Small Wars Journal

Libya In Chaos As Endless War Rumbles On

Sun, 10/27/2019 - 12:31am

Libya In Chaos As Endless War Rumbles On by Orla Guerin - BBC News

For almost a decade the Libyan capital, Tripoli, has seen a kaleidoscope of conflict.

The heady days of the revolution of 2011 - which unseated long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi - are long gone.

In the ensuing years there has been a Libya-like rendition of the TV series Game of Thrones, all about violent power struggles, involving competing militias, rival governments and, increasingly, foreign players.

In the capital these days the distant thud of battle punctuates the rumble of the traffic, but the streets are busy. This is a city fueled by oil, coffee and resilience.

The latest round of battle began in April when a renegade commander, General Khalifa Haftar, led forces from his power base in eastern Libya to make an assault on Tripoli in the west.

He heads the self-styled Libyan National Army, and already controls most of the country. But six months on, Tripoli still eludes the moustachioed military strongman, who is backed by the Tobruk-based government. He is stuck on the southern outskirts of the city…

Read on.