It’s early in the morning and Islam Halab is putting on his military uniform, including a mask that reveals only his eyes. Fully covered and all in black, he’s about to go to work as a volunteer policeman in his home city of Zuwara in eastern Libya.
Along with more than 130 others, Halab is part of a self-organised anti-crime unit fighting to reinstall law and order since civil war engulfed the country following the death of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
“We’re not allowed to perform any task without wearing this uniform, including the mask,” says Halab. “At first, we wore [it] to hide our identities for safety, especially since even our families didn’t know we were members of this team. But now, after three years, most of us have become well-known by the people in the city.”
Conflict between rival militias has left Libya deeply divided, with vast regions split under the rule of various Islamist and nationalist groups and armed gangs taking control on a smaller scale. Left in a security vacuum without a reliable police or army force to protect them, frustrated citizens in Zuwara have joined together in a bid to take back power.
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