South Africa police say 95 Libyans detained at suspected military camp

South African police have detained 95 Libyan nationals for questioning on suspicion of receiving training at a secret military camp.

Police said on Friday that they had carried out a morning raid on the alleged military camp, located at a farm in White River in Mpumalanga province in the north of the country.

“We are not arresting them now, but we are taking them in for questioning and will investigate any criminal activity,” said police spokesman Donald Mdhluli.

“The site was said to be a training camp for a security company, but it is a military base by the looks of things,” he said, adding that the owner of the security company was a South African national.

Police said the operation to arrest the Libyans and close down the camp began two days ago. Television footage from the scene showed a heavy police presence outside the suspected camp, which included green military-style tents and sandbags.

National police spokeswoman Athlenda Mathe said in a post on X that the Libyans said they were entering the country on study visas to train as security guards, but police investigations suggested they had received military training.

It was not immediately clear whether the 95 individuals were affiliated to any group.

Libya is still riven by conflict and civil war more than a decade after the 2011 NATO-backed overthrow of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

The country is divided between the internationally recognised government based in Tripoli and a rival administration in the east.

“We categorically deny that the apprehended group is affiliated with our government or that we have any connection to their dispatch or assignment,” the government in Tripoli said on Friday, adding that it was monitoring the case.

Although relative calm has returned to the oil-rich country in the past four years, clashes periodically occur between armed groups.

“We take any threat to the security and stability of our province and country very seriously,” said Major General Zeph Mkhwanazi, provincial commissioner of the South African police in Mpumalanga.

The investigation was “still ongoing”, said his office in a statement, underlining that there was “no immediate threat to community safety”.