Soldiers of the Libyan UN-backed government forces gather on a street in Aziziya, Warshaffana, Libya, on Nov. 10, 2017 hours after taking control of the largest military camp in the area. Picture by Hamza Turkia/Xinhua News Agency/PA Images. All rights reserved.Frustrated by the lack of media time given to local Libyan reactions to international actions, I have just finished a project funded by the Remote Control Project to interview a wide range of local stakeholders (including civil society activists, businessmen, officials, Islamist leaders, former ministers and former fighters) to elicit views on the less-well known but ongoing international military intervention in the Libyan conflict since the NATO campaign to topple Gadhafi ended in 2011.
The responses highlighted the “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” dilemma faced by governments currently seeking to contain the spread of violent extremist groups in the country and protect their own security. On the one hand, foreign intervention has generally elicited a negative response in Libya, where pride in national sovereignty and mistrust of international intentions run deep. Then, on the other, there is a keen sense of abandonment following the ousting of Gaddafi – when the international community left the country vulnerable to meddling by a wide range of local and regional actors.
How to resolve the conflict in Libya remains one of the most difficult and important questions facing policy-makers today. The country has been mired in crisis ever since the toppling of the former Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gadhafi in 2011. Beyond the humanitarian costs of the ongoing turmoil, the boost in available weapons has fuelled conflicts across the continent. Libya’s proximity to Europe has also raised fears about rising immigrant flows; while, the Libyan links to the Manchester bomber highlighted the dangers of leaving extremism to blossom in the country. As AFRICOM commander Thomas Waldhauser recently stated: “instability in Libya and North Africa may be the most significant near-term threat to US and allies’ interests on the continent.”
