Peace and security is still to return to Libya, two years after the killing of Muammar Ghaddafi.

It is already two years since the brutal killing of former Libyan leader, Muammar Ghaddafi. He was killed by rebels on October 20, 2011 after capture on the outskirts of his home town, Sirte. Two months earlier, his 42-year reign was ended by the rebels who received massive Western military support and NATO air strikes in their war efforts. At the time, these rebels were then promptly hailed as ‘liberators’ by their backers.

Two years on, Libya is yet to know the peace, stability, democracy and freedom yesterday’s ‘revolutionaries’ fought for.             Rather, the country is gradually and steadily sinking into chaos, thanks to the virtual collapse of central government authority and the lawlessness occasioned by the absence of a standing army and effective security force.   

Flourishing Militias

Rival armed militias now control swathes of territory all over the country, trying suspects and running their own prisons. While many of them are on Tripoli’s payroll, few submit to its authority. As proof of the slide into chaos, Prime Minister Ali Zeidan was on October 10, 2013 abducted at dawn from his Tripoli hotel residence and briefly held by a heavily armed group. The incident was believed to be in revenge for the October 5, 2013 capture in the capital by US commandoes of an Al-Qaeda terrorist suspect, Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, alias Abu Anas al-Liby.

Insecurity, Islamic Extremism

The lack of security is Libya’s biggest problem. Assassinations and kidnappings are rife, with waves of attacks on politicians, activists, judges and members of the security agencies. The US Ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens, was among four Americans killed on September 11, 2012 when armed men stormed the Consulate in Benghazi. Similarly, the Russian and French missions in Tripoli have also been targetted by gunmen this year as Islamic extremism gradually takes roots. Libya is now thought to be fast becoming a safe haven for militants from the Sahel and Maghreb.

Damaged Economy

As a result of growing insecurity, effective reconstruction of the country is yet to begin after the 2011 bloody war. Libya has the largest oil reserves in Africa, but recently started importing gas to keep power on for the population of six million. On the other hand, oil terminals have been blocked by militiamen demanding a greater share of the revenues for their own regions. Oil production has now plummeted from 1.4 million barrels a day earlier this year, to just 160,000 barrels. Consequently, Libya’s Ghaddafi-era policy of offering huge financial support to Africa is no longer the case today.

Threats Of Breakup

Federalists in Cyrenaica, which is home to most of Libya's oil, have blocked major coastal oil terminals in recent months. They are even making plans to sell oil independently, claiming that revenues from Tripoli are being siphoned off to bankroll a takeover of central government by Islamist parties. In the face of this, the PM prefers dialogue and compromise. Last week, the federalists opened their own independent parliament in Benghazi in a step that may herald the breakup of the country. Earlier on June 1, 2013, thousands of Cyrenaican supporters of federalism attended a rally in Marj where Sheikh Ahmed Zubair Senussi, head of the Cyrenaica Transitional Council, declared Cyrenaican self-government within the Libyan State.

Weakened Government, Stalled Transition

The recent abduction of PM Ali Zeidan underlines the fragility of Libya’s fledgling institutions. In spite of last year’s relatively free parliamentary polls, the country still lacks a credible central administration. Power comes not from debates in the bitterly divided Parliament or the interim executive, but from the barrel of the gun. Opponents of government policy routinely take over a ministry or surround the Congress to force submission to their demands. The Isolation Law that bars former Ghaddafi-era officials from holding public office was adopted last May in a similar manner. Moreover, there is still no new constitution.

Unperturbed Illegal Immigration

The late Muammar Ghaddafi reached agreement with some European States to curtail illegal immigration into Europe through Libya. But since the start of the 2011 war and eventual downfall of his regime, the route to Europe has literally been flung open, no thanks to the weak central government in Tripoli and spreading insecurity. For example, the migrant boat carrying 500 people that caught fire and capsized off the island of Lampedusa in Italy on October 3, 2013, was said to have left from the Libyan port of Misrata.