Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi on 17 February, 2011, Libya, the tiny North African country has never been the same, with different factions and warlords laying claims to territories in the country. JULIANA AGBO and BLESSING BATURE examines the efforts of the stakeholders at unifying a ‘once prosperous’ African state.
There has been international pressure on Libya to form national unity government as Daesh terror group expands at the doorstep of Europe and the rest of Africa.
The African Union (AU), European Union (EU), France, the United States, and other neighbouring countries have also been involved behind the scenes in seeking a political solution to Libya’s crisis after Col. Muammar Gaddafi was ousted and killed.
The AU has consistently assured Libyans of its support through the transition process. After the 2011 uprising, the chairperson of the AU Commission (AUC) at the time, Jean Ping, visited Libya on 16 January, 2012 to see the situations of things and how to curb it.
Ping assured the UN and Union African backed National Transitional Council (NTC) of the continental body’s willingness to contribute to stabilising the region, in collaboration with regional and international partners.
The leaders of the NTC, which had been established on 27 February 2011, also emphasised their commitment to the AU and attended the AU summit in Addis Ababa in January 2012.
The UN-led efforts to form a National Unity government has so far failed in its efforts to reconcile differences between the governments, which are based in Tripoli.
The inability of the Transitional Government to unite the country has resulted in the proliferation of rival militias and the spread of criminal and terrorist networks such as the Islamic States of Iraq and Levant (ISIL).
International pressure continued to mount on Libya to form a National Unity government as the Islamic State jihads group expands at the doorstep of Europe and the rest of Africa, until December 2015, representatives from the rival parliaments signed a UN-brokered deal to form a Unity Government and established the Unity Presidential Council.
According to the deal, the new government should be based in Tripoli but it was not clear if the current Tripoli-based authorities, opposed to the deal would allow it to operate in peace.
Recently, a Tripoli-based premier threatened the use of force against a security committee seeking to secure a venue for the new government.
In the first half of 2016, fighters loyal to ISIS controlled the central coastal town of Sirte and subjected residents to a rigid interpretation of Sharia law that included public floggings, amputation of limbs, and public lynching, often leaving the victims’ corpses on display.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) revealed that more refugees died in the Mediterranean over the first nine weeks of 2017 compared with the same period in 2016.
In February, European leaders signed a controversial plan to help stem the flow of African migrants to Europe. As part of the deal, the European Union gave $215m to Libya’s fragile government to step up efforts to stop boats in the country’s territorial waters.
The EU also provided support for the setting up of “safe” camps in Libya and the voluntary repatriation of refugees willing to return to their countries of origin.
From January 1 to March 9 this year, at least 521 people drowned in the while attempting to cross the rough waters compared with 471 in the same period a year ago.
Recently, Sarraj asked for and additional $864m in military, rescue and emergency equipment to curb illegal migration across Libya’s border into Europe.
Since February’s agreement was made, consultations between the Libyan government, representatives of the interior ministers of Italy and other European countries have been ongoing.
Libya was under foreign rule for centuries until it gained independence in 1951. After oil was discovered and earned the country immense wealth.
But corruption, ineptitude and profligacy by the King Idris led government infuriated the young Army Officer, Muammar Gaddafi to overthrow the government.
King Idris served first as the Emir of Cyrenaica and later political and religious leader served as Libya’s political and religious King of Libya from 1951 to 1969. He was the chief of the Senussi Muslim order. Idris was born into the Senussi Order
Col Muammar Gaddafi seized power in 1969 and ruled for four decades until he was toppled in 2011 following an armed rebellion assisted by Western military intervention.
Since 2011, when Col. Gaddafi’s dictatorship was overthrown and killed, the country has plunged into chaos. Eventually, the country split into two governments and parliaments, the internationally recognised one in the east, and an Islamist-backed one in the capital, Tripoli.
Each side is backed by an array of militias. Amid the chaos, a Libyan Islamic State affiliate has prospered, claiming responsibility for series of deadly attacks as it tries to expand its territory and take control of oilfields and terminals, the sole source of Libya’s wealth.
Militias continued to abduct and disappear civilians, including politicians and journalists, with impunity. Criminal groups abducted residents, including children, demanding large ransoms from their families and often killing their victims if relatives failed to come up with the money.
Despite this political deadlock, Libya has boosted its oil production to over 700 000 barrels a day, providing the state with much-needed revenue.