Last week, the Italian government reopened the embassy in Tripoli, the first to do so after the majority of Libya’s embassies closed in 2015. A number of Libyans exploited the news with a media war and talk of neo-colonialism. They couldn’t be more wrong, but the Italians were wrong in their timing as well.

Author

Federica Saini Fasanotti

Nonresident Fellow – Foreign Policy,Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence

Divided between Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, and Fezzan, the situation in Libya today is very similar to when the Italians colonized the country in 1911. And it is, again, on the brink of war. Sources report that the Tripoli Revolutionaries’ Brigade and its leader, Haitham Tajouri, declared a state of emergency after the seizure of the Ministries of Defense; Labour; and Martyrs, Wounded, and Missing, while the presidency council’s Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj was in Cairo meeting Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi. This is just the latest move by militiamen backing Khalifa Ghwell and his resurrected Government of National Salvation. For months, Ghwell has been arguing that the presidency council and the Government of National Accord (GNA) has failed and that the Skhirat agreement is dead because, in reality, it was never born by the Libyan government. This is the root of the problem in Libya: foreign intervention. But the international community doesn’t seem to understand. To that effect, the Libya Political Dialogue is set to meet in Tunis on January 18, where no foreign governments have been invited.

In the meantime, the situation on the ground is dire: In addition to Libya’s ongoing problems, this winter has been particularly harsh and has worsened, if possible, al-Sarraj’s political standing in Tripolitania. In the writing of this post, Tripoli had been plunged into darkness going on 24 hours, forcing residents to use charcoal. There is also a serious lack of water. This is the state of Libya’s capital today.

On the other side stand Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar and his old friends: Russia, Egypt, and the Emirates. Each of them support the GNA on paper, but in reality do exactly the opposite, while the majority of nations that supported the GNA are silent. Actions speak louder than words, and this is enough in realpolitik. In the quiet before the storm, only one country has taken al-Sarraj’s side: Italy.

more:   https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2017/01/18/libyans-havent-forgotten-history/