The German news website, Deutsche Welle (DW) published a report describing Libya after the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 by NATO-backed rebels as, “a cake that is being sliced between foreign actors.”
The report said that after a decade, once high hopes for a ‘Libyan Spring’ have long since vanished, as the country is torn apart by civil war.
It reported that foreign actors like Turkey and Russia have moved into the conflict. Ankara and Moscow have seized their opportunity to gain a foothold in the Mediterranean country, upsetting the region’s geopolitical balance. “They’re slicing up Libya like a cake,” says Libyan activist, Emad Shanab.
In the chaos that followed the fall of Gaddafi, the terrorist group IS was also able to set up operations.
The report explained that a popular uprising a decade ago, degenerated into an ongoing civil war. The eastern and western parts of the country are divided into different camps, under two rival governments.
According to DW, the younger generation is traumatized by ongoing conflict as Shanab asks: “How long can this go on? What do we have to do? Leave the country? Die? Is dying our only choice?”
The report added that Europe is deeply divided over Libya. The divergent strategies of Western powers, with their conflicting economic interests, are only driving Libya further into disintegration. An influx of sophisticated weapons – despite a UN embargo – poses a growing threat to the security of the entire Mediterranean region.