Libya suffers from some of the same ailments as Iraq and Syria, although in a milder form. Added to these are problems which are peculiar to this North African nation. Last week's developments showed how serious and threatening these problems are. The most worrying was the fighting on Friday between two powerful militias battling for control of Tripoli's airport. This erupted just hours after they had agreed on a truce. The airport has been closed since July 13, when Islamist gunmen from the city of Misrata launched an attack on the facility, which has for the past three years been held by a rival group from Zintan, southwest of the capital. The airport attacks and a surge of violence across the country have forced the government to seek UN intervention in the form of experts to train Libya's defense and police forces to ensure that they can protect oilfields, airports and other vital sites. Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdelaziz appealed to the UN Security Council on Thursday "to take the case of Libya seriously before it is too late." He has reason to be panicky. Since July 13, dozens of rockets have been fired at the airport, badly damaging aircraft and the main terminal building. Elsewhere in the country, clashes between rival militias are sparking fears of an all-out civil war. Nobody knows the exact number of armed groups that sprang up in the chaos following the revolution that ousted dictator Muammar Gaddafi. There are as many as 1,700, according to some reports. These militias run the entire gamut of the ideological spectrum — Islamist, secessionist, liberal. Unfortunately, Foreign Minister Abdelaziz's call to the UN came as the world body announced it was evacuating its remaining staff from Libya because of deteriorating security conditions. Therein lies the crux of the problem. Libya which has Africa's largest oil reserves has seen a steady deterioration in security since the civil war that led to the ouster of Gaddafi three years ago. Unfortunately, the NATO warplanes that helped topple the dictator also sparked a power struggle between rival armed groups that has afflicted the country ever since. Libya has had five governments since the 2011 change of regime. But all have failed to establish a strong police force or a unified military, giving former rebel groups a free hand to act. Each militia governs its own patch of territory. Some have seized oil ports and fields to make political and financial demands. In fact, Libya's oil industry, its main source of revenue, is virtually paralyzed.
Squabbling among leaders only compounds Libya's security problems, as political turmoil and militia violence reinforce one another. Every country that undergoes a revolution or major political upheaval witnesses a fierce power struggle. In the case of Libya, oil money has added a sinister dimension to this struggle. Even though the government has sought UN help, it is not clear whether there has been any real proposal from Tripoli that would persuade the world body to send a peacekeeping force. However, the UN should consider an Afro-Asian effort aimed at restoring peace in Libya. The immediate aim should be to help Libya assemble an efficient police force and a unified army. This country faces a real risk of imploding unless something is done immediately. The UN should also think of the spillover effects of Libyan chaos on the rest of Africa, especially Mali and Niger.
