An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 21 inter- vention against Qaddafi's forces after they were accused of violating interna- tional law. US forces played a pivotal role in this campaign, with B-2 stealth bombers and other aircraft striking 3,000 targets in 14,202 strike sorties. Tripoli was targeted, with buildings and streets reduced to rubble as 2,000lb bombs exploded, creating apocalyptic scenes of devastation. On the ground, rebel fighters, with NATO air support, fought their way into Tripoli, occupying Green Square by 22nd August 2011. Street battles continued within the citadel for the next two months. In October, the final battles of the uprising were fought in the streets of Qaddafi's hometown of Sirte where the dictator was finally captured and subsequently executed. This short civil war cost the lives of 30,000 Libyans. As with many similar conflicts, the outcome was not to every- one's satisfaction and a number of rival armed militias with tribal affiliations (often linked to particular cities and regions) have all tried to fill the power vacuum created in the aftermath of Qad- dafi's death. In 2012 an election resulted in the General National Congress being tasked with the formation of an interim government and the drafting of a new constitution. Attacks against the govern- ment, as well as international interests in the country, weakened the elected government, resulting in more elections and govern- ments that were short lived. In 2014, another election was marred by violence and a low turnout left the country in turmoil. The UN supported further meetings among the various rival groups and on going peace negotiations in 2015 in an attempt to bring stability to the region. The country is currently divided between east and west, with two groups vying for power. In order to ship its oil, one group must seek the other's permission to access ports in order to ship its produce. Delays or refusal may result in a backlog that can lead to an international energy crisis. Libya has Africa's largest oil reserves and before Qaddafi was ousted was producing 1.6 million barrels of crude oil per day. Today, due to the divisions within the country, oil production has been reduced significantly with only 400,000 barrels being pumped daily. With rival parliaments and a country on the brink of further conflict, tribal militias and jihadist groups have been monitoring the situation. In 2014 and 2015, ISIS seized the cities of Derna and Sirte, giving them a firm foothold in the region. This dangerous development has not gone unnoticed by the West nor for that matter by Libya's neighbours, who have carried out bombing raids against ISIS-held positions. Lacking a functioning government for the last five years, the country has rapidly deteriorated. In recent months, UN interven- tion has created a new Unity Government, that on paper looks good, but only time will tell if the two political sides can reach a compromise and regain control of the country and end the on- going crisis. It also looks like an international coalition force may be needed to wrest back control of areas taken by insurgents, but Western governments are reluctant to 'put boots on the ground'. The first course of action will be to provide advisers to train a Libyan army to secure the country and protect its population. The threat of ISIS and the migration crisis from Libya is of great concern to European leaders and must be addressed as a matter of urgency. All of North Africa hangs in the balance; the lack of stability in the region enables insurgent groups to exploit and take control of large areas. Oil and precious elements are ex- tracted and used to finance an ever-increasing insurgency that is beginning to spread out from Libya and threatens the disintegra- tion of the whole region as the world watches on.

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