Within Libya, the mafia state is the driving force behind Europe’s migrant crisis

TThe human trafficker was given a funeral worthy of an admiral. Sailors saluted, the last post rang out, the entire naval academy he had led mourned Abdalrahman al-Milad — a notorious human trafficker gunned down by a mysterious assailant on Sunday.

For many, the exhibition was a summary of modern Libya, a country where militia leaders and human traffickers hold government positions and where the political fate of ministers depends on the armed groups that support them.

“Libya is sometimes called a mafia state, but the dilemma is much more pressing than that,” said Jalel Harchaoui, an analyst at the Royal United Services Institute.

This week, with the death of Libya’s most notorious smuggler, and 21 migrants missing in the Mediterranean after yet another perilous journey from shore, the destabilising situation in Libya has been further disrupted.