What’s happening in Libya today

Libya has Africa’s largest proven oil reserves  and is also a player in the natural gas market.

That alone would be enough to make people pay attention to the country’s political situation. But Libya’s story is much more complicated and  instructive than its impact on energy markets

Ever since the Arab spring uprising in 2011 and the ouster of colonel Muammar Gaddaffi  the country has been on and off war.

Libyans and the international community not to mention the legislative elections, political situation in Libya has gone from bad to worse.

Libya was in no shape to transition to a functioning democracy so abruptly, and the last decade or so has made that all too clear.

Making matters worse, the country’s descent into chaos and lack of governance also made it the de facto “gateway” into Europe during the continent’s migration crisis a few years back.

With the new power renegade Halifa Haftar, one of Libyas top millitary aid who fell of with Gaddaffi after one of his mission in Chad went wrong.

Halifa Haftar left Libya and became a USA citizen for 20 years just to come back during the Arab uprising and forming an army of at-least  25 thousand soldiers terming it as Libyan National Army.

Currently, the western half of the country is being “led” by a UN-backed government based in Tripoli, but it has struggled to actually assert control over the city as its been carved up by warring militias.

This stands in stark contrast to the eastern half of the country, which is ruled by Haftar, who gains support from Egypt, France, Saudi Arabia and UAE.

The UN Secretary General was in Tripoli for preparations for an upcoming peace summit ahead of elections slated for the end of this year.

That’s when Haftar made his move, to everyone’s shock. Part of the purpose of the conference was to establish a constitutional framework for those upcoming elections.

Collective wisdom was that Haftar would wait and capture the country through the ballot box. He seems to have opted to do so via violence instead.

That UN conference has now been postponed indefinitely.

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