Italian-French competition over Libya pushing country toward more chaos
The French-Italian competition over dominance in Libya is not helping the country; rather, it is further pushing it toward disintegration.
The last election Libya had was on June 25, 2014, when Libyans cast their votes to elect their representatives in the new House of Representatives after the interim General National Congress’ mandate expired. The hope was that elections would bring about stability and put an end to the violence that has plagued the North African country since its longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi was toppled with NATO help in October 2011.
In the 2014 election, most Libyans were frustrated and increasingly suspicious of the entire political process; only 630,000 voters cast their votes — less than half of eligible registered voters. The elections did not deliver peace nor end the violence. On the contrary, troubles increased and another war emerged when a coalition of Islamists refused to accept the election outcome and decided to take control of the country by force. They launched a military offensive dubbed Operation Dawn of Libya, which began July 13, 2014, and ended in August 2014, by taking full control of the capital, Tripoli, after destroying its international airport and inflicting huge damage to civilian and government properties.
