Libya: two armies and two partners. Explaining the dynamics of military co-operation between Tripoli and Tobruk with the US and Russia
In the context of a long lull in Libya, when the parties have given up direct fighting and toughened political rhetoric, the first steps towards the restoration or rather the creation of some semblance of national institutions are being observed. The Armed Forces have not been spared from such processes. It is in this logic that the recent visits of Lieutenant General Mohammed Al-Haddad, Chief of General Staff of the Western Libyan forces
Libya today: a configuration of political institutions
Since 2011 Libya has somewhat been a ‘terra incognita’ on the political map of the world. The processes happening within the country, as well as the sporadic conflicts, are a product of too many factors to be fathomable for most people. Furthermore, an assessment of the current situation, including considering the plurality of political institutions and the prospects for ending the year-long crisis of Libyan statehood, is very intriguing from the point of view of the regional security architecture and interstate cooperation…
Turkish Plans in Libya Hang in the Balance...
Libya’s favorable geographical location (primarily access to the Mediterranean Sea) and rich oil and gas resources attract many key global and regional players, and Türkiye is no exception. Ankara is known to show special attention to Tripoli in the context of strengthening its regional position and gaining access to Libya’s oil and gas resources. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan chose the president’s side in the civil conflict between…
The UN and the West maintain a strong and ineffective grip over Libya
While ever so new crises and fires rage in a unipolar world—take, for example, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which alone might tilt the world into calamity—the United Nations continues to fail in its efforts to negotiate a deal in Libya, thereby abandoning any genuine attempt to bring the country to peace. The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has been guilty of a number of errors that have progressively harmed the country’s chances of stabilization…
Libya’s Rocky Path
On 10 September, unprecedented Storm Daniel struck the eastern coast of Libya, producing waves as high as a two-story house, which overwhelmed two dams and, sweeping away houses, bridges, cars and people in its path, flooded the city of Derna with a population of 100,000 people. According to experts, such downpours only happen once every 100 years. As of 11 October 4,333 people were reported dead and approximately 8,000 others missing. 70 per cent of civilian infrastructure was destroyed, including 95 per cent of educational institutions. 42 thousand residents of this region were displaced after losing their homes. In total, this flood caused more than two billion dollars in damage…
The possibility of a shift in Libya’s eastern zone toward the US
The General Commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA) Field Marshal Khalifa is prepared to transfer full control to his sons and has no intention of participating in the 2023–2024 election campaign. Analysts estimate that such a transit of power could lead to a pro-Western direction in eastern Libya. The 79-year-old warlord’s refusal to participate in the electoral process aimed to reconcile the country’s east and west is owing to his declining health as well as foreign pressure, particularly from Egypt, one of the key supporters of the eastern zone…
What accounts for the sudden surge in Western interest in Libya?
Soon after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declared at his annual closing press conference in January that the West had completely forgotten about the Palestinian problem and the Libyan settlement due to its increased support for Kyiv’s criminal regime, the US and EU began to show an unexpected surge of interest...
Libyan knot: no solution yet
In early October, Turkey and the outgoing government in Tripoli, led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, signed an agreement allowing Ankara to explore energy resources in the Mediterranean. According to general opinion in the Arab press and among political scientists, this is not only a blatant violation of international maritime law. It is also confirmation that neither side has any intention or desire to support...
Debt agony throws the US against the Arab world
Due to the US administration’s policy of continuous borrowing, including to finance the armed conflict in Ukraine, amid record inflation and fears of an impending recession, public debt exceeded $31 trillion for the first time. The Federal Reserve continues to raise interest rates, but tighter lending policies are causing the federal government to spend $500 billion on servicing...
Libya and the Way Out of a Severe Crisis
Violence has returned to the streets of the Libyan capital Tripoli for the third time this year, as prevailing tensions between the North African country’s two parallel governments have again escalated sharply. With 32 people killed and 160 injured, mostly civilians, the warring militias have not even spared hospitals in their attempts to control more territory in the hope...
US Funds New Protests in Libya
Against a backdrop of deteriorating living conditions, electricity shortages, rising fuel and bread prices, popular unrest has returned to the streets of Libyan cities since July 1 which, with the inaction of security forces, has degenerated into disorderly acts by angry crowds, accompanied by vandalism, arson and looting. Hundreds of protesters stormed the parliament building in the eastern...
Libya in the Throes of a Serious Political Crisis
After Mohamed al-Menfi, president of the Libyan Presidential Council, met with UN General Secretary António Guterres, he spoke highly of the work done by the UN’s mission in Libya “to support the people in reaching a peaceful solution to restore security, stability and peace to the country.” However, in reality he was probably...