Sagezli and his co-workers interviewed around 162,000 ex-fighters about their backgrounds, interests and aspirations and customized training plans that offered ways for them to start businesses or join the state's military or police force. The program opened academic opportunities through, for example, scholarships to study abroad. With this support, Meer was able to build a new career and is now working as a security manager at the Libyan Embassy in London.
“Most people were keen to get an opportunity, even the commanders of militias,” explained Sagezli. He learned that it's better to offer people opportunities than to try to disarm them by force.
There are limitations, however. At the moment, the private sector is not developed enough to be able to provide opportunities for this population. At the same time, there isn't enough space even in the enormous public sector to reintegrate all of them, said Abdulrahman al-Ageli of the Libyan Youth Forum. Libya has one of the largest public sectors in the world, employing up to 70% of the country’s workforce. “It’s a result of Gadhafi’s policy to create a social contract built on dependency,” Ageli told Al-Monitor.
Since 2012 the situation has grown increasingly more complicated, admitted Sagezli. One of those reasons is the spread of the Islamic State (IS) on Libyan soil. Today, most actors consider the group the biggest concern for the already war-torn country. According to the Pentagon, there are currently about 6,000 IS fighters in Libya, where the group continues to take advantage of the power vacuum.