Country Reports on Terrorism 2012

the United States conducted numerous trainings and donated equipment to Lebanese Customs to
enhance its capabilities to detect illicit cross-border trade in strategic goods and other
contraband. Hizballah’s continued ability to receive sophisticated munitions via Iran and Syria
requires aggressive regular monitoring of this issue.
Libya. In 2012, Libyan internal security suffered significant challenges and setbacks as it sought
to reassert central authority following the fall of the Qadhafi regime, though attempts were made
to strengthen overall counterterrorism and border capabilities to mitigate the various threats. The
resulting instability was punctuated by the attack against a U.S. facility in Benghazi on
September 11, which claimed the lives of four U.S. personnel, including J. Christopher Stevens,
the U.S. Ambassador to Libya. The Libyan government had serious difficulty in asserting control
over portions of the country and adequately manning border posts, particularly in the east and
south, resulting in significant levels of known terrorist transit through the country. The Libyan
government attempted to assert firmer control over specific areas of the country, and in
December declared broad portions of southern Libya a military zone, resulting in border closings
across a number of crossing points.
Libya has encountered significant capacity gaps to mitigate the illicit flows of goods, people, and
weapons across its borders since the revolution that toppled Qadhafi. While secured at year’s
end, Libya also maintains stockpiles of declared chemical weapons materials that could prove a
proliferation risk given weakened border security. The United States has offered to assist the
Libyan authorities with the security and eventual destruction of their chemical weapons
stockpiles, in accordance with their obligations as members of the Organization for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
The proliferation of loose weapons from Libya across the country’s borders was very
concerning. The EU contributed significant border security assistance to the Libyan authorities,
and throughout 2012, the United States worked with the Government of Libya to develop a
complementary border security assistance package of its own. A delegation of Libyan officials
from the Ministry of Defense and Customs Authority visited the United States in mid-September
2012, and expressed deep interest in both U.S. border security best practices and border security
technology. They specifically requested U.S. assistance on border security, particularly in the
South. Nevertheless, implementation of these programs has been slow, and the Libyan
authorities lack the basic training and equipment necessary to monitor their vast land and
maritime borders, and to control the flow of people and goods through their airports. Violent
extremists continued to exploit these weaknesses, and threatened to destabilize the Middle East
and North Africa region.
Yemen. The Government of Yemen, under President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi, remained a
strong partner of the United States on counterterrorism issues. Hadi demonstrated Yemen’s
commitment as a counterterrorism partner soon after taking office by ordering the military to
dislodge al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants from areas they occupied in
Abyan and Aden governorates including the towns of Zinjibar, Jaar, and Shuqra. By June, these
AQAP forces had been dislodged or withdrawn. The Yemeni government relied on progovernment
tribal militias known as Popular Committees (PCs) to secure the area after the
military sweep. After their setback in Abyan, AQAP terrorists took advantage of Yemen’s
climate of instability, employing asymmetric tactics in a campaign of bombings and targeted
assassinations against government targets, PCs, and civilian and international targets.
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