Call for calm as Libya’s future hangs in balance
UN SPECIAL Envoy to Libya Martin Kobler has called for calm in Libya’s oil crescent area after fighting claimed the lives of 12 people near Sirte, former dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s home town situated midway between the capital Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi.
However, author and military expert Helmoed Heitman told the African News Agency yesterday it would take a lot more than calls for calm to resolve the instability in the country.
“Short of fencing the country off, the international community needs to stem the flow of weapons and militants from the country into the region while simultaneously providing strong support for one of the rival governments vying for power,” said Heitman.
In the latest round of fighting, the Libyan National Army (LNA) said it had recaptured the towns of Ben Jawad and Nufliya, near Sirte, from the military force that took them on Wednesday morning.
The LNA added that four of its soldiers had been killed and eight wounded in the counter-offensive, while eight of the enemy were also killed.
The LNA is headed by General Khalifa Hafter, who opposes the UN-backed and internationally recognised Presidency Council government headed by Fayez al-Sarraj.
Haftar rules from his headquarters in Marj, in eastern Libya, and has strong military control over the House of Representatives in Tobruk in eastern Libya.
Saudia Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt actively support Hafter and his men, having provided them with weapons and air support during military confrontations.
The LNA has accused members of the militant Benghazi Defence Brigades of being behind the attacks. The Brigades are a grouping of Benghazi militias which was formerly part of the Benghazi Revolutionaries Shura Council. They were driven out of the city earlier this year by the LNA and subsequently fled to Tripoli,
Following the clashes, Libya’s National Oil Corporation chairman Mustafa Sanalla ordered all non-essential staff to leave the Sidra oil terminal. Attackers were reported to have fired rockets towards the oil terminal, which is located 30km from Ben Jawad.
Militia violence, political instability prompted by vying rival authorities jockeying for power, a crippled economy decimated by a fall in oil exports, and mass human rights abuses have driven Libya to the brink. Heitman describes the country as a failed state.
“The issue, over and above Libya imploding, is that its problems are impacting on neighbouring countries and the region,” he said.
“When Nato went in before the overthrow of Gaddafi, they should have deployed a strong ground force for at least a decade to stabilise the situation while the competing militias and leaders learnt to adapt to the new situation and accommodate each other.
“However, Nato went in reluctantly because neither the US nor the Europeans were interested in intervening because they’d reached a political accommodation with Gaddafi. I think they were forced in by public and media pressure because of the human rights situation.
“As a result, a no-fly zone was created and when this was breached, Nato was left no option but to intervene, similar to the situation in Bosnia.
“However, unlike Bosnia, Libya’s political structure was run in an unorthodox fashion, making it even harder.”
Although the arms flow can’t be stemmed completely, it can be reduced, he said. The flow of cocaine and refugees through the country – another cause of destabilisation – also has to be stopped. – ANA