LIBYAN WAR

Alina Bauza Lopez

Antonio Rafael Laja Gervacio

The civil war in Libya was an international conflict

developed in Libyan territory. It started back in 2011,
when opposing groups called The National Council of
Transition decided to face the government of Gadhafi.
These groups were supported by different nations, and
among them were France and North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO).

Everything started with popular demonstrations and

protests from the population. This protest was about demanding political and
economic reforms against the regime of Gaddafi, who had been in power for 41
years, and was convened on the Internet by a group of young people under the
theme "Revolt of February 17: Day of Anger in Libya."- Several high-ranking
officials decided to ignore the authority of the government and join the insurrection.
The insurgents announced the formation of a parallel government in Benghazi
under the name of the National Transitional Council. The real problem was when
the armed protesters began to take control of different cities, and as a
consequence the Libyan government lost control of important areas of the country.
As a response, the Libyan government attacked the protesters and some countries
interpreted this as a violation of civil rights and people’s safety. In order to help,
France and NATO decided to make an intervention that was qualified as
humanitarian.

International leaders accused the Gadhafi regime of committing acts against

human rights violations and killing people; while the Libyan authorities repeatedly
accused NATO of killing civilians in air strikes. “The conflict was exploited by the
jihadist groups, which have spread throughout the country, and by the mafias of
human trafficking, which have made Libya its best shuttle for irregular immigrants
in the Mediterranean.” Said by the media (Ecured)

Several international media as well as social networks reported acts of extreme

repression, including indiscriminate bombings in cities by the air force. By the end
of the protests, some cities in the western part of the country were also in control of
the opponents of Gaddafi, leaving Tripoli, the capital of the country, the city of the
cities controlled by the opposition. The entire world was impressed by this
situation. We want to emphasize how America reacted to this. In the United States
of America Libya is seen as an enemy and there are a lot of suppositions about the
USA wanting to control the oil region, and so that's the reason why they came in
conflict. Besides, they think the region of Libya is full of terrorists- they are absurd
beliefs but they exist..

In the first four months of the civil war, there

were between ten and fifteen thousand
deaths on both sides. The conflict ended with
the defeat of the supporters of Gadhafi and
Gadhafi’s death and the total control of the
rebels in Libya. Then, in 2012 The National
Council of Transition dissolved starting a
process of a new democratic transition with
the General Congress of the Nation and the foundation of the Libyan Republic.
In 2014, a new conflict started dividing the country in different areas of influence
and sinking it in violence where the jihadist groups had a growing relevance. The
jihadists, who operated under the secret services of the country's rival
governments, kidnapped and kept civilians in custody because of their origin, their
opinions and their alleged political or tribal affiliation. The increase in crime due to
the lack of an operational justice system also resulted in kidnappings of civilians,
perpetrated in Tripoli and other cities by armed groups and gangs to demand
ransom. People, despite the lack of resources, must also worry about their own
security not only physical but also intellectual, since the fact of thinking differently,
immediately makes you an enemy. (Telesur, 2016)

At present, Libya has three governments: two in the capital, competing for
leadership in the west of the country, and another in Tobruk, which dominates the
eastern regions and controls the main oil resources.
Of the two in Tripoli, the first was formed after a failed peace agreement sponsored
by the UN and signed in December by members of the former government of the
capital and a small part of the Parliament moved to Tobruk. (Amnistia Internacional
, 2017)

The conflict had a devastating effect on the population of all Libya, severely
impeding or limiting their access to basic services such as food, medical care,
education, electricity, fuel and water supply, and causing the migration of many
people. The economic deterioration left a large part of the population without
resources to support their families. Libya has to be completely rebuilt, and the
government after the war must look for new methods or strategies to raise its
nation.

CONCLUSION
Nowadays, it is important to know this information.
This conflict didn’t last a few years, this has been
happening way back in time. It concerns us
because it affects us indirectly; it is a determinant
on the global economy. We need to be empathic
with this type of war because, although we can't
imagine the dimension of the conflict, the people from this country want to be free
of the war, and that's the reason why many people move from other country inside
of Europe. But the old world closes the door to all the people who want live in
peace, and through the social networks everybody knows about some cases of
people who died trying to cross the ocean to escape from the country. Immigration
for Mexico is not an unknown case and like Libya we have a lot of people who
have died. For Mexico, it has a direct impact on the GDP as an exporting country.
Likwise, it is also a really important part of the Middle East region.

We need to set aside the borders to be one world which is willing to contribute to
one of the greatest wars of our times. We must look back on the world wars where
there were many deaths but they don’t have many things, like the ones we have
now, for example the technology and we must know how to use it in our favor, we
are young people and we need achieve change, keeping us informed and creating
movements from our country with the goal of changing the mentality of our society.
We are the so-called age of information, therefore we must have the responsibility
to assume the title, knowing how to choose our governors and be part of the
decisions of our country.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
 Amnistia Internacional . (2017). Obtenido de
https://www.amnesty.org/es/countries/middle-east-and-north-africa/libya/report-libya/

 Ecured. (s.f.). Obtenido de Civil War Libya : https://www.ecured.cu/Guerra_Civil_de_Libia

 Telesur. (2016). Libia: caos y pobreza, cinco años después de la muerte de Gadafi.
Obtenido de https://www.telesurtv.net/news/Libia-caos-y-pobreza-cinco-anos-despues-
de-muerte-de-Gadafi-20161020-0001.html