The >kidnappings of Indians in Libya are yet another example of the lawlessness that has prevailed in most parts of the North African country which had once been ruled by Muammar Gaddafi with an iron fist.
Ever since the Gaddafi regime was toppled in 2011 by an anti-government rebellion backed by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the country has steadily fallen into the hands of several militia groups.
Though the country held elections after >Gaddafi’s fall , the elected government never managed to consolidate power or disarm the militia groups that joined the anti-Gaddafi war. These militias include the Libyan National Army of General Khalifa Hiftar, a Gaddafi-era defector who returned to Libya after the dictator’s fall, and Ansar al-Sharia Brigade, a Salafi outfit.
Two governments The country now has two governments — one in Tripoli, which was the capital city under the Gaddafi regime — and the other in the eastern city of Tobruk. The Tripoli government is backed by Libya Dawn, a loose coalition of militias, many of them working in a tactical alliance with Islamists, including the Libyan Muslim Brotherhood. Libya Dawn is also backed by Qatar and Turkey. The government based in Tobruk has the support of Western nations, Egypt and the UAE.
This division itself explains the complicated fractured landscape in Libya. The > Islamic State group has also made inroads into Libya. Sirte, 450 km east of Tripoli, where the Indian teachers were working in a university, is now an IS stronghold. In February this year, IS had claimed that they captured 21 Egyptian Coptic Christian migrant workers from Sirte. Later in the month, the Islamist group released videos of beheading them on a beach along the southern Mediterranean coast. In late May, the government in Tripoli said that IS seized control of airport in Sirte.
“There’s no jurisdiction in Libya. There are two governments. But none of the capitals emphasise full control over the region,” said Vijay Prashad, an expert on Libya. “Sirte is a very dangerous place. It can’t be said who’s actually in control of Sirte. Though the city is not a hotbed of Libyan Islamism, various opportunistic militias have joined hands with Islamist groups to protect their interests. It’s really a fractured landscape,” added Prof. Prashad.
