Libyan Crisis (2011–present)

Current military situation in the Libyan Civil War (as of 23 April 2016)
  Controlled by the Council of Deputies and Libyan National Army
  Controlled by the Government of National Accord and Libya Shield Force
  Controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
  Controlled by the Shura Councils of Benghazi, Derna and Ajdabiya
  Controlled by local forces in Misrata District
  Controlled by the Tuareg forces

(For a more detailed map, see military situation in the Libyan Civil War)

The Libyan crisis[1][2] refers to the ongoing conflict in Libya, beginning with the Arab Spring protests of 2011, which led to the First Libyan Civil War, foreign military intervention, and the ousting and death of Muammar Gaddafi. The civil war's aftermath led to violence and instability across the country, which erupted into renewed civil war in 2014. The ongoing crisis in Libya has so far resulted in tens of thousands of casualties since the onset of violence in early 2011. During both civil wars, the output of Libya's economically crucial oil industry collapsed to a small fraction of its usual level, with most facilities blockaded or damaged by rival groups.[3] U.S. President Barack Obama admitted on 11 April 2016 that not preparing for a post-Gaddafi Libya was probably the "worst mistake" of his presidency.[4]

Libyan oil production collapsed during the two civil wars.[3]

Background

The history of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi spanned a period of over four decades from 1969 to 2011. Gaddafi became the de facto leader of the country on 1 September 1969 after leading a group of young Libyan military officers against King Idris I in a bloodless coup d'état. After the king had fled the country, the Libyan Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) headed by Gaddafi abolished the monarchy and the old constitution and proclaimed the new Libyan African Republic, with the motto "freedom, socialism, and unity".[5]

After coming to power, the RCC government initiated a process of directing funds toward providing education, health care and housing for all. Despite the reforms not being entirely effective, public education in the country became free and primary education compulsory for both sexes. Medical care became available to the public at no cost, but providing housing for all was a task the RCC government was not able to complete.[6] Under Gaddafi, per capita income in the country rose to more than US$11,000, the fifth-highest in Africa.[7] The increase in prosperity was accompanied by a controversial foreign policy, with increased political repression at home.[5][8]

Events

First civil war

In early 2011, a civil war broke out in the context of the wider "Arab Spring". The anti-Gaddafi forces formed a committee named the National Transitional Council, on 27 February 2011. It was meant to act as an interim authority in the rebel-controlled areas. After a number of atrocities were committed by the government,[9][10] with the threat of further bloodshed,[11] a multinational coalition led by NATO forces intervened on 21 March 2011 with the aim to protect civilians against attacks by the government's forces.[12] Shortly thereafter, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Gaddafi and his entourage on 27 June 2011. Gaddafi was ousted from power in the wake of the fall of Tripoli to the rebel forces on 20 August 2011, although pockets of resistance held by forces loyal to Gaddafi's government held out for another two months, especially in Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, which he declared the new capital of Libya on 1 September 2011.[13] The fall of the last remaining cities under pro-Gaddafi control and Sirte's capture on 20 October 2011, which culminated with the killing of Gaddafi, marked the end of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya regime.

Inter-civil war violence

After the first Libyan civil war, violence occurred involving various militias and the new state security forces. The combatants included guerrillas, Islamists, and militias who fought against Gaddafi but refused to lay down their arms when the war ended in October 2011. According to some civilian leaders, these latter militias shifted from merely delaying the surrender of their weapons to actively asserting a continuing political role as "guardians of the revolution". Some of the largest and best-equipped militias were associated with Islamist groups forming political parties.[14] Before the official end of hostilities between loyalist and opposition forces, there were reports of sporadic clashes between rival militias, and vigilante revenge killings.[14][15]

On 11 September 2012, Islamists attacked the US consulate in Benghazi, killing the US ambassador and three others. This prompted a popular outcry against the semi-legal militias that were still operating, and resulted in the storming of several Islamist militia bases by protesters.[16][17] A large-scale government crackdown followed on non-government sanctioned militias, with the Libyan Army raiding several now-illegal militias' headquarters and ordering them to disband.[18] The violence eventually escalated into the second Libyan civil war.

Second civil war

The second Libyan civil war[19][20] is an ongoing conflict among rival groups seeking to control Libya. The conflict is mostly between the government of the Council of Deputies that was elected democratically in 2014, also known as the "Tobruk government" and internationally recognized as the "Libyan Government"; and the rival Islamist government of the General National Congress (GNC), also called the "National Salvation Government", based in the capital Tripoli. The Tobruk government, strongest in eastern Libya, has the loyalty of the Libyan Army under the command of General Khalifa Haftar and has been supported by air strikes by Egypt and the UAE.[21] The Islamist government of the GNC, strongest in western Libya, rejected the results of the 2014 election, and is led by the Muslim Brotherhood, backed by the wider Islamist coalition known as "Libya Dawn" and other militias,[22][23] and aided by Qatar, Sudan, and Turkey.[21][24]

In addition to these, there are also smaller rival groups: the Islamist Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries, led by Ansar al-Sharia (Libya), which has had the support of the GNC;[25] the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's (ISIL's) Libyan provinces;[26] as well as Tuareg militias of Ghat, controlling desert areas in the southwest; and local forces in Misrata District, controlling the towns of Bani Walid and Tawergha. The belligerents are coalitions of armed groups that sometimes change sides.[21]

In recent months there have been many political developments. The United Nations brokered a cease-fire in December 2015, and on 31 March 2016 the leaders of a new UN-supported "unity government" arrived in Tripoli.[27] On 5 April, the Islamist government in western Libya announced that it was suspending operations and handing power to the new unity government, officially named the "Government of National Accord", although it was not yet clear whether the new arrangement would succeed.[28] As of 28 April, the unity government still had not received the approval of Haftar's supporters in the Tobruk government.[29]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Libya - Crisis response
  2. ↑ Fadel, L. "Libya's Crisis: A Shattered Airport, Two Parliaments, Many Factions".
  3. 1 2 "Country Analysis Brief: Libya" (PDF). US Energy Information Administration. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  4. ↑ "President Obama: Libya aftermath 'worst mistake' of presidency". BBC. 11 April 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Libya: History". GlobalEDGE (via Michigan State University). Retrieved 14 August 2011.
  6. ↑ "Housing". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
  7. ↑ "African Countries by GDP Per Capita > GDP Per Capita (most recent) by Country". NationMaster. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  8. ↑ "Comparative Criminology – Libya". Crime and Society. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  9. ↑ Crawford, Alex (23 March 2011). "Evidence Of Massacre By Gaddafi Forces". Sky News. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  10. ↑ "Pro-Gaddafi tanks storm into Libya's Misurata: TV". Xinhua. 6 March 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  11. ↑ Fahim, Kareem; Kirkpatrick, David D. (23 February 2011). "Qaddafi’s Grip on the Capital Tightens as Revolt Grows". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  12. ↑ "NATO Launches Offensive Against Gaddafi". France 24. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
  13. ↑ "Libya crisis: Col Gaddafi vows to fight a 'long war'". BBC News. 1 September 2011.
  14. 1 2 Kirkpatrick, David D. (1 November 2011). "In Libya, Fighting May Outlast the Revolution". The New York Times (Tripoli). Retrieved 16 November 2011.
  15. ↑ Meo, Nick (31 October 2011). "Libya: revolutionaries turn on each other as fears grow for law and order". The Telegraph (Tripoli). Retrieved 16 November 2011.
  16. ↑ Hauslohner, Abigail (24 September 2012). "Libya militia leader: Heat-seeking missiles, other weapons stolen during firefight". Washington Post. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  17. ↑ "Libyan demonstrators wreck militia compound in Benghazi". Al Arabiya. 21 September 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  18. ↑ "Libyan forces raid militia outposts". Al Jazeera. 23 September 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  19. ↑ "Libya’s Second Civil War: How did it come to this?". Conflict News. Archived from the original on 20 March 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  20. ↑ National Post View (24 February 2015). "Stabilizing Libya may be the best way to keep Europe safe". National Post. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  21. 1 2 3 Stephen, Chris (29 August 2014). "War in Libya - the Guardian briefing". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  22. ↑ "Libya’s Legitimacy Crisis". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  23. ↑ "That it should come to this". The Economist. 10 January 2015.
  24. ↑ "Bashir says Sudan to work with UAE to control fighting in Libya". Ahram Online. 23 February 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  25. ↑ "Omar Al-Hassi in "beautiful" Ansar row while "100" GNC members meet". Libya Herald. 18 November 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  26. ↑ "Why Picking Sides in Libya won’t work". Foreign Policy. 6 March 2015. "One is the internationally recognized government based in the eastern city of Tobruk and its military wing, Operation Dignity, led by General Khalifa Haftar. The other is the Tripoli government installed by the Libya Dawn coalition, which combines Islamist militias with armed groups from the city of Misrata. The Islamic State has recently established itself as a third force"
  27. ↑ "Libya's unity government leaders in Tripoli power bid". BBC News.
  28. ↑ Elumami, Ahmed (5 April 2016). "Libya's self-declared National Salvation government stepping down". Reuters.
  29. ↑ Elumami, Ahmed (28 April 2016). "Libyan government urges factions to hold off attacking Islamic State in Sirte". Reuters.
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