We Can’t Forget Libya

It’s hard to believe that the Libyan Civil War only started back in 2014. It feels a lot longer, and it’s pretty sad to think that it’s never been resolved.

There are a lot of parties involved, and I’m going to cover that here as simply as I can:

The House of Representatives:

1. Libyan National Army
2. Libyan Airforce
3. Libyan Navy
4. Zintan Brigades
5. Russian PMCs
6. JEM (Justice and Equality Movement) – a political group from Sudan
7. SLM/A (Sudan Liberation Movement/Army)
8. Sudan RSF (Sudan’s paramilitary force)
9. Wagner Group (a Russian paramilitary organisation)

Supported by:

1. Gaddafi loyalists, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Libya and the Warshefana militias.

The Government of National Accord

1. Libyan Armed Forces (including Libyan Ground Forces, the Libyan Air Force, and the Libyan Navy)
2. The Libyan Presidential Guard
3. The Misrata Brigades (an anti-Gaddafi armed guard)
4. The Sabratha Revolutionary Brigades
5. The Petroleum Facilities Guard (an oil company and militia)
6. Tripoli Protection Force (which was made in 2018 from four different Libyan militias)
7. The Misratan Third Force
8. Tuareg militias of Ghat
9. The Toubou Front for the Salvation of Libya
10. Chadian Rebels
11. The Turkish-Backed Free Syrian Army

Supported by:

1. The EU
2. The UN

The National Salvation Government

1. Libyan Shield Force (anti-Gaddafi armed forces)
2. LROR (Libyan Revolutionaries Operations Room)
3. Libyan National Guard

Supported by:

1. Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries
2. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
3. Shura Council of Mujahideen in Derna
4. Benghazi Defense Brigades
5. Ajdabiya Revolutionaries Shura Council
6. Derna Protection Force

ISIL

1. Wilayat Barqa
2. Wilayat Tarabulus
3. Wilayat Fezzan

As of the beginning of this year, the warring parties have resumed talks in Geneva, with hopes of reaching a ceasefire. It’s come at a time when armed forces have struck the port in the capital, Tripoli, the first such attack in nearly a year.

Ghassan Salame, the head of the UN’s Libyan mission, has been meeting with both sides separately during these talks, but he has acknowledged his hopes on having joint talks in the near future.