Illuminated signs proclaim Islamic State presence in Libyan city

Yemeni emir of Derna town has instructed education department to stop teaching languages, physics, chemistry and biology.

An Islamic State sign erected in the town of Derna
An Islamic State sign erected in the town of Derna
A sign is erected for the new site of Derna's Islamic Court
A sign is erected for the new site of Derna's Islamic Court

Illuminated signs and newly-established Islamic courts in the Libyan eastern port city of Derna have now made the presence of Islamic State, or Daesh, in the North African country official.

As Libya remains plagued by inter-militia conflict, with its ‘official’ and internationally recognised government almost exiled in Tobruk, Islamist forces are gaining traction despite the efforts of army-backed militias.

Derna’s Shura Council of Islamic Youth (MSSI) announced the creation of a sharia court Derna, after having led a rally in the beginning of October to declare allegiance to the Islamic caliphate of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The MSSI have now been reported to have instituted a Shari’a Court, laying down the law for a group of young men found guilty of alcohol abuse, and sentencing them to a public flogging, which was carried out on Saturday in the courtyard of the town’s old mosque, the Libya Herald reported. “According to common interpretations of the Hadith, the appropriate punishment for alcohol consumption is 40 or 80 lashes – left to the discretion of the Muslim leader – ‘with two palm branches stripped of their leaves’.”

Mohammed Eljarh, who writes on Libyan affairs for Foreign Policy magazine, tweeted that the Derna emir is a Yemeni named Abu Taleb al-Jazarawey. He was previously reported to be a Saudi national.

He said that yesterday the emir had met with the Education Department of the city and instructed them to stop teaching languages, physics, chemistry and biology.

Libyan prime minister Abdullahi al Thinni, who yesterday flew half his Cabinet to Malta in a meeting with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, has acknowledged the existence of both Islamic State and Boko Haram terrorists operating inside Libya.

Photos on Twitter have also emerged of Libyan air forces striking Islamic State checkpoints around Derna.