The visit of Italy’s foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni to Libya on Tuesday, mainly to bolster the unity government in Tripoli, shows that the West has finally understood the urgency of finding a solution to the Libyan crisis. Paolo Gentiloni’s is the first visit by a top Western official to the country since 2014 and comes amid reports that the Islamic State is gaining ground in the conflict-ridden North African state and it’s becoming a centre for people smuggling. Both pose huge dangers to the West because of Libya’s proximity to Europe. The international community now sees the unity government in Libya as vital to tackling both the raging jihadist insurgency and people smuggling.
The current chaos in Libya is the result of the failure of the West to act after the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi. US President Barack Obama has admitted that the biggest mistake of his presidency was a lack of planning for the future of Libya after Kadhafi’s ouster. He now believes Washington and its allies could have done more to prevent Libya’s descent into turmoil following the Nato-backed uprising in 2011.
Asked in a Fox News interview to name the “worst mistake” of his presidency, Obama said it was “probably failing to plan for the day after what I think was the right thing to do in intervening in Libya.” Maybe the West couldn’t have foreseen the current state of affairs, but Libya’s descent has been gradual and happened under the nose of Europe, which could have intervened long ago.
The West now will have to invest lots of energy and time to bring stability to Libya. The IS has grown phenomenally in the country. Last year, the jihadists seized control of Gadhafi’s coastal hometown of Sirte and has been fighting to expand to other areas. The number of IS fighters doubled in the past 12-18 months and now stands at about 4,000 to 6,000, according to US estimates. Libya is also complicating Europe’s migrant crisis. There are concerns that European efforts to shut down the migrant sea crossing from Turkey to Greece will encourage more people to leave from North Africa.
Libya plunged straight into instability after the overthrow of Gaddafi with rival militias taking control of the country. It has had two rival governments since mid-2014 when a militia alliance overran Tripoli, setting up its own authority and forcing the recognised parliament to flee to the remote east. A unity government has been stitched together and this government must succeed to bring unity and stability to the country. Fayez Al Sarraj is the prime minister-designate under a UN-backed power-sharing deal in December. “I am delighted to be in Tripoli for Italy’s emergency aid and to support al-Sarraj’s Government of National Accord,” Gentiloni said.
The visit of Italy’s foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni to Libya on Tuesday, mainly to bolster the unity government in Tripoli, shows that the West has finally understood the urgency of finding a solution to the Libyan crisis. Paolo Gentiloni’s is the first visit by a top Western official to the country since 2014 and comes amid reports that the Islamic State is gaining ground in the conflict-ridden North African state and it’s becoming a centre for people smuggling. Both pose huge dangers to the West because of Libya’s proximity to Europe. The international community now sees the unity government in Libya as vital to tackling both the raging jihadist insurgency and people smuggling.
The current chaos in Libya is the result of the failure of the West to act after the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi. US President Barack Obama has admitted that the biggest mistake of his presidency was a lack of planning for the future of Libya after Kadhafi’s ouster. He now believes Washington and its allies could have done more to prevent Libya’s descent into turmoil following the Nato-backed uprising in 2011.
Asked in a Fox News interview to name the “worst mistake” of his presidency, Obama said it was “probably failing to plan for the day after what I think was the right thing to do in intervening in Libya.” Maybe the West couldn’t have foreseen the current state of affairs, but Libya’s descent has been gradual and happened under the nose of Europe, which could have intervened long ago.
The West now will have to invest lots of energy and time to bring stability to Libya. The IS has grown phenomenally in the country. Last year, the jihadists seized control of Gadhafi’s coastal hometown of Sirte and has been fighting to expand to other areas. The number of IS fighters doubled in the past 12-18 months and now stands at about 4,000 to 6,000, according to US estimates. Libya is also complicating Europe’s migrant crisis. There are concerns that European efforts to shut down the migrant sea crossing from Turkey to Greece will encourage more people to leave from North Africa.
Libya plunged straight into instability after the overthrow of Gaddafi with rival militias taking control of the country. It has had two rival governments since mid-2014 when a militia alliance overran Tripoli, setting up its own authority and forcing the recognised parliament to flee to the remote east. A unity government has been stitched together and this government must succeed to bring unity and stability to the country. Fayez Al Sarraj is the prime minister-designate under a UN-backed power-sharing deal in December. “I am delighted to be in Tripoli for Italy’s emergency aid and to support al-Sarraj’s Government of National Accord,” Gentiloni said.
