This article was published on Albawaba – November 11, 2019
Libya has gone from being a failed state to being divided among so many factions it can barely be called a country any longer. Today, the nation is split between two rival governments, various rogue militias and tribes fighting for strands of land.
As a result, Libya’s nation-state status eight years after the fall of Colonel Muammar Ghaddafi can no longer be considered to have meaning unless the country re-unifies. Forgotten by mainstream news outlets after descending into endless and complex civil wars, little to no attention has been given to this new reality.
The government in the east is controlled by Colonel Khalifa Haftar, who after a failed coup to overthrow Gaddafi in the late 80s spent nearly two decades in the United States. Haftar gained U.S. citizenship and returned to Libya to overthrow Gaddafi once again, holding a senior position in the rebel factions during the 2011 revolution.
Today, however, Haftar can be comparable to Gaddafi’s rule in terms of being the only figure that uses a military-style force to hold the country together. Leading the Libyan National Army (LNA), the only unified army in the country, he claims to fight radical Islamists funded by, among others, Qatar and Turkey. Today, Haftar controls vast swaths of the east and the south of Libya, and remains the player with the biggest control over the country.
“The only hope of reaching peace or stability is through the LNA, at least they implement security in the areas they control”
“The only hope of reaching peace or stability is through the LNA, at least they implement security in the areas they control,” a source who preferred to remain anonymous for security reasons told Al-Bawaba. “Crime has gone down in areas under Haftar’s control, the Sebha international airport which was closed for five years has now reopened because of the LNA, that’s a major improvement.”
Haftar is confronted by a Tripoli government in the West. However, this government barely holds control over its own city and relies on paying militias for loyalty to maintain its rule. With thousands of militias in the West of Libya, the Tripoli government has failed to form an army to counter the rule of Haftar, which it claims is tyrannical. The West of Libya, for this reason, resembles a more anarchic state. Radical Islamists hold control over the centre in cities like Misurata, which are also fighting against Haftar.
Yet the Islamist vs anti-Islamist dichotomy does not accurately describe the Libyan conflict. Haftar is by no means a secularist, as he is funded by Saudi Arabia – and as a result many Salafists have taken control over his army, according to the International Crisis Group. The fight is rather between pan-Islamists who do not believe in the concept of a nation-state and Muslims who believe Libya should remain a nation.
The fight is rather between pan-Islamists who do not believe in the concept of a nation-state and Muslims who believe Libya should remain a nation.
In the southern region of Fezzan, three major tribes control the area – Tebu, Tuareg and Awlad Suleiman. These tribes often fight against each other and have different loyalties towards the two existing governments. However, the south of Libya is overwhelmed by lawlessness leading to a rise in kidnappings and criminality. “The majority of citizens simply ask for stability” Abu Bakir, a son of the Tebu tribe expressed to Al-Bawaba.
Khalifa Haftar’s self-declared Libyan National Army in training /AFP
Khalifa Haftar’s self-declared Libyan National Army in training /AFP
Under Gaddafi, the tribes suffered from discrimination for their different ethnic status in an Arab nationalist state. Today, they suffer from not having any form of security. A porous southern border has led to mass migration controlled by human traffickers, with mercenaries and extremists infiltrating migrant vans to enter the country.
“The majority of citizens simply ask for stability” Abu Bakir, a son of the Tebu tribe told Al-Bawaba.
“It’s not clear where the country is headed. The main issues of Libya have not been addressed by the international community or the two rival governments, no one wants to think about the grievances of Libyans – they mostly look out for their own interests,” the Fezzan Libya Organization, a civil rights group in the southern city of Libya told Al-Bawaba.
In all this chaos, the Western world has forgotten Libya to its own peril. It remains the major transit route for migrants who want to cross the Mediterranean to try to reach Europe. The country’s own lack of rule of law has led migrants to be trapped, enslaved and tortured, leading human traffickers to thrive.
In all this chaos, the Western world has forgotten Libya to its own peril. It remains the major transit route for migrants who want to cross the Mediterranean to try to reach Europe. The country’s own lack of rule of law has led migrants to be trapped, enslaved, and tortured, leading human traffickers to thrive.
European countries with specific interests in Libya, like France and Italy, are fighting a proxy war to no avail. Italy supports the Tripoli government in the west of Libya to pay militias and coastguards hoping to stop migrants from attempting to reach its shores. France works with the eastern government under the army of Haftar to control its interests in the oilfields, which resulted in the increase of its contracts for oil major Total. This victory took place when Haftar grabbed key oilfields operated by Italy’s Eni in the south earlier this year.
Currently, there appears to be no end in sight to Libya’s civil war. Its conflict has divided the country to such a degree there is almost nothing holding it together besides leaders claiming to fight to reclaim it. Whether Libya can be called a nation once again awaits to be seen.
