Carjacking soars in Libya’s capital

Carjacking is becoming a major problem in Libya’s capital amid the deteriorating security conditions in the post-revolution country.

Police in Tripoli say that at least seven carjacking cases are reported every day.

But the under-equipped police force hold little power to put an end to crime in a country overrun with heavily armed groups and gangs.

“The challenges are huge because we work without the basic security infrastructure,” Police Colonel Jouma Mishry told Al Jazeera.

“The basic police duties are to fight crime. But we face massive challenges because we do not have the necessary tools to do our work. There is no central network or database. we can’t even get enough uniforms for our men,” he told Al Jazeera’s Stefanie Dekker

Libya has been roiled by lawlessness and mushrooming militias who have been operating in beside government agencies since the fall and death of longtime ruler Mouammar Gaddafi.