behavior and accepted practice. Qadhafi
has abused diplomatic privilege for terrorist purposes, reneged
on international agreements, and blatantly used terrorist
violence against political opponents. In addition, Qadhafi's
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support of terrorism, regardless of his direct operational
involvement in a given terrorist act, helps legitimize terrorism
as an acceptable political activity.
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Chronology of Libyan Support for Terrorism 1980-85
1985
December Italy/Austria: Passports used by Abu Nidal terrorists in attack
on El Al counter provided by Libya.
November Malta: Hijacking of Egyptair airliner by Abu Nidal
supporters may have involved Libyan support.
Egypt: Four-man team of Libyan agents arrested shortly
before attempting to attack gathering of Libyan
exiles. Former Libyan Prime Minister Bakoush the
main target.
October Greece: Libyan merchant wounded in Athens by two gunmen
the victim had left Libya five years earlier.
September Tunisia: Libyan diplomat smuggles about 1-00 letter bombs
addressed to journalists into Tunisia. Several
explode injuring two postal workers and causing
Tunisia to sever diplomatic relations.
May United A Libyan diplomat at the United Nations was
States: declared persona non grata, and 16 non-official
Libyans were subpoenaed to appear before a United
States grand jury in connection with a plot to
kill dissidents in several different states.
April West Germany: Moroccan citizen resident in the FRG since 1960
killed by Libyan, who was arrested at the scene.
West Germany: Anti-Qadhafi Libyan student killed in Bonn by
Libyan gunman who was arrested. The assassin also
wounded two German passersby, one seriously. The
victim had been a target of the Libyan regime for
at least two years.
Cyprus: Libyan businessman assassinated in downtown
Nicosia by an unidentified gunman. The victim was
the director of an offshore holding company and
was believed to be an opponent of the Liyban
regime.
March Italy: Libyan Jeweler murdered in his shop in Rome. A
silencer-equipped pistol was left at the scene by
the assassin.
February Austria: Former Libyan Ambassador to Austria severely
wounded by two shots fired from a car outside his
home in Vienna. The victim had supported
Qadhafi's seizure of power in 1969, but he quit
his post in disgust at the regime in 1980.
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November Egypt: President Mubarak announces that four assassins
sent to Egypt by Libya to kill former Libyan Prime
Minister Bakoush had been arrested and forced to
send fake pictures to the Libyan Embassy in Malta
showing Bakoush apparently dead. Official Libyan
press sources then claimed Bakoush had been
executed by suicide squads sent abroad "to
liquidate enemies of the revolution."
September Italy: A Libyan exile was found gagged and strangled in a
hotel in Rome. The victim had been the subject of
Libyan requests for deportation to Libya.
Chad: Chadians discover plot to assassinate President
Habre with an attache case bomb. Evidence of the
plot, including photographs of the bomb, was
provided to the United Nations the followinq
February when Chad lodged a complaint against
Libya.
August United One of six Libyans awaiting trial for bomb attacks
Kingdom: in London in March, 1983 found shot to death in a
London apartment. The victim may have been
silenced by the Libyan government.
Belgium: A bomb wrecks a car parked in front of the Zairian
Embassy in Brussels.
July Belgium: A bomb exploded in the Brussels office of Air
Zaire.
Red Sea: Libya mined the Red Sea, damaging 18 merchant
ships of varying nationalities.
Greece: Two Libyan students found murdered in their
apartment in a crime reminiscent of Libyan
killings of anti-Qadhafi students in 1980 and
1981. The two were beaten, strangled, and gagged
before being shot twice in the back.
June Greece: Anti-Qadhafi Libyan editor of an Arab newspaper in
Athens killed by two men on a motorbike.
Greece: A Libyan-born citizen known to distribute anti-
Qadhafi literature at his store shot by a Libyan
employee of Libyan Arab Airlines.
May Libya: Jana, the official Libyan news agency,'announces
"the Libyan masses have decided to form suicide
commandos to chase traitors and stray dogs
wherever they are and liquidate them physically."
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April United A bomb hidden in an unclaimed suitcase probably
Kingdom: unloaded from a Libyan airliner explodes at
London's Heathrow Airport, injuring 25.
Libya: A number of British subjects in Libya arrested on
trumped-up charges as hostages in order to
pressure British government during siege of Libyan
People's Bureau in London.
United British policewoman killed and 11 anti-Qadhafi
Kingdom: demonstrators wounded by gunfire from London
Libyan People's Bureau. After a sieve, British
authorities found weapons and spent shell casings
in the vacated embassy.
March United Four bombs explode in London and Manchester near
Kingdom: homes of Libyan exiles or at businesses frequented
by them. Over 25 people injured. Three other
bombs defused. Nine Libyan suspects arrested.
Sudan: One Libyan TU-22 bomber drops bmnbs on Omdurman,
Sudan, site of a radio transmitter used by anti-
Qadhafi oppositionists.
February Libya: Following annual Libyan General People's Congress,
the Libyan Revolutionary Committees announce that
all Libyan exiles must return to Libya or face
"the death penalty."
Libya: Libyan authorities take no action while a mob
burned the Jordanian Embassy in Tripoli.
Congo: Chadian dissidents ready to negotiate with
Government of Chad threatened in Brazzaville,
Congo.
August Upper Volta:
July Chad:
June West Germany:
February Libya:
Libya gave material support to coup in Upper
Volta.
Libya invaded Chad for the second time.
Occupation continues into 1985.
Eight Libyan students in West Germany, all members
of an anti-Qadhafi group, complain Libyan agents
are harassing and threatening them.
Libyan General People's Congress warn all Libyans
in exile to return home or face the "anger of the
Libyan people."
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1981
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No incidents known.
November Sudan: Several bombs explode near government
installations in Khartoum.
October Sudan: Planned assassination of visiting Chadian
official, Hussein Habre, failed when those sent to
conduct the operation surrendered.
Egypt: Two bombs explode in luggage being unloaded from a
plane coming from Libya via Malta.
August Libya: Two Libyan SU-22s that fired at US Navv F-14s over
Gulf of Sidra shot down.
July
United Anti-Qadhafi Libyan student killed Ogden, Utah.
States:
June Sudan: Bomb explodes in front of Chadian Embassy in
Khartoum.
February Italy: Libyan gunmen open fire on passengers arriving at
Rome's airport on a flight from Algiers.
Prominent anti-Qadhafi exile was the target.
1980
November. United Anti-Qadhafi Libyan student brutally murdered in
Kingdom: London.
United Two children of an anti-Qadhafi Libyan poisoned by
Kingdom: eating peanuts containing thalium.
October Chad: Libyan forces occupied Chad. Oadhafi attempted to
force a Libya-Chad union.
Gambia: Libyan subversion in Gambia caused break in
relations. Seneqalese troops intervene under a
mutual defense treaty.
June Italy: Anti-Oadhafi exile wounded in Rome.
Italy: Libyan exile killed in Milan within-hours after
expiration of a deadline set by Qadhafi for all
Libyan exiles to return home.
May Italy: Libyan exile shot at in Rome. The arrested Libyan
gunman says he was sent by Libya "to kill an enemy
of the people."
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Greece: Libyan exile killed in Athens. His throat was
slit.
Italy: Libyan businessman found strangled to death in
Rome.
West Germany: Libyan exile gunned down in Bonn.
Italy: Libyan exile killed in Rome by two gunshots to the
head.
April United ' Libyan lawyer shot and killed in London.
Kingdom:
Italy: Well known Libyan businessman killed. The
arrested assassin said he was an enemy of Colonel
Qadhaf i .
United Two gunmen kill an anti-Qadhafi Libyan journalist.
Kingdom:
February Libya: Tunisian and French Embassies in Tripoli sacked
and burned by a mob while Libyan authorities took
no action.
December Libya: An estimated 2000 Libyans set fire to the US
Embassy in Tripoli. The Libyan authorities did
not respond to'requests by the Embassy for
protection.
November West Two Libyans arrested with three suspected
Germany: Palestinians for an unspecified terrorist
operation.
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The Abu Nidal Group
Introduction
The Abu Nidal group is among the most dangerous of the
Middle Eastern terrorist organizations. It is probably the
best organized and most effective of the radical Palestinian
terrorist groups, carefully planning its operations and keeping
its information tightly compartmented.
The group has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to
operate in any country it chooses. It has staged attacks in
over 20 countries on three continents, and operates throughout
the Middle East.
Abu Nidal has conducted over 60 terrorist attacks during
the last eight years--at least 30 of them since the beginning
of 1984.1 Two-thirds of the group's nearly 20 attacks this year
have taken place in western Europe, as innocent bystanders
increasingly have become casualties of the group's assaults:
--The simultaneous attacks on airline offices in Rome and
Vienna on December 27, which have the hallmarks of Abu
Nidal, left more than a dozen dead, including 5 Americans.
--The Egypt Air hijacking in late November ultimately cost
the lives of 59 passengers.
--The group bombed the British Air office in Rome in
September injuring 15 persons, many of them passersby.
--Abu Nidal members threw grenades at Rome's Cafe de Paris
in September, injuring 38 tourists--among them Americans,
Germans, Britons, Italians, Argentines, and Brazilians.
--The group bombed two hotels in Athens, one in September
that injured 19, mostly British tourists, and one in
August that injured 13 Britons.
--In Spain, Abu Nidal attacks in July at the British Air
office and the nearby Alia ticket office killed one and
wounded 24 customers and employees.
--Also in July the group was probably responsible for the
bombing of two restaurants in Kuwait, killing eight and
injuring almost 90.
--In April, an Abu Nidal terrorist fired a rocket at a
Jordanian airliner as it was taking off from Athens
airport. The rocket hit the plane but did not explode.
Hundreds of casualties might have resulted had the
operation been successful.
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The official name of the Abu Nidal organization is "Fatah -
Revolutionary Council which it usually employs when attacking
Israeli targets. But it has employed a number of cover names
for its operations. Originally the group operated under the
name Black June; more recently, the group has used the name
Arab Revolutionary Brigades when it staged attacks against
Persian Gulf targets. It also acts as Black September when it
attacks Jordanian and Palestinian targets and employs the name
Revolutionary Organization of Socialist Moslems (ROSM) as its
signature for attacks against British targets. It added
Egyptian nomenclatures when it hijacked the Egyptair plane in
November.
Background
The group is headed by Sabri al-Banna (who uses the nom de
guerre Abu Nidal), grew out of elements that broke away a
decade ago from PLO Chairman Arafat's Fatah organization. The
group is1committed to the use of violence to destroy diplomatic
efforts designed to reconcile Israel and the Arab states,
especially those mounted earlier this year by King Hussein and
Arafat's PLO.. The Abu Nidal group also calls for the
destruction of ruling "reactionary" regimes such as Jordan,
Egypt, and the Persian Gulf states and is critical of what it
sees as Arafat's and the PLO's moderation and lack of
revolutionary base and zeal. Consequently the group contends
that both inter-Arab and intra-Palestinian terrorism are needed
to force the all-embracing Arab revolution which in turn would
lead to the liberation of Palestine.
The group was formed in 1974 after Arafat instituted a ban
on PLO involvement with international terrorism outside Israel
and the occupied territories. Abu Nidal's radical views found
favor at the time with the Iraqi regime, which helped him
create the organization that Abu Nidal called " Fatah - the
Revolutionary Council" to promote his claim that his
organization, rather than the one led by Arafat, was the
legitimate Fatah. He has similarly duplicated other Fatah
organizational titles to suggest a parallel structure with the
original.
Beginning in the early 1980s, Baghdad suppressed activities
of the Abu Nidal group out of Iraq. Elements of the group then
moved to Damascus. Since early 1984, Libya began to provide
increased support to the group and Abu Nidal himself and many
of the groups operations may have moved there within the last
12 months.
The group probably has several hundred members although an
accurate count is difficult.. We believe the group has a
number of cells throughout western Europe and the Middle East,
and makes use of the large number of Palestinian students
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studying abroad, sometimes involving them in operations after
only perfunctory training. These new recruits for example,
were involved in the five grenade attacks staged by the group
in 1985.
Current Operations and Trends
Based on the style of Abu Nidal attacks it is evident that
the group is willing to cause indiscriminate casualties. Apart
from assassinations of particular individuals, Abu Nidal
operations through November 1985 resulted in nearly 70 deaths
and 201 wounded among innocent bystanders--and the number could
have been much higher if the Jordanian airliner attack in
Athens had been successful. In the previous year, 111 died in
the crash of a Gulf Air jet on which an Abu Nidal bomb may have
exploded.
The ~bu Nidal group has concentrated on attacking Jordanian
interests since 1984. These attacks were provoked by the
Jordanian agreement to host the PNC meeting in November 1984
and King Hussein's February accord with Arafat to restart the
stalled Middle East peace process. Abu Nidal operatives are
thought to have assassinated former West Bank mayor and
Palestinian moderate Fahd Qawasmeh in December 1984 shortly
after his election to the PLO Executive Council. The
anti-Jordanian/PLO campaign has not abated. As long as
Jordanian and PLO efforts toward Middle East peace negotiations
continue, attacks against both Jordanian and Palestinian
targets probably will also.
Aside from the attack on Alia offices in Madrid in July and
the attempt to down a Jordanian airliner over Athens in April,
other incidents involving Jordanian targets in 1985 have
included:
--the November 24 assassination of a Palestinian in Amman.
--the murder of a Jordanian publisher in Athens in
September.
--a plot to assassinate the Jordanian Ambassador to Greece
in August.
--the murder of a Jordanian diplomat in Ankara on July 24.
--a rocket attack on the Jordanian Embassy in Rome in April.
The group has also targeted British interests. ROSM
claimed responsibility for the kidnapping in March 1985 of a
British journalist in Lebanon and the assassination of British
diplomats in India and Greece in 1984. The purpose of the
attacks probably is to force the UK to release group members
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imprisoned for the attempted assassination of the Israeli
Ambassador in London in June 1982.
Even before the recent attacks on Vienna and Rome
airports, Abu Nidal had begun to concentrate his field of
operations in Western Europe. Although his targets have been
his usual enemies, e.g. British, Israeli, moderate Arab, he has
become very indiscriminate about injuring bystanders. The
relatively relaxed controls in Western European countries has
been conducive to his operations there. The pattern of
concentrating his efforts in Europe has coincided with the
strengthening of his links with Libya. The likelihood of Libyan
financing, safehaven, and logistical assistance should be very
helpful to his future international terrorist operations.
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