Libya
Bombing of Turkey’s Watiya base escalates Franco-Italian proxy war in Libya
By Alex Lantier, 8 July 2020
The decade-long civil war between rival imperialist-backed warlords triggered by the 2011 NATO war in Libya is spiraling out of control.
France backs Egypt’s threat to intervene against Turkey in Libyan war
By Alex Lantier, 24 June 2020
Even as COVID-19 threatens millions in Africa, the NATO powers risk escalating their nine-year carve-up of Libya into a major regional or even global conflict.
Libyan civil war intensifies amid growing international negotiations
By Hasan Yıldırım, 12 June 2020
The domestic and international parties of the civil war in Libya have recently intensified talks as Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj’s UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli advanced on the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar.
Civilian casualties mount as foreign powers continue to fuel Libya’s civil war
By Alberto Escalera, 20 May 2020
Libya’s civil war is fueled by a complex interplay between the competing interests of international energy monopolies and local power struggles to control oil and gas revenues.
COVID-19 pandemic threatens millions in war-torn Libya and Syria
By Kumaran Ira, 7 April 2020
Imperialist wars and proxy conflicts costing hundreds of thousands of lives have destroyed infrastructure critical to fight the spread of coronavirus.
Africa’s confirmed cases rise to 7,600, as 314 die from the coronavirus
By Stephan McCoy, 4 April 2020
The response of African governments has been to ramp up the powers of the state and impose brutal lockdowns with virtually no mass testing, contact tracing or isolation taking place.
EU agrees to new military mission against Libya
By Peter Schwarz, 21 February 2020
The foreign ministers of all 27 EU countries agreed on a new military mission in Libya on Monday.
Germany: Left Party supports Libya conference and possible military deployment
By Johannes Stern, 24 January 2020
Although the conference was a meeting of imperialist brigands who discussed the military occupation of the resource-rich country and the redivision of the entire continent under the guise of peace, it was acclaimed by the Left Party.
Berlin conference prepares military occupation of Libya
By Peter Schwarz, 21 January 2020
The Libya conference, which took place last Sunday in Berlin, was not about peace in the war-torn country, but about the distribution of the loot.
The Libya conference and the new scramble for Africa
By Johannes Stern, 18 January 2020
The Berlin meeting is reminiscent of the infamous Congo Conference, also held in Berlin in 1884-85 and aimed at the complete colonization of Africa.
Wider war over Libya looms as France, Egypt denounce Turkish intervention
By Alex Lantier, 3 January 2020
Less than a decade after the 2011 NATO intervention in Libya, the resulting civil war in that country threatens to escalate into an all-out regional conflict involving the major powers.
Erdogan vows to send Turkish troops into Libya
By Bill Van Auken, 27 December 2019
The Turkish deployment in Libya will escalate increasing tensions involving Washington, Moscow and NATO.
Turkey’s Erdoğan threatens to send troops into Libya
By Bill Van Auken, 12 December 2019
With Ankara and Moscow backing rival regimes in the ravaged country, any escalation threatens to spill over into a far wider and more dangerous war.
French-backed Libyan militia airstrike kills 42 civilians
By Alex Lantier, 7 August 2019
The bombing in the city of Murzuq was carried out by Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army, which relies on support from Paris and Washington as well as Egypt.
The mass drownings off Libya and the fight to defend refugees
By Alex Lantier, 27 July 2019
The ongoing wave of atrocities against refugees demonstrates that it is impossible to defend immigrants without a mass, international movement against capitalism.
Bombing of detention center in Libya kills at least 44 refugees
By Bill Van Auken, 4 July 2019
The tragedy is the product of the 2011 US-backed war for regime change which has plunged Libya into nearly a decade of civil war and the EU’s war on refugees.
France illegally arming Libyan coastguards to stop refugees from Africa
By Anthony Torres and Alex Lantier, 1 June 2019
The policy has been condemned by multiple human rights organizations because of the prevalence of torture, rape, slavery and murder in the camps.
Libya’s descent into civil war: The bitter fruit of the pseudo-left's pro-imperialism
By Bill Van Auken, 10 April 2019
The escalating civil war in Libya has served as one more demonstration of the criminal role played by the pseudo-left proponents of “humanitarian” imperialist intervention.
Libya on the brink of all-out civil war
By Bill Van Auken, 9 April 2019
Eight years after the US and NATO launched a war for regime-change under humanitarian pretenses, conditions for the masses in Libya remain catastrophic.
French-Italian proxy war in Libya
By Marianne Arens, 26 February 2019
There are concrete material interests behind the sharp tensions between France and Italy, which in February led to France recalling its ambassador in Rome.
Civil war clashes erupt in Libya
By Marianne Arens, 10 September 2018
A fragile truce prevails in the Libyan capital of Tripoli following fierce fighting last week. The city’s Mitiga airport remains closed and fighting is continuing in the south of the city.
Right-wing smears against refugee aid workers in the Mediterranean
By Marianne Arens, 22 June 2018
The closure of Italian ports to civilian rescue ships goes hand in hand with the lies and slanders made against NGO rescue ships.
Libyan militias shoot 15 dead after mass escape from migrant torture camp
By Marianne Arens, 4 June 2018
The business of kidnapping and ransom payments is booming in Libya, with dozens of camps in which refugees from across Africa and the Middle East are confined, tortured, sold or murdered.
US carries out first drone strike in southern Libya
By Eddie Haywood, 28 March 2018
AFRICOM has been preparing for a massive escalation of armed drone flights conducted across the African continent from its recently constructed base in neighboring Niger.
Amnesty International report exposes EU role in mass torture of refugees in Libya
By Alex Lantier, 13 December 2017
The EU is helping build and equip a vast network of prison camps in which refugees are arbitrarily detained, beaten, tortured, sold into slavery and murdered.
Paris: Protests erupt against slavery in Libya
By Kumaran Ira, 23 November 2017
The auctioning of refugees as slaves, filmed by CNN, exposes the criminality of the imperialist war in Libya waged by NATO with the support of the international pseudo-left in 2011.
France intensifies intervention in West Africa with launch of Sahel G5 force
By Kumaran Ira, 18 November 2017
The spreading war in the Sahel, which flows from the 2011 NATO war in Libya, threatens to plunge the entire region into a broader war and humanitarian crisis.
The Canadian NDP and the Libyan war: Niki Ashton is a liar
By Roger Jordan, 29 August 2017
Ashton claims she cannot remember how she voted in 2011 when Canada’s social democrats twice endorsed the NATO bombardment of Libya.
Refugees: EU strikes deadly deal with Libyan coast guard on refugees
By Marianne Arens, 19 August 2017
Returned to Libya, impoverished immigrants face execution, torture, rape, blackmail and abandonment in the middle of the desert.
Rome sends warships into Libyan waters to block refugees
By Alex Lantier, 5 August 2017
This mission points to the rising danger of a new imperialist intervention in Libya carried out by competing European powers.
999 6,000 refugees rescued
22 March 2017
Imperialist wars and interventions fuel refugee crisis in Africa
By Thomas Gaist, 9 March 2017
Wars waged or organized by the American government in numerous African countries, including Libya, Somalia, South Sudan, Nigeria, and Mali, have turned millions into refugees.
Libyan Red Crescent recovers bodies of 74 refugees
By our reporter, 23 February 2017
The bodies were recovered after washing ashore near the northwestern coastal city of Zawiya.
In final acts of bloodletting, Obama orders bombings in Libya, Syria
By Bill Van Auken, 21 January 2017
The renewal of the US air war in Libya came amid signs that Russia is exercising increasing influence in the country.
Joint Russian, Turkish bombing campaign in Syria deepens NATO crisis
By Bill Van Auken, 20 January 2017
The joint Russian-Turkish action came on the eve of the inauguration of Donald Trump, who is reportedly preparing a major escalation of US intervention in the region.
045 100 drown off Libya coast
18 November 2016
France’s New Anti-Capitalist Party covers up its support for Libya war
By Kumaran Ira, 10 November 2016
As the Libyan catastrophe produced by the 2011 NATO war exposes the NPA’s bankruptcy, it is trying to bury its own record of supporting imperialist war.
UK parliamentary report criticises Libya war but conceals its geo-strategic aims
By Jean Shaoul, 21 September 2016
The Foreign Affairs Committee describes Libya’s political and economic collapse and the growth of the Islamic State group in North Africa.
Libyan dissidents seek judicial review over MI6 rendition and torture
By Jean Shaoul, 16 September 2016
The determination to keep secret the foul operations of its spy agencies and Special Forces reflects the British establishment’s involvement at the highest levels.
Italian soldiers fighting in Libya
By Marianne Arens, 31 August 2016
Basing itself on a new “anti-terror” law, the Renzi government is deploying Italian soldiers in Libya without the consent of parliament.
Libya’s Tobruk parliament refuses to recognize Western-backed government
By Marianne Arens, 30 August 2016
The decision means that the bombing raids conducted by the US in Sirte, which began this month, violate international law.
US Special Forces coordinating operations in Libya
By Thomas Gaist, 13 August 2016
US ground troops were involved in fighting in Libya this week in operations that include supporting local militias and coordinating air attacks from a secret base just outside of Sirte.
More airstrikes in new US war in Libya
By Peter Symonds, 3 August 2016
While nominally directed against ISIS, the fresh eruption of American militarism is more broadly aimed at stamping US dominance throughout the region.
After Democrats’ celebration of militarism, US warplanes bomb Libya
By Bill Van Auken, 2 August 2016
The bombing of the Libyan coastal city of Sirte was ordered amid an explosive escalation of American militarism.
Three French soldiers killed during secret military operations in Libya
By Anthony Torres, 27 July 2016
The incident underscores the illegal character of the ongoing military operations in Libya, which are being carried out behind the backs of the French people.
US Congressional report on Benghazi leaves roots of attack in the dark
By Bill Van Auken, 29 June 2016
The partisan Republican probe produced no new evidence indicting its principal target, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
UN Security Council agrees to military intervention off Libyan coast
By Marianne Arens, 20 June 2016
Within the framework of the EU’s Operation Sophia, Germany is expanding its naval presence off the Libyan coast and leading the preparations for a military intervention.
More than 2,500 refugees drowned in Mediterranean so far this year
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 2 June 2016
The number of refugee deaths over the first five months of this year, up 35 percent from 2015, has hit a new record.
Who is responsible for the massacre in the Mediterranean?
By Bill Van Auken, 31 May 2016
With estimates of up to 900 refugees drowning, the past week has been the deadliest so far this year.
US prepares troop deployment to Libya amid fight for oil fields
By Bill Van Auken, 21 May 2016
The Pentagon’s top general said troops could be sent “any day” once there was a formal request from the Western-backed regime in Tripoli.
US Special Forces have been operating secretly in Libya for months
By Thomas Gaist, 14 May 2016
American commando teams are waging and preparing for war across ever-growing stretches of Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
European powers on verge of new military intervention in Libya
By Johannes Stern, 21 April 2016
The European powers are exploiting the mass drownings in the Mediterranean to expand their military operations in the region.
Hundreds feared dead as another refugee boat sinks in Mediterranean
By Peter Schwarz, 19 April 2016
According to reports, hundreds more refugees drowned in the Mediterranean Sea on the first anniversary of the worst refugee boat disaster to date.
Western powers press ahead with plans for new war in Libya
By Marianne Arens, 9 April 2016
Italy, the EU and the US are preparing their next military intervention in Libya.
US, NATO preparing new air and ground attacks against Libya
By Thomas Gaist, 5 April 2016
Barely five years after destroying Libya as a functioning society, the imperialist powers are preparing a new bombing campaign and ground invasion.
Die Zeit campaigns for military intervention in Libya
By Johannes Stern, 14 March 2016
In its latest lead article, Die Zeit calls for the West to intervene militarily in Libya under the guise of the fight against ISIS.
Western powers prepare military operations in Libya
By Niles Williamson, 9 March 2016
Plans for a renewed imperialist intervention in Libya have reached an advanced stage following the deployment of US and European special forces to the country in recent weeks.
The Hillary Clinton emails: A record of imperialist crimes
By Tom Hall, 7 March 2016
In its extensive reporting of the email scandal, the American media has virtually ignored the actual content of these emails, which contain a wealth of information about the day-to-day functioning of the Clinton State Department.
New York Times on Clinton and Libya: Portrait of a war criminal
By Bill Van Auken, 1 March 2016
The Times piece details the leading role played by Clinton in fomenting a war of aggression that killed tens if not hundreds of thousands.
US launches airstrikes against Libya
By Bill Van Auken, 20 February 2016
Five years after toppling Libya’s government, Washington and its allies are embarking on a new military campaign under the banner of the war on terror.
Western powers move closer to new military intervention in Libya
By Marianne Arens, 19 February 2016
The main task of the national unity government in Libya will be to give the green light to a new military intervention in the oil rich North African country.
Syrian war negotiations collapse after two days
By Thomas Gaist, 4 February 2016
The talks have been postponed for at least three weeks amid an upsurge of fighting between US and Russian-backed forces.
Pentagon prepares another war in Libya
By Bill Van Auken, 29 January 2016
Having first devastated Libya in the name of “human rights,” Washington is now about to attack it again on the pretext of fighting terrorism.
US, European powers prepare new air and ground operations against Libya
By Thomas Gaist, 21 December 2015
Led by the US, Britain and France, the Western powers are preparing a new military onslaught on Libya, including the deployment of commando teams, hundreds of conventional ground troops and yet another bombing campaign.
Government attempts to avoid court hearing into UK complicity in rendition
By Mark Blackwood, 1 December 2015
The act of one nation abducting the citizens of another is recognised by the United Nations as a crime against humanity.
Clinton testifies before House Benghazi committee
By Patrick Martin, 23 October 2015
The televised circus in Washington covered up the real issue: the alliance of the US government with Al Qaeda forces in regime-change operations in both Libya and Syria.
Bodies of at least 95 refugees found on Libyan shores
By Oscar Grenfell, 5 October 2015
The latest tragedy marks a continuation of the humanitarian crisis caused by imperialist wars in North Africa and the Middle-East, and the repression of asylum-seekers.
Refugee crisis reveals human cost of French NPA’s “humanitarian” wars
By Anthony Torres, 16 September 2015
Imperialist wars in Libya and Syria, promoted by the New Anti-capitalist Party, have destroyed entire societies and forced millions of people to flee
Imperialist powers prepare another military intervention in Libya
By Jean Shaoul, 5 August 2015
Troops from five European nations will work with US forces, the EU and the UN in an operation expected to number several thousand.
Libyan kangaroo court sentences Gaddafi’s son and others to die
By Bill Van Auken, 29 July 2015
Eight former Gaddafi government officials were condemned to life in prison in the mass show trial, while seven were sentenced to 12-year prison terms.
UK Conservatives plan war and domestic repression
By Chris Marsden, 29 July 2015
The Tories are fashioning an increasingly aggressive military policy and undertaking measures that represent a grave threat to democratic rights.
US war planes bomb alleged militants in Libya, killing dozens
By Thomas Gaist, 16 June 2015
The bombing is the latest in a series of illegal targeted assassinations and kidnappings carried out by US forces in Libya.
Sidney Blumenthal, Clinton, Inc. and the rape of Libya
By Bill Van Auken, 21 May 2015
Revealed in the Blumenthal-Clinton memos is the real nature of the American government: a criminal conspiracy to enrich a ruling oligarchy through war and reaction.
Blood on their hands: Libya’s boat refugees and “humanitarian” imperialism
By Johannes Stern and Bill Van Auken, 21 April 2015
The massive refugee death toll in the Mediterranean is a grim form of collateral damage from the imperialist wars waged in the name of “human rights.”
Italy threatens military intervention in Libya
By Marianne Arens, 3 March 2015
The threat of military intervention in Libya is driven by Italian oil and business interests and the need to divert attention from growing domestic tensions.
US imperialism and the catastrophe in Libya
By Joseph Kishore, 17 February 2015
The disaster in Libya and throughout the Middle East and North Africa arises from the criminal operations of the United States and the other imperialist powers.
UK: Blair government colluded in extraordinary rendition of Libyans
By Jean Shaoul, 2 February 2015
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair wrote to then-Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi that he was “disappointed” that Britain was unable to send more regime opponents back to Libya.
France preparing military strikes against southern Libya
By Thomas Gaist, 10 January 2015
Operation Serval has proven to be the spearhead for the establishment of a permanent French military occupation of the Sahel.
NATO’s Libyan puppet regime bombs Misrata amid escalating civil war
By Kumaran Ira, 30 December 2014
Libya is ravaged by a civil war between NATO’s proxy regime and Islamist militias, with the imperialist powers threatening to intervene militarily.
Last British combat troops leave Camp Bastion in Afghanistan
By Harvey Thompson, 3 November 2014
The withdrawal of hundreds of British soldiers was carried out in almost complete secrecy, amid serious security concerns.
Libya disintegrates as rival governments vie for control
By Jean Shaoul, 2 October 2014
Libya’s government is now based in the city of Tobruk in the far eastern part of Libya, isolated and exercising little control over the country.
Mediterranean shipwrecks leave over 700 refugees dead, many fleeing Mideast wars
By Bill Van Auken, 16 September 2014
Underlying the desperate attempts of refugees to reach Europe is the chaos that multiple imperialist interventions have inflicted upon the Middle East and Africa.
French government threatens another war against Libya
By Stéphane Hugues, 15 September 2014
Paris is calling for a new intervention in Libya, supposedly to fight the Islamist forces it armed during the 2011 NATO war.
Egypt, UAE conducted joint air strikes in Libya
By Patrick Martin, 27 August 2014
Armed conflicts now extend across North Africa and the Middle East in a continuous band from Tripoli to Baghdad.
The Libyan catastrophe
By Alex Lantier, 29 July 2014
The catastrophe in Libya is an indictment not only of the imperialist powers, but also of pro-imperialist academics and pseudo-left parties they mobilized to support the war.
US evacuates Libyan embassy
By Patrick Martin, 28 July 2014
The abandonment of its embassy in Tripoli is the latest debacle for US imperialism in the Middle East and North Africa.
Civil war surges in Libya after legislative elections
By Jean Shaoul, 16 July 2014
Libya's main cities have become war zones, with various Islamist-led militias battling for control of the country's oil wealth.
More questions than answers after US commandos seize Benghazi attack suspect
By Patrick Martin, 19 June 2014
Ahmed Abu Khattala has been living openly in his home district in Benghazi for the past two years, while denying any role in the attack on the US mission in which four died.
Fighting between militias intensifies in Libya
By Jean Shaoul, 5 June 2014
There is the very real possibility of a military coup and civil war in a country already devastated by the NATO-led war to overthrow Col. Muammar Gaddafi followed by three years of infighting among rival militias.
US sends assault ship with 1,000 Marines to Libyan coast
By Barry Grey, 31 May 2014
Washington is deeply involved in the civil strife wracking Libya, backing a rebel general and long-time CIA asset who is seeking to carry out a coup.
US deploys Special Forces to train military units in North and West Africa
By Eric London, 28 May 2014
US Special Forces are training and arming military units in Libya, Niger, Mauritania and Mali as part of an expanded intervention in Africa.
Libya plunging towards civil war
By Jean Shaoul, 27 May 2014
The coup bid by retired general Khalifa Hifter’s Libyan National Army killed at least 79 and wounded more than 140 in attacks in the eastern port city of Benghazi and the capital Tripoli.
CIA-linked general launches Libya coup bid
By Bill Van Auken, 20 May 2014
General Khalifa Haftar launched his armed actions as the Pentagon positioned a US Marine task force for a possible intervention.
The Benghazi diversion
By Patrick Martin, 14 May 2014
The House Republicans have voted for a select committee to investigate the attack on US diplomatic and intelligence facilities in the Libyan city.
Libya: Ex-US base now headquarters of Al Qaeda-linked forces
By Gabriel Black, 1 May 2014
A training site operated by US Special Forces for Libyan militias is now controlled by an Al Qaeda affiliate that sends Islamist fighters to Syria.
Libyan kangaroo court trials begin against Gaddafi’s sons
By Jean Shaoul, 18 April 2014
The mass trial that began Monday in Tripoli, involving 38 people, including two of deposed Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s sons, exposes the criminality of the Western powers.
US Navy SEALs seize tanker carrying Libyan oil
By Jean Shaoul, 20 March 2014
Libya represents yet another catastrophe created by US imperialism in the Middle East and North Africa.
Libyan military commander calls for Egyptian-style military junta
By Jean Shaoul, 22 February 2014
The General National Congress is little more than a consortium of Islamist forces, ex-Gaddafi regime elements, and criminal gangs.
New York Times report:
CIA-backed militias linked to Benghazi, Libya attack
By Patrick Martin, 30 December 2013
The Times report confirms that the Benghazi attack was blowback from the CIA’s use of Islamic terrorist groups to attack the Gaddafi regime in Libya.
Two years since the end of the US-NATO war in Libya
By Bill Van Auken, 31 October 2013
Washington will largely ignore the anniversary of this criminal war of aggression, which was waged on the false pretense of humanitarian intervention.
Follow the WSWS