Since the start of the war against Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, normalcy is yet to return to Libya.
Libya is still teetering on the brink of break-up after the Western-led insurrection against Muammar Gaddafi began in February 2011. Thanks to massive North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, NATO and US military support, Gaddafi was eventually overthrown in August 2011, and assassinated on October 21 of the same year. More than three years on, the euphoria that greeted Gaddafi’s demise and death in insurgency circles, has all but vanished.
Generalised Insecurity
Libya is today plagued by insecurity that appears to be on the increase. With a virtually helpless central government in the capital, Tripoli, yesterday’s ‘heroes’ – the insurgents that helped to edge Gaddafi out of power – are fast becoming today’s ‘villains.’ Incidents of daily violence include frequent murders in Benghazi, Darnah and Sabha, and to a lesser extent, Tripoli. There are also random attacks on public buildings - including Army and Air Force bases - and looting. The situation is complicated by the absence of standing military and security forces to ensure law and order.
Weak Central Government
The government has attempted to provide security by combining regular police and army units with loyal militias from two organisations - the Libya Shield of the Ministry of Defence and the Supreme Security Committee of the Interior Ministry. These forces co-exist with the pro-Islamist Libyan Revolutionaries Operations Room and militias of the Tripoli and Misurata Military Zones under their respective local councils. Other local councils handle some security assignments.
All-powerful Militias
For all intents and purposes, Libya is a partitioned country today, with powerful militias lording it over their territories with little or no challenge from any quarter. The militias have proliferated, numbering almost 300 today. Only last week, two militias called on legislators to step down or be detained. The al-Qaaqaa and al-Sawaaq militias warned that law makers who refused to do so will be considered as ‘usurpers.’ Parliament's tenure expired on February 7, 2014, but MPs voted to extend it with plans to hold new elections by May 2014.
Former Prime Minister Ali Zeidan was abducted by armed men from his Tripoli hotel residence in October 2013 before being released. The Libyan Revolutionaries Operations Room militia blamed him for a US raid in Tripoli that led to the arrest of an Al-Qaeda suspect, Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqain, alias Abu Anas al-Libi.
Threats Of Break-up
Federalists in eastern Libya on June 1, 2013, declared Cyrenaican self-government. Led by Sheikh Ahmed Zubair Senussi, head of the Cyrenaica Transitional Council, they declared Cyrenaica a federal territory within Libya. They also vowed that the territory will henceforth run its own affairs. Today, Ibrahim Jathran, the self-proclaimed leader of Cyrenaican separatists, has wrested control of oil production in the region and wants to export it independently. In the southern part of the country near Sabha close to cross-border smuggling routes between Chad and Niger, intermittent clashes between the Tabu and Awlad Suleiman tribes have left scores dead and wounded.
Jihadist Safe Haven
Apart from the refusal of most militias to disarm, Libya is now confronted by the presence of jihadist cells. Some took refuge in the country after the French-led campaign in northern Mali in 2013 to oust militants. A recent UN report says Libyan portable surface-to-air missiles, capable of bringing down low-flying aircraft, are now in circulation in Mali, Tunisia, Chad, Lebanon and "potentially" the Central African Republic.
According to the panel’s report presented to the UN Security Council, Libyan shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles are now in the hands of terrorist groups. Arms trafficking from Libya is fueling conflicts, insecurity and terrorism in several continents, the report explained. "Libya has become a primary source of illicit weapons" since the overthrow of Col. Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the panel of experts noted.
