Africa and Middle EastAllOngoing
The Fall of Gaddafi and the Rebuilding of Libya
The deposed leader of Libya was captured and killed in 2011 following the Arab Spring Revolution. So why hasn’t Libya recovered from its political crisis?
The Libyan Crisis following the events of the Arab Spring led to a civil war, NATO intervention and the death of the country’s leader Muammar Gaddafi. The country’s economically important oil industry all but collapsed, and to this day the country has not recovered from its early 2011 revolution.
The Revolution in Libya and the Arab Spring
The Libyan Arab Spring uprising began in February 2011. Anti-government demonstrations began in small cities, eventually making its way to Tripoli where an armed revolt sought to topple the Gaddafi regime. The movement was a pan-Arab nationalist uprising that set the stage for change across the greater Middle East, aiming to represent the discontent end misrepresentation felt by the citizens towards the ruling elite class.
The political solution in Libya still seems iffy. After the death of Gaddafi, the country is still suffering from civil war, a humanitarian crisis, and the threat from ISIS, leading the people to question foreign intervention that removed Gaddafi from power.
The Death of Gaddafi
After Tripoli’s fall in August of 2011, Gaddafi and his family escaped the country’s capital city. The ousted leader retreated to Sirte, one of the remaining strongholds that still supported his rule. Once in Sirte, Gaddafi announced a willingness to negotiate a handover to a transitional government, which was immediately rejected by the NTC. He was captured and killed while hiding out.
In addition to the death of Gaddafi, estimatedly 160 of his followers were killed in the struggle to capture the ousted leader. Gaddafi’s corpse was reportedly displayed to the city for four days in order for the public to be assured of his death.
Today, Libya has not recovered from the civil war that occurred following Gaddafi’s death. The NATO-led invasion of Libya in 2011 did not result in any significant change in the status of the troubled country, although officials maintain that the years since the fall of Gaddafi and the Libyan Revolution is still transitioning to a peaceful country.
