Friday 17 October 2014

Libya Rapidly Turning into Failed State


"Everybody sang the values of the revolution,
but no-one ever sat down and discussed what these values were

Salah Sohbi MP

The leaders of the vast country that holds Africa's biggest oil reserves can't get on with the job of ruling the country (Tim Whewel, 'Libya's government holed up in a 1970s hotel', BBC News, 16 October 2014): 
Three years after Western military intervention helped topple Col Muammar Gaddafi, many believe Libya is rapidly turning into a failed state. There are two rival governments, and the parliament elected in June has been forced to flee from hostile militias - to a grey concrete 1970s hotel near the Egyptian border [...]  in a remote port 1,000km (620 miles) from the capital, Tripoli - fighting a lonely battle, they believe, against the forces of militant Islamism. Tobruk, a town of about 120,000 people on the far-eastern edge of Libya, is now one of the last toeholds of the internationally-recognised authorities. Militias attacked Tripoli in July, forcing the newly-elected parliament to flee.[...] Their parliament and government are the only ones recognised as legitimate by the UN, but within Libya they control none of the three key cities:
·    In Tripoli, the old parliament - the General National Congress - has continued to sit. It's even appointed its own rival government.
·    Benghazi, the second city and headquarters of the 2011 Revolution, is largely in the hands of Islamist fighters, some with links to al-Qaeda. There are daily assassinations of officials, journalists and social activists.
·    Misrata, the third city and main port, is also loyal to the Tripoli authorities. Its militias keep them in power.
Meanwhile Derna, the next town along the coast from Tobruk, has declared itself an Islamic caliphate. It's a no-go zone for any government official.
It's all a far cry from the triumph of the revolution three years ago, when Gaddafi was eventually overthrown after a Western-led bombing campaign to protect the revolutionaries. [...] The strategic black hole that's opening up on the southern shores of the Mediterranean is unlikely to be filled with a working state any time soon. 
It was only three years ago (October 20th 2011) that Muammar Gaddafi was killed by Libyan rebel forces.
 

1 comment:

kyri said...

big mistake getting rid of gadafi,just when he started being friendly to the west,big mistake.we are being led by short sighted idiots.they let the jeanie out of the bottle and allot of innocent people will die before things are back to normal.never mind at least the arms dealers are making plenty of money and the west control most of the oil.
kyri.

 
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