Libyan War Research Articles

Surgical Repair of Sciatic Nerve and its Branch Injuries in Libyan War Casualties

Surgical Repair of Sciatic Nerve and its Branch Injuries in Libyan War Casualties

Crowdsourcing as an Element of Strategic-Operational Intelligence. How NATO Used it and Changed the Game

The article focuses on the concept of crowdsourcing in the social networking environment as a new phenomenon involving civilians in the intelligence process, enabling the use of their intelligence potential during armed conflict. Crowdsourcing of the civilian population is introduced by the example of NATO intervention during the first civil war in Libya. The article presents its use during the intelligence process at the strategic-operational level of command and control of the armed forces. It establishes its possible definition as a collection method of the intelligence process, and as a collection method which is disjunctively separable from similar intelligence collection methods.

The cycle of migrants’ containment between Libya and Africa: navigating their life among dreams, resilience, and defeats

ABSTRACT During the last two decades, cooperation between Italy, the EU and Libya on migration management has been intended to establish a “cycle of containment” aimed at the externalisation and securitisation of the southern European border on Libyan soil. The escalation of the civil war in Libya since 2014 was one of the main reasons for the European attempt to replicate the international policies of containment southwards in Africa and to address them towards countries that were reputed as major producers of migrants, as in the case of the Horn of Africa. By comparing and discussing migrants’ life-stories collected in Tripolitania and Southern Tunisia, this study deconstructs some recurrent representations of migratory dynamics that are usually taken for granted in order to legitimate international policies of containment, and reveals the not-pre-made character of migrants’ journeys, their solidarity strategies, and the networks of (im)mobility mobilised to deal with the traps of containment. The international policies of containment and human mobility are two sides of the same reality that must be (re)connected to the wider regional or country context where this nexus is taking shape. This represents an analytical imperative and a methodological intersection between migration studies and African studies.

ЕКСТЕРНАЛІЗАЦІЯ КОРДОНУ ЄС: КООПЕРАЦІЯ ІТАЛІЇ ТА ЛІВІЇ У СФЕРІ МІГРАЦІЇ (2000 – 2010ті)

The article examines the policy of the EU border externalization, i.e. transfer of border control and responsibility for migration processes to third countries, namely the Italo-Libyan cooperation in the field of migration is examined in detail. Investigation of agreements and arrangements between the governments of the two countries in 2000–2010s was made. The terms of the agreements and methods of their implementation, the historical and political context in which these decisions were made are considered in detail. The author tries to find out whether Italy achieved the goals set by these agreements and whether the Italian government acted in accordance with European norms. Particular attention is paid to the legal aspects and principles on which the treaties between Italy and Libya are based. Attention is focused on the declared need for respect for human rights, and the lack of fulfillment of these obligations in practice. The article examines in detail the dynamics of relations between the two countries in the 2000s and their change after the outbreak of war in Libya, and the beginning of the active phase of the migration crisis in Europe. The article reveals important aspects of cooperation between these two countries, and the impact of this cooperation on migrants. The author also refers to relevant cases of the European Court of Human Rights considering claims for the forced expulsion of migrants to Libya based on bilateral agreements. Contradictions between the strategies of the EU and Italy regarding the migration crisis are also considered, the author draws attention to the lack of solidarity between EU member states, which forces states located on the external borders of the EU to cooperate with third countries in exchange for political and economic concessions. It is argued that the phenomenon of externalization of borders is complex and multidimensional, and decisions on migration regulation that include third countries require more comprehensive approaches, taking into account compliance with international obligations to protect human rights, which cannot be sacrificed solely on the basis of political necessity.

Significance of the Fezzan Region in French Policy in Libya and the Sahel

For a hundred years, since the French colonization of Chad and Niger, the Libyan region of Fezzan has played a significant role in the French strategy in Africa. The determining factor in the importance of the region for the policy of Paris was played by the transnational processes of the Fezzan border. The ethnic proximity of Fezzan and the northern regions of the Sahelian countries catalyzed the Franco-Libyan clashes in Chad in the 1900s, when the colonialists faced the resistance of the Senussi order, which was suppressed only with the beginning of the Italian conquest of Libya. The desire of Paris to establish control over the region to ensure the security of its possessions in the Sahel and their connection with the Algerian departments formed the basis of its policy in the middle of the 20th century. The significant influence of the region on the Sahel after decolonization prevailed, most clearly manifested in the 1970s and 1980s, when the Libyan Arab Republic tried to use ethnic contradictions in Chad to establish its hegemony in the north of the country, which, in turn, led to a conflict with Paris, in which the Fifth Republic, thanks to skillful work with the tribes of the Libyan-Chadian borderlands. After the outbreak of the civil war in Libya in 2011, Fezzan regained its importance for French politics due to the emergence in the region of terrorist structures associated with transnational Sahelian crime, the Chadian opposition and the forces of other great powers. The article examines the patterns of the French strategy towards Fezzan, in particular the French security policy in the Fezzan borderlands. The study of the historical retrospective of French politics allows us to more thoroughly determine the motives and intentions of the strategy of the Fifth Republic in southwestern Libya at the present stage.

Behavior of RC Buildings under Blast Loading: Case Study

In recent years, civil wars and terror activities have caused blast-loading effects on reinforced concrete buildings, resulting in catastrophic human and material damage. When a building is exposed to a blast load, a very high air pressure affects the building within a very short duration. To decide on the reconstruction or retrofit of a building exposed to blast loading, the behavior of the building under blast loading should be investigated. In this paper a case study of a RC building exposed to blast loading during the Libyan war in the last years was investigated. Nonlinear analysis results indicate that the failure mode is localized and that most structural elements remain elastic after explosions. The paper presents, building description details, material tests, finite element model and nonlinear analysis results.

Sultanism and Civil War in Libya

AbstractThe 2011 Libyan uprising transformed into a civil war in a matter of days—and it has lasted more than a decade. What made this uprising different from others? This article argues that the type of system determined the outcome of the revolt. It posits a relationship between Muammar Qadhafi's sultanistic regime and the fragile political institutions that have allowed the chaos and rivalry to persist without resolution. To demonstrate this, Libyan citizens were surveyed about their perceptions of how Qadhafi shaped the political order responsible for today's institutional vacuum. While the revolution revealed the Qadhafi regime's lack of popular and foreign support, as well as the inadequacies of state institutions, it could not use institutional channels to mobilize the public and organize authority, as in Tunisia and Egypt. The civil war, coupled with the interventions of regional and international powers in support of local actors and militias, has made the Libyan case different. The article also explains how the passive stances of the League of Arab States and the United Nations paved the way for external rivalries.

Autonomous drone warfare

Recently, a military robot has autonomously taken the decision to attack enemy troops in the Libyan war without waiting for any human intervention. Russia is also suspected of using such kind of robots in the current war against Ukraine. This news has highlighted the possibility of radical changes in war scenarios. Using a Catholic perspective, we will analyze these new challenges, indicating the anthropological and ethical bases that must lead to the prohibition of autonomous “killer robots” and, more generally, to the overcoming of the just war theory. We will also point out the importance of Francis of Assisi, whom the encyclical Fratelli tutti has proposed again as a model for advancing towards a fraternal and pacified humanity.

Autonomous drone warfare

Recently, a military robot has autonomously taken the decision to attack enemy troops in the Libyan war without waiting for any human intervention. Russia is also suspected of using such kind of robots in the current war against Ukraine. This news has highlighted the possibility of radical changes in war scenarios. Using a Catholic perspective, we will analyze these new challenges, indicating the anthropological and ethical bases that must lead to the prohibition of autonomous “killer robots” and, more generally, to the overcoming of the just war theory. We will also point out the importance of Francis of Assisi, whom the encyclical Fratelli tutti has proposed again as a model for advancing towards a fraternal and pacified humanity.

The Threat of North African Foreign Fighter Returnees: Myths and Realities

North Africa is often perceived to be vulnerable to threats from returning jihadist fighters coming home from campaigns in Syria and Iraq, especially in the aftermath of the Islamic State organization's 2019 collapse. This article, however, argues that the danger posed to the Maghrib by foreign fighter returnees is less acute than predicted. The reasons for this diminished threat include the civil war in Libya, disaffection due to intra-jihadist infighting, and North African states' programs offering rehabilitative pathways to former radicals in exchange for cooperation.

The Libyan War and Student Pan-Islamism: The Edinburgh Declaration of 1911

The Libyan War and Student Pan-Islamism: The Edinburgh Declaration of 1911

Impact of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health among the Libyan population.

BackgroundThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may have a potentially serious effect on mental health and increase the risk of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorders in people. In this study, we aimed to determine the prevalence of psychological illness and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Libyan population’s mental health.MethodA cross-sectional survey, conducted in both online and paper modes and consisting of five sections, was completed in more than 30 cities and towns across Libya. The first section consisted of questions on basic demographic characteristics. The second section contained a survey related to the lockdown status, activities, related stress levels, and quarantine. The third section comprised the self-administered 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). The fourth section contained the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), and the fifth section contained the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R).ResultOf the 31,557 respondents, 4,280 (13.6%) reported severe depressive symptoms, with a mean [standard deviation (SD)] PHQ-9 score of 8.32 (5.44); 1,767 (5.6%) reported severe anxiety symptoms, with a mean (SD) GAD-7 score of 6 (4.6); and 6,245 (19.8%) of the respondents reported post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with a mean (SD) score of 15.3 (18.85). In multivariate analysis, young age, being female, unmarried, educated, or victims of domestic violence or abuse, work suspension during the pandemic, and having increased workload, financial issues, suicidal thoughts, or a family member with or hospitalized due to COVID-19 were significantly associated with a high likelihood of depressive and anxiety symptoms, as well as PTSD. Internal displacement due to civil war was also associated with PTSD.ConclusionTo our knowledge, this is the first study to analyze the psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and civil war in Libya. Further study on the development of strategies and interventions aimed at reducing the mental disease burden on the Libyan population is warranted.

Truly a Proxy War? Militias, Institutions and External Actors in Libya between Limited Statehood and Rentier State

ABSTRACT Analyses of the Libyan conflict from the 2011 revolt onward have tended to define it as a ‘proxy war’, especially because of the relevant role played by foreign actors and their intermingling with various local factions. However, this definition does not stand up to closer examination and definitely does not fit with the specifics of the Libyan case. Through a combined analysis of the three theoretical concepts of ‘areas of limited statehood’ (ALS), ‘rentier state’ and ‘proxy war’, after an examination of the role played by militias, economic institutions and external actors in the conflict, it is argued that the classic concept of proxy war does not fully apply to the war in Libya.

LIBYA: ARMS PROLIFERATION AND ARMED GROUPS. THE LIBYAN CONFLICT REVISED

The study critically analyses the effects of the Libyan arms proliferation, with a focus on the Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) in the region. It traces the proliferation of arms occasioned by the Civil War in Libya and establishes an empirical link to some of the regional security challenges to the proliferation. Relevant theoretical perspectives, such as the Security Dilemma and the Security Complex Theory, are adopted to explain the resulting effects of the proliferation such as the increased deadly violence of the rebel forces in the region and the neighboring Middle East region. Innovative arms control has been presented as the opportunity for the region to address the security challenges which are quickly evolving into a proliferation of advanced sophisticated weapons, some of them in the rebel-controlled territories. The study concludes that the regional security challenges partly originate from the Libyan arms proliferation which have also worsened security challenges in different parts of the world. Keywords: Arms proliferation, Security Dilemma, Libya, Regional Security Complex, arms control, Disarmament, Demobilization and Re-integration.

Политические позиции ливийских племен в ходе гражданской войны (2019–2020 гг.)

In this article, the author analyzes one of the most difficult problems in the Arab region, the civil war in Libya after the overthrow of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The author focuses on the fresh round of the escalation of the conflict (2019–20) between the eastern and western centers of power. The paper presents the importance of the political positions of Libyan tribes in the course of hostilities and their impact on the internal situation. The key issue of the study considered in the article directly concerns the political positions of the main clans within Libya. The author explains why some of the clans decided to participate in the military campaign on the side of the Libyan National Army, while the other defended the Government of National Accord; there were also those who adopted the position of non-interference in national affairs, since they sought to maintain autonomy. The main purpose of this work is to demonstrate the specifics of the Libyan problem, which is not only the desire of Tripolitania, Cyrenaica and Fezzan for their autonomous existence but also the internal contradictions between different tribes. It remains one of the most important factors hindering the unification of the country. After analyzing the publications in the modern Arabic-language press, the author offered her vision of the reasons for the ongoing armed confrontation in Libya and also presented and analyzed the full range of political positions and the role of the main Libyan tribes during the civil conflict, especially its latest round, which gives an idea of the complexity of the internal situation in Libya. The conclusion indicates the main reasons why Libya as a country cannot currently be a single and whole entity. The problem lies mainly in the complex ethnic and tribal situation as well as in the desire of individual tribes for an autonomous existence.

Italy, the second Libyan war, and the Frontex Irini Operation

In 2011, Libya plunged into a civil war after the outbreak of the Arab Spring, a revolutionary movement characterized by massive civil protests which tried to build democratic societies in the Middle East and North Africa and put to an end the old repressive political regimes. After several months of civil war and bombings over Libya, longtime Muamar Ghaddafi’s dictatorial regime fell. Although the U.S. did not directly intervene in Libya, it supported the overthrow of Ghadafi through the intervention of NATO, providing aerial support and airstrikes for the opposition force (it also established a no-fly zone over Libya, authorized by the United Nations). In 2014, contested parliamentary elections led to the formation of two rival political power centers — one in the east, based in Tobruk and backed by military commander Khalifa Haftar, and another in the west of the country, an UN-supported administration in the capital of Tripoli. Each side was supported by a variety of militias and foreign powers, who competed for influence and oil resources, raising fears that oil-rich Libya could become the theater of a regional conflict. In April 2019, Haftar and his forces, backed by Russia (the Russian military contractors of the Wagner Group), Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates launched an offensive to capture the capital. His campaign collapsed after Turkey and Qatar offered their military support to the Tripoli government with hundreds of Turkish troops and thousands of Syrian mercenaries, belonging to the Free Syrian Army. The outbreak of violence in Libya in April 2019 severely affected the institutional reunification and stability of the country. Warning that the situation in Libya could become "a second Syria", with a new large wave of refugees directed towards the EU, Germany offered to call a peace conference for the conflicting sides, held on 19th January 2020 under the auspices of the United Nations. The aim was to stop the military support for the civil war parties and uphold an existing UN arms embargo, re-launching the peace process for a political settlement, after nine months of fighting over the capital. Operation EUNAVFOR MED IRINI was launched by the European Union on 31 March 2020, as part of the European Union's contribution to the Berlin conference. The core task of the Operation is the implementation of the UN arms embargo on Libya through aerial, satellite, and maritime assets, an embargo that had been decided in 2016 by the United Nations Security Council Resolution. This ongoing mission replaced the Sophia Operation, which had been in place for five years, combating the organized crime and trafficking of migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. In June 2016, the European Council decided to extend Sophia’s mandate until July 2017, adding two supporting tasks: training the Libyan coastguards and contributing to the implementation of the UN arms embargo on the high seas off the coast of Libya. This paper attempts to analyze the response of the European Union to the Libyan crisis by launching the Irini operation, a military-naval Joint force, setting out to secure the Berlin Conference’s commitments. Finally, we try to explain if Italy which seems to have preferred to stay on the sidelines, succeeded in reinserting itself into the Libyan equation, a significant diplomatic area for the Chigi Palace.

Peran dan Kepentingan North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Dalam Konflik Perang Sipil di Libya: Studi Kasus Periode Tahun 2011-2015

The wave of the Arab Spring in the East The Civil War in Libya that occurred in the Middle East in 2011 was felt in Libya. The conflict that started as a demonstration ended in a civil war between the government and the Libyan opposition. NATO's humanitarian intervention is the mandate of the United Nations in the civil war in Libya uses the Responsibility to Protect rule to prevent the conflict from spreading. The presence of NATO as an international community is not only due to concern for Libya but there is an interest of oil resources in Libya. During 2011-2015, NATO did not have a significant impact on the continuation of Libya after the civil war. The case problems that occurred were discussed using descriptive qualitative methods with a literature study using analysis of conflict resolution theory and the oil economy as the initial conflict trigger. The author finds that oil has the potential to make other countries involved in domestic conflicts. NATO needs to be a continuation of the oil supply in Libya. Regional and international actors determine Libya's complicated future with local factions who fighting for power.

Pierre Schill, Réveiller l'archive d'une guerre coloniale: Photographies et écrits de Gaston Chérau, correspondant de guerre lors du conflit italo-turc pour la Libye (1911–1912)

Reviewed by: Réveiller l'archive d'une guerre coloniale: Photographies et écrits de Gaston Chérau, correspondant de guerre lors du conflit italoturc pour la Libye (1911–1912) by Pierre Schill Arthur Asseraf Pierre Schill. Réveiller l'archive d'une guerre coloniale: Photographies et écrits de Gaston Chérau, correspondant de guerre lors du conflit italoturc pour la Libye (1911–1912). Paris: Créaphis, 2018. 480 pp. €35. ISBN: 978-2354281410. In 2008, the historian Pierre Schill, whilst researching coalminers in Southern France, found an unusual archival box containing photographs of the Italian-Ottoman War in Libya. These photographs of colonial violence turned out to be the work of Gaston Chérau, a French reporter sent to Libya by the newspaper Le Matin. In Réveiller l'archive d'une guerre coloniale, Schill has reproduced this archive as well as brought together a variety of approaches to understanding it in an original and complex collective project. The resulting book is both an in extenso publication of Chérau's work in 1911, both textual and visual, as well as an analysis of his activities from a variety of disciplinary and artistic perspectives. It is a beautiful object, highly attractive and graphically sophisticated, that has been produced by Créaphis Éditions. In 1911, as conflict exploded in Libya, Gaston Chérau was thirty-nine years old, and already a successful popular writer and novelist. Though he had a vague desire for adventure and to go to "Africa," Chérau did not travel to Tripoli out of any particular interest for Libyan affairs. Rather, what he sought was more recognition. At the time, war reporting (reportage de guerre) was emerging as a particularly prestigious form of literary writing. The commission by Le Matin, one of the most highly published newspapers not just in France but in the world at the time with 700,000 daily copies, seemed like an ideal way to achieve greater recognition. Tripoli at the time was full of foreign journalists, who were brought in and controlled by the Italian government. Chérau himself stopped in Rome on the way to Tripoli to meet Italian Prime Minister Giolitti to receive instructions, as Le Matin received subsidies from the Italian government in exchange for favorable coverage. Correspondents like Chérau were invited to be "embedded," as we would now say, within Italian regiments, and the information they reported was entirely controlled by the Italian army. However, on the ground, this control was not as effective as planned. By the time Chérau arrived, Italians encountered unexpected resistance at Shar [End Page 482] al-Shatt in October 1911 (spelt in Italian as Sciara-Sciat). Italian soldiers who had been taken prisoner were tortured and massacred. In retaliation, Italians executed men accused of leading this revolt in the streets of Tripoli. Chérau's photographs documented both the gruesome mutilation of Italian soldiers' bodies and the haunting sight of dangling rows of hanged Libyan bodies. The first section of the book reproduces these photographs of astounding violence, along with an essay by Schill contextualizing them. This includes some interesting details on the technicalities of photographic journalism at the time. For instance, as only text could be sent on telegraphic cables, images would be printed with several days or weeks' delay compared to articles. The second section moves to text to deal with Chérau's articles sent back to Le Matin, here again with a contextualization by Schill. This is then followed by Chérau's correspondence, which allow for an interesting comparison among which of his impressions made it into published form, and which remained confined to the private sphere. Finally, a later, literary text from Chérau from 1926, "Sur le trésor des caravans" (on the treasure of caravans) is reproduced, showing a retrospective memorialization of this North African adventure, and the emerging genre of the war reporter's memoir. The second, shorter section of the book deals with a number of multidisciplinary perspectives on this archive. Schill worked alongside artists to produce an exhibition, À fendre le coeur le plus dur (Enough to break the toughest heart), which was presented in several locations in 2015 and 2016...

U.S Democracy Campaign during The Civil War in Libya

The NATO intervention in Libya was one of the most contentious conflict in 2011. The permission given by the UNSC for NATO to intervene in Libya led to a debate that said intervention carried out in Libya was not based on the humanitarian objectives but for US national interest. This situation is strengthened by several NATO activities that show their involvement is for the US interest. Some of the US interest are protecting their territorial sovereignty from terrorism, oil interest and democracy campaign or ideology. Ideology is counted as their long-range or important interest. Previous studies have explained the other US interest in Libya such as the oil interest and terrorism. However, there are not many studies that precisely portray the importance of liberalism in this operation. Therefore, this research is questioning on the importance of democracy campaign during operation by NATO for the US. The main argument in this study is that US did not only launch the operation for humanitarian reason but for its own interest and that democracy liberal ideology interest hold the same importance as the other interest of US.

MILITARY POWER OF THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY IN REGIONAL PROJECTIONS OF TRANSBORDER MILITARY OPERATIONS

The article examines the modern military power of the Turkish Republic and its role in ensuring national security and advancing Turkey on the path of regional leadership. An analysis of Turkey’s geopolitical and strategic military position in the Middle East, as well as the geopolitical and strategic military views of the Turkish leadership, is presented. The article examines the potential of the sides and possible scenarios in the event of a hypothetical military conflict between Turkey and Iran, Egypt and Israel. The goals and methods of military operations conducted by the Turkish armed forces in Syria and Northern Iraq, Turkey’s participation in the civil war in Libya and its assistance to Azerbaijan in the war to liberate Nagorno-Karabakh are analyzed. The article concludes that Turkey’s modern armed forces, despite certain difficulties in development, are the most combat-ready in the NATO bloc and in the Middle East region and provide the Turkish leadership with a solution to all military and political problems.