Libya

Libya

Libya (officially: the State of Libya), is an Arab country located in North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea from the north, Egypt in the east and Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger in the south, Algeria, and Tunisia to the west. With an area of ​​approximately 1.8 million square kilometers (700,000 square miles), Libya is the fourth largest country in Africa and the 17th largest country in the world. It ranks ninth among ten countries with the world's largest proven oil reserves.

Libya's capital is Tripoli, which is also the country's largest city. It is located in western Libya and is home to more than one million of the country's total population of more than six million. The second largest city is Benghazi, located in eastern Libya with a population of 700,000.

Libya recorded the highest human development index in Africa and the fourth highest GDP on the continent in 2009, after Seychelles, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. This is due to its large oil reserves and low population. Libya is a member of a number of regional and international organizations and groups, including the United Nations, the African Union, the Arab Maghreb Union, the League of Arab States, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and COMESA.

2. History of Libya

Libya has been inhabited by Berbers since the late Bronze Age. The Phoenicians established trading centers in western Libya, while the ancient Greeks established state cities in eastern Libya. Libya was ruled for various periods by the Persians, Egyptians, and Greeks before becoming part of the Roman Empire. Libya was an early center of Christianity. After the fall of the Roman EmpireThe West Vandals occupied Western Libya until the seventh century, when the Arab conquests and conquests arrived and Islam. In the 16th century, the Spanish Empire and the Knights of St. John occupied the city of Tripoli, followed by the Ottoman rule in 1551. Libya engaged in barbaric coast wars in the 18th and 19th centuries under the independent rule of the Crimean dynasty. Italian colony of Libya from 1911 to 1943.With the conclusion of agreements by the Italian colony of the state of Tripoli in the west, such as the agreement with France to cede some land from its Algerian colony in 1919.A deal with the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan as well in 1919 and an agreement with the Kingdom of Egypt in 1926 to limit the two countries at longitude 25 ° E forming a border Current Libya International. During World War II Libya was an important site of war in the North African campaign. The Italian population began to decline. Libya became an independent kingdom in 1951.

In 1969, a military coup overthrew King Idris I, initiating a period of radical social change. The most prominent of the coup leaders, Muammar Gaddafi, was finally able to concentrate power fully in his hands during what was known as the (Libyan Cultural Revolution), to remain in power until the outbreak of the Libyan civil war or known as the revolution of 17 February 2011, where the rebels were supported by NATO.Since then, Libya has experienced a great deal of instability and political violence that has severely affected both the economy and oil production. It has also become a major conduit for so-called illegal migration through human trafficking networks that exploit refugees fleeing war in Africa and the Middle East to Europe, prompting the European Union to conduct naval operations off the Libyan coast to curb them.

At least two major parties are wrestling with Libya's rule. The House of Representatives and its interim government are internationally regarded as legitimate, but have no authority over the capital and surrounding areas, instead meeting in Tobruk in the far east. At the same time, the two new NCP officials claimed to continue their legal presence as a complement to the outgoing GNC, which was dissolved after the June 2014 elections but reconvened by a minority of its members. This situation remained until the signing of a political agreement known as the Skhirat Agreement in Morocco. The Supreme Court in Tripoli and controlled by the Fajr militiaLibya and the GNC declared that the Libyan House of Representatives convened in Tobruk (unconstitutional) as well as its interim government in November 2014, but the internationally recognized government rejected the ruling, which was declared under threat of violence. Parts of Libya are beyond the control of either government, with some tribal militias, Islamists and rebels running some cities and regions. The United Nations sponsored peace talks between the factions based in Tobruk and Tripoli. An agreement to form a unified interim government was signed on 17 December 2015. Under the terms of the agreement, the Presidency Council is composed of nine members while the governmentThe interim government, dubbed the National Accord Government, is made up of 17 ministers, with the aim of holding new elections within two years. On April 5, 2016, members of the new government arrived in Tripoli. However, disagreement remained over some of the provisions of the agreement to remain the political and institutional division in the country with two governments are the Libyan interim government in Bayda with the support of the House of Representatives in Tobruk and the Presidential Council of the Government of National Accord in Tripoli

In February 2011, after the success of the revolution in Tunisia and Egypt in overthrowing the two heads of state - Libyans revolutionized the rule of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. The revolution began in the form of peaceful demonstrations, but armed units belonging to Muammar Gaddafi dealt with them with extreme violence and used semi-heavy weapons in an attempt to suppress the revolution, which resulted in the revolution turning into an "armed war" especially after the large numbers of Libyan police and army joined the popular revolution. Major General Abdel Fattah Younis, Minister of Interior and Commander of the Special Forces;Weapons from military camps and police stations, the defection of many officials in Libyan diplomatic missions abroad. All eastern cities and some western cities fell under the control of the rebels and formed an interim government headed by outgoing Justice Minister Mustafa Abdeljalil. After Gaddafi forces managed to reach the outskirts of Benghazi, a stronghold of the rebels, the Security Council passed a resolution imposing an air embargo on Libya to protect civilians on 10 February 2011.

Between April and August of the same year, the war was confined to areas of Misrata and Mount Nafusa in the west of Libya. In August, opponents launched an attack on Tripoli from the Zawiya axis and other coastal cities to eliminate Gaddafi's rule once and for all. . By October, Gaddafi's last strongholds fell in Bani Walid and Sirte. Gaddafi and one of his sons were killed on October 20, when his last stronghold fell in Sirte.