By Theodore Shoebat
Libya is no longer a legitimate state. What we know as Libya today is merely a shattered shadow of its former self. Imagine, if numerous countries were intervening in your country, were placing soldiers in your country, and were backing armed factions in your country to the point where there is no central leader, would you even say you are living in a sovereign country? This is the state of Libya. According to the AP:
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that foreign interference in Libya’s war has reached “unprecedented levels” and urged key players and their backers to unblock the political stalemate and agree to a cease-fire and peace talks.
Calling the current situation “gloomy,” the U.N. chief said Wednesday that the United Nations political mission in Libya is undertaking de-escalation efforts, “including the creation of a possible demilitarized zone,” to try to reach a negotiated solution and spare lives. He said between April 1 and June 30 there were at least 102 civilian deaths and 254 civilians wounded in Libya, “a 172% increase compared to the first quarter of 2020.”…
Eastern forces under Khalifa Hifter launched an offensive trying to take Tripoli in April 2019, and the crisis in the oil-rich country has steadily worsened as foreign backers increasingly intervened despite pledges at the Berlin conference.
Hifter’s offensive is supported by France, Russia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and other key Arab countries. The government in Tripoli is backed by Turkey — which sent troops and mercenaries to protect the capital in January — as well as Italy and Qatar.
The perpetrators of the attack on al-Watiya air base south of Tripoli that took place over the weekend have become evident. It came to light that the attack was conducted by the Middle East’s darkest force, the United Arab Emirates, through putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar, whom it supports, and with Egypt’s logistical backing, France’s warplanes and Saudi Arabia’s political alliance.
Evidently, the consultant of an Emirati prince, Abdulhalik al-Abdullah, was bold enough to write a tweet targeting Turkey, saying, “By bombing al-Watiya air base as the UAE, we gave Turkey the lesson it deserved in the name of the pride of the whole Arab people.” However, he deleted his tweet immediately.
The Libyan Army did not take long to respond to the attack. This time, one of the Russian-made Pantsir air defense system was destroyed.
So Libya is broken apart between various countries — both Western and Middle Eastern –, and within such fragmentation there is an intense rivalry taking place over Africa, with France (backing Haftar) rivaling with Italy (who backs the Government of National Accord). The UAE and Turkey are also in a war with each other, while Russian mercenaries are present in the country to support Haftar. The entire situation is a cluster mess. One thing that we should come to grips is the reality that the wold that we once knew is quickly disintegrating, with Western countries and Middle Eastern countries rivaling over Africa, Germany wanting to expand her hegemony in the continent, Turkey using the chaos in Libya to take over the Eastern Mediterranean, and the US withdrawing her control over the Near East, allowing Turkey to expand her power into Syria as well. Prior to WW1, there was a rivalry between Germany and France over Morocco. We see this same atmosphere of tensions over North Africa, which is really a presaging sign of the escalation towards global conflict.