libya

1) Security forces in the eastern city of Benghazi opened fire on a protest;

2) Anti-government demonstrations then erupted in other towns and later in Tripoli, the capital;

3) They evolved into an armed revolt seeking to overthrow the government.

The Banghāzī Protests

Why were they angered?

They were angered by the arrest of a human rights lawyer, Fethi Tarbel.

The Banghāzī Protests

What were they were calling for?

The protesters called for the government to step down and for the release of political prisoners.

The response

Libyan security forces used water cannons and rubber bullets against the crowds, resulting in a number of injuries.

The counterattack

"As the protests intensified, [...], the Libyan government began using lethal force against demonstrators. Security forces and squads of mercenaries fired live ammunition [...]. Demonstrators also were attacked with tanks and artillery and from the air with warplanes and helicopter gunships. The regime restricted communications, blocking the Internet and interrupting telephone service throughout the country. On February 21 one of Qaddafi’s sons, Sayf al-Islam, gave a defiant address on state television, blaming outside agitators for the unrest and saying that further demonstrations could lead to civil war in the country. He vowed that the regime would fight “to the last bullet.”"

The international community

The violence drew international condemnation from foreign leaders and human rights organizations. It also seemed to damage the harmony of the regime, causing a number of high-level officials to resign in protest or issue statements condemning it.

Support for Qaddafi also seemed to waver in some segments of the military

Libyan embassies around the world flying the Libya’s pre-Qaddafi flag

The Government

He resisted calls to step down and vowed to remain in Libya. Although he denied having used force against protesters, he repeatedly vowed to use violence to remain in power. (talking about Qaddafi)

1) the UN Security Council authorised "all necessary measures" to protect civilians

2) With military assistance from the West and several Arab states, rebel forces took Tripoli after six months of fighting in which several thousand people were killed.

The Transitional National Council (TNC)

• What? A rebel leadership council

• Formed by: the merger of local rebel groups, appeared in Banghāzī

• It aims:

- act as the rebellion’s military leadership and as the representative of the Libyan opposition

- provide services in rebel-held areas

- guide the country’s transition to democratic government.

1) Gaddafi went on the run and was captured and killed outside Sirte in August 2011.

2) The National Transitional Council (NTC), which led the revolt, declared Libya officially "liberated" and promised a pluralist, democratic state

NTC in power

The NTC struggled to establish a functional government and exert its authority in the months that followed the fall of the Qaddafi regime.

The militias refused to disarm, and conflicts between rival militias over territory were common.

However, Libyans were soon frustrated with the interim government's failure to act.

Problems:

- The NTC had promised to fulfill a long list of needs,

- The stagnation of Libya's economy

- International advisers and foreign investors were reluctant to return to an environment where the government would not sign long-term agreements and could not guarantee security.

The election

Organised elections for an interim parliament

2.7 million people registered to vote in Libya's first free election

The General National Congress (GNC) replaced the NTC after the elections.

Role of Arab Spring

So, after all, what was the role of these protests and conflicts, that happened in 2011?

The Arab Spring overthrow a cruel dictator and ended with Libya's first free election, that put The General National Congress in power. However, the conflicts weren't even close to be over.

Benghazi US Consulate Attack

WHEN?

In September 11, 2012

WHO?

Members of the Islamic militant group Ansar al-Sharia.

WHAT?

The group stormed the US Special Mission in Benghazi, that attacked and burned the mission.

WHY?

"Initially, the attack was thought to be perpetrated by an angry mob responding to a video made in the United States that mocked Islam and the Prophet Mohammed, but it is later determined to be a terrorist attack."

SO WHAT?

Killed US Ambassador J Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

CONSEQUENCES?

The US and Britain withdrew some diplomatic staff from Libya, amid security concerns.

Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxhyzPUHQQw

Who is General Haftar?

• Khalifa Belqasim Haftar
• Was a secularist (principle of the separation of government institutions and persons mandated to represent the state from religious institution and religious dignitaries) and a Nasserist (socialist Arab nationalist political ideology based on the thinking of Gamal Abdel Nasser, one of the two principal leaders of the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and Egypt's second President.).
• Libyan military officer and the head of the Libyan National Army.
• He served in the Libyan army under Muammar Gaddafi, and took part in the coup that brought Gaddafi to power in 1969.

Who is General Haftar?

• Haftar held a senior position in the forces which overthrew Gaddafi in the 2011 Libyan Civil War.
• Haftar has been described as "Libya's most potent warlord," having fought "with and against nearly every significant faction" in Libya's conflicts, and as having a "reputation for unrivalled military experience".
• His shifting roles and alliances have also earned him a reputation as a "stubborn" and "selfish" leader.
• Haftar commanded Libyan forces during the Chadian–Libyan conflict, which ended in defeat for Libya.

Did he die?

• On 12 April 2018, it was reported that Haftar was in a coma after suffering a stroke and was hospitalized under intensive care in Paris.

• On 14 April 2018, rumors spread that Haftar had died of a brain tumor, however it was dismissed as his death was not confirmed.

• On 25 April, it was confirmed that Haftar is alive and was transported to Benghazi following treatment in Paris.

Pro-Haftar armed groups:

- National Army:

Nationalist armed group controlled by Khalifa Haftar, composed of non-Islamist fighters and former soldiers. Haftar used it to launch Operation Libyan Dignity, his mission was to dissolve the General National Congress and destroy terrorists. They moved to the US and dispersed, but re-formed to help fight in the uprising against Gaddafi in 2011.

- Regular Forces: Libya’s small army and air force that had fight, supporting Haftar, against Gaddafi and rebel side in the 2011 uprising. The main army units are in east Libya, which have been fighting a against Islamist militias for more than a year. The defection of the air force has given Haftar the key to success, with bombers launching air strikes on Islamist militias in Benghazi.

Pro-Haftar armed groups:

- Zintan: are the second most powerful armed force in Libya. Zintan brigades surged in Tripoli by controlling Libya's international airport and with several maintaining bases in the city. They have frequently clashed with other city militias and regard themselves as opponents of both Congress and Islamists.

(https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/13/libya-airport-heavy-fighting-militias-tripoli-islamist-zintan)

Pro-Congress armed groups:

• LROR (Libyan Revolutionary Operations Room): Was formed in 2013 as the headquarters of the Libya Shield, an alliance of pro-Congress militias. It is accused by opponents of being Islamist and characterises itself as revolutionary. It has pledged to defend Congress against Haftar’s attacks and guards the Radisson Hotel to which the parliament has moved.

• Ansar al-Sharia: Dedicated to establish a caliphate in Libya and refuses to recognise the constitutional government. The US blamed Ansar al-Sharia for the assault on the US consulate in Benghazi that saw the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens in 2012. Since then, it has grown in strength in Benghazi, operating social and education programmes in addition to its armed wing and running a clinic to treat black magic.

Pro-Congress armed groups:

• Misrata: Misrata’s 235 militia brigades are collectively the most powerful single force in Libya, they are equipped with heavy weapons, tanks and truck-launched rockets and have the power to be a decisive force in any struggle between Haftar and Islamist forces. Many Misratan leaders back the Islamists in Congress, and Misratan brigades once formed a key part of the Libya Shield force in Tripoli. That changed in November when one brigade opened fire on protesters outside its base in Ghargour, Tripoli, killing 42. Misratan units were then expelled from the capital.

The Gateway

"The largest flow of modern African migration funnels through a single country — Libya. [...] But Libya is the purgatory where most migrants prepare to face the deadliest stretch of the Mediterranean Sea."

Why Libya?

Muammar Gaddafi left behind instability and a power vacuum, filled by rivaling factions that were trying to take his place, what ended on a chaos, "that allowed smuggling networks to thrive, suddenly opening up a lucrative market designed to profit off trading humans like other goods and commodities."

The country's 1,100-mile coastline has effectively become an open border without government forces to monitor who comes and who goes.

https://youtu.be/H5xVEVTDlFI