Dozens of police took part in an early-morning raid on an alleged military training camp in White River, Mpumalanga on Friday. Picture: Screengrab/ X/ Newzroom Afrika
In a dramatic early morning raid on Friday, Mpumalanga police arrested almost a hundred Libyan nationals at what is believed to be a military camp on a piece of land in White River, Mpumalanga.
While police have not yet made any allegations of extremism around the find of the camp, the 95 foreign nationals allegedly came to South Africa four months ago for what is believed to have been “security training”.
Newzroom Afrika footage showed a well-laid-out military camp which also features a gym.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson Colonel Donald Mdhluli said there is a shooting range on the private piece of land, which was rented out by the owner whose name cannot be made public at this stage.
He revealed that illegal firearms, military equipment, cocaine, dagga, as well as other illegal substances, were confiscated during the joint take-down operation at the alleged military camp.
Mdhluli said the raid came after Mpumalanga acting police commissioner Major-General Zeph Mkhwanazi Mkhwanazi activated the ProvJoint structure two days ago, which included teams from police intelligence and the Department of Home Affairs.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the Libyans were arrested for contravening the Immigration Act.
“We know that, according to the Department of Home Affairs, there is the possibility that they misrepresented themselves on visa application to SA claiming they were coming to train as security guards.”
Mdhluli hinted that larger developments may follow.
“There have been crimes, including rape, in the area that the police are investigating which could be linked to some of the suspects. This is just the start of bigger things,” Mdhluli said.
“Due to the fact that they are Libyan nationals, language challenges are posing a problem for investigators at this stage,” Mdhluli said.
The investigations into the discovery will include the South African Police Service (Saps) and the Department of Home Affairs.
The discovery of the alleged training camp raises questions about South Africa’s border and national security.
Earlier this week, The Citizen reported that the United States (US) Treasury issued sanctions against three individuals allegedly working as financiers for a network associated with expanded Isis activities in Africa.
“They serve as critical links between far-flung Isis operations, allowing Isis leadership to leverage each affiliate’s capabilities to undermine peace and security in the region,” the statement read.
“Their destabilising impact spans much of sub-Saharan Africa, which underscores the need for the international community to continue to work together to share information on transnational Isis networks, their evolving financial methods and measures to combat them.”
The two in South Africa are Abubakar Swalleh, described as a “South Africa- and Zambia-based ISIS operative”, and Zayd Gangat, “a South Africa-based ISIS facilitator and trainer”.
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.
