The launch of a civil protest and disobedience movement by the opposition groups against Gaddafi in 2011 turned into a civil war resulting in the removal and death of Muammar Gaddafi. In 2014 two rival governments appeared on the political horizon of Libya after capital Tripoli was captured by the Islamist militias. The house of representatives having their seat in East and UN-backed Government of National Accord in the West. The house of representatives was supported by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar who had the full backing of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Ultimately with the support of these two major players, the Haftar-aligned Libyan National Army took control of almost the entire country except that of the capital Tripoli whereas the UN-backed GNA was entrenched.


The bloody conflict continued to linger on for quite some time as Islamists from the Libyan city of Misrata came forward in support of the Government of National Accord. It was expected that sooner or later Haftar-aligned militias will take over the country but was not the case. The stiff resistance by the forces loyal to GNA kept Haftar out of the capital. Then came shocking news for Haftar and that was the strategic defense partnership treaty between Turkey and the Government of National Accord. The Turkish airpower not only altered the balance of power in the skies but also on the land. With the support of Turkish drones, the GNA forces not only kept the attacking militias at bay but also made some substantial gains. First, they drove out LNA forces from some towns near the Tunisian border, and then they took over the all-important Al-Watiya airbase which was being used by the Haftar Militias to bombard installations of strategic importance including the Mitiga Airport of Tripoli.

Turkish President Erdogan

Now the question comes to mind as to why Turkey, Egypt, and UAE supporting opposing sides? Do they have anything to gain from this and what is that?

Financial Gains

The first and the most important reason is the future financial gains. The presence of huge natural resources including oil and gas in mainland Libya and in the Mediterranean Sea has attracted the attention of these powers. A huge quantity of these resources is unexplored. All of these regional powers want a share in these natural resources and are fighting each other to gain as much advantage as possible. Secondly, these powers are eyeing a major business opportunity during the reconstruction period.

Ideological Tilt

Both Egyptian and Emirates’ elite consider the Muslim Brotherhood-aligned Islamists a potent threat to their dictatorial governments and hence are pitted against them in their countries and across the region. On the other hand, the Turkish Justice and Development country under the leadership of Erdogan has ideological sympathy with the Islamists-leaning parties. This ideological difference between UAE, Egypt, and Turkey has resulted in the proxy battle between the two in Libya. UAE and Egypt are supporting the military strongman Khalifa Haftar whereas Turkey is supporting the Islamists-backed Government of National Accord.

Refugee Issue 

Turkey is facing a huge issue in the form of an influx of large numbers of refugees from Syria, Iraq, and now from Libya and also those who want to illegally move to Europe via sea route. Turkey wants to carve out a safe region for the people to stay in instead of moving to Europe via Turkey. Turkey has implemented this kind of model in Syria and has been more or less successful and wants to replicate it in Libya as well.

Conclusion

The Libyan civil war has remained limited to these countries only. France and Russia are supporting the Egyptian and Emirati-backed Khalifa Haftar whereas Qatar and Italy are supporting the Turkey-backed Government of National Accord. The United States of America has given mixed signals to both sides. Whatever may be the result of the Civil war but it is for sure that if this war continued for a longer period Libya will turn into another Syria.