Libya History – Liberation from the Regime

In February 2011, in the wake of a broader protest movement that swept across the Middle East, a series of popular uprisings also began in Libya. After the official assumption, in the following March, of the command of military operations by NATO, and the formation of a National Transitional Council composed of various exponents of the self-proclaimed dissident forces the only legitimate representative of the Libyan Republic and headed by M. Jibril, the conflict has had mixed outcomes: the initial takeover of the eastern sector of the country and numerous centers of the western sector by the rebels were followed by targeted counterattacks by loyalists aimed at regaining control over these regions. This stalemate continued until August 2011, Azīziyyah, the bunker-barracks believed to be Gaddafi’s stronghold, even without being able to capture the dictator. On 20 October, two months after the fall of Tripoli, the troops of the National Transitional Council captured Sirte, Gaddafi’s hometown, taking control of the last positions still in the hands of the loyalists and killing the ràis in what was once the last battle against the regime. For Libya democracy and rights, please check getzipcodes.org.

On 23 October 2011 in Benghazi, Prime Minister Jalil officially proclaimed the liberation of the North African country, promising a future of peace and democracy, and placing the mandate in the hands of A. Tarhuni, also interim prime minister, who was replaced a few days later by AA el-Keib; NATO military intervention in the country also officially ended on 31 October. In August 2012, following the consultations held the previous month – the first free elections after more than forty years of regime – the Transitional National Council officially handed over all powers to the General National Congress, of which it was appointed president MY el -Magariaf. In October 2012, following the resignation of Prime Minister M. Abushagur who had taken office in the previous month taking over from el-Keib, the National Congress appointed Ali Zidan, Gaddafi’s former ambassador and opponent, in his place; but the long transition phase that began with the civil conflict and the collapse of the regime proved to be very complex, and the country experienced a very serious political crisis in 2013: Abushagur deposed following the mistrust voted by Parliament in March 2014, the premier is took over ad interim Defense Minister A. al-Thani. The elections for the new Libyan Parliament held in the following June saw the victory of the liberal forces over the Islamist ones, and in September the new narrow government of Prime Minister al-Thani obtained the vote of confidence of the Parliament, meeting in Tobruk for security reasons. but in November – in a country which has now become the operational theater of extremist and politically fragmented formations – the Supreme Court found this Parliament unconstitutional, although recognized by the international community, and the National General Congress with an Islamist majority which fell with the elections in June elected its own premier, O. al-Hassi, disheartened in March 2015 in view of a resumption of negotiations with the government of Tobruk. Concerned by the rooting of cells of the self-proclaimed Islamic State in the country – first in Derna and then in particular in the city of Sirte – the international community has engaged in a process of mediation between the parties to the conflict. The factions involved in the political dialogue signed an agreement in December 2015 for the establishment of a government of national unity; in the same month F. al-Sarraj was appointed premier. The new government of national unity, with its capital in Tripoli, led by al-Sarraj and made up of 32 ministries, was formed in January 2016 under the agreement promoted by the United Nations, but the Parliament of Tobruk, supported by General K. Haftar, while approving the political agreement reached by the Libyan factions in Morocco, he did not trust the executive. In March 2016, after unsuccessful aerial attempts due to the opposition of the self-proclaimed executive of the capital led by K. Ghwell, the premier arrived in Tripoli by sea to take the oath, supported by the United Nations but in a climate of very strong internal tensions; in the following August 61 of the 101 deputies of the Tobruk parliament spoke out against the executive of the Libyan prime minister designated by the UN agreement. A resolution of the conflict emerged only in July of the following year, when Haftar and al-Sarraj signed a joint declaration in Paris on the principles of a political transition that provides for a ceasefire and the calling of new elections; nevertheless, in April 2019 – after consolidating his power in Cyrenaica, extending his control also in Fezzan, Haftar launched a military offensive to take possession of Tripoli. In February 2021 the delegates of the Libyan factions, under the aegis of the UN, appointed a transitional government that will remain in office until the elections, scheduled for the month of December, led by the interim prime minister AH Dbeibah and the head of the MY al-Menfi presidential council, who took over from the resigning al-Sarraj.