Needstrat: Military intervention in Libya 3 years revisited

On 19 March 2011 the military intervention in Libya started as European and US air-forces and cruise missiles started bombing. Two days before the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1973 establishing a No-fly Zone to protect civilians. Now air-defences, command centres and a pro-Qaddafi force approaching the city of Benghazi was attacked. With this support, rebel forces in Libya retook the initiative they had lost over the past days. Western forces supported them by attacking Libya’s ground forces. Some countries said the UN mandate to protect civilians was overstepped, and NATO took command of the operations. Government forces held ground for months in spite of continued NATO air-attacks. But in August rebels took Tripoli and in October Qaddafi, who had been hiding was captured and killed.

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Eurofighter Typhoon of the Italian Air Force.

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French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.

A Transitional National Council had been formed by the some rebel groups and moved to Tripoli. But it struggled to gain recognition as it was dominated by people from eastern Libya and some had ties to Qaddafi. Militias from all over the country refused to deliver their weapons and submit to the new authority. A new struggle began and has continued until today. It takes time and great efforts to build functioning government institutions.

In light of the continued military offensive, also when civilians were not threatened, the real goal of the Western intervention seems to me to have been regime change. Western countries had improved the relations with Qaddafi since an agreement was made in 2004 in which Libya paid $ billions in compensation for bombings of the Pan Am-flight over Lockerbie, the UTA-flight in Niger, and Berlin-disco bombings. Libyan weapons of mass destruction were eliminated, and oil-companies made profitable investments. UK PM Tony Blair and Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi among others visited Qaddafi during the next few years, in spite of Amnesty International’s reports of human rights violations. With the unexpected Arab Spring Western powers took the opportunity to get rid of a regime they co-operated with but didn’t like. Russia, China and others interpret it as a precedent and have taken notice of this in their policies and voting in the UN Security Council to avoid another similar campaign.

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The no-fly zone over Libya as well as bases and warships which were involved in the intervention.

Background

The Arab Spring started in Tunisia in December 2010, and ended with the deposal of President Ben Ali on 14 January. In Libya protesters took to the streets in Benghazi on 15 February calling for the release of political prisoners and Qaddafi to step down. Security forces met them with water cannons and rubber bullets injuring many. But protests increased and now security forces and mercenaries used live ammunition. Tanks, artillery and the air force also attacked them. Foreign leaders and human rights organizations condemned the escalation of violence, and Libyan officials including ambassadors resigned in protest. Qaddafi gave a speech calling the protesters traitors, but military units shifted side and protesters got weapons from army depots. They conquered eastern Libya, including Benghazi and several cities in the west by February 23. The UN Security Council approved a resolution with sanctions, travel ban and arms embargo and referred the case to the International Criminal Court.

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Demonstrations in Bayda on 16 February 2011. A police car burns.

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Thousands of anti-Qaddafi protesters in Benghazi, February 2011.

Qaddafi offensiveForeigners were evacuated or fled as best they could, many of them migrant workers from Egypt and Tunisia. Shortages of goods and supplies worsened the situation. A Transitional National Council (TNC) was formed by rebel groups, but the regime held Tripoli and the conflict entered a stalemate. Then the government took the initiative and retook cities along the coast. With better equipment, training and organization they drove the rebels out of the oil-exporting town of Ras Lanuf in the Gulf of Sidra. Western governments grew increasingly worried and discussed to take diplomatic and military actions. The EU called for Qaddafi to step down and France recognized the TNC as Libya’s legitimate government. France and the UK wanted to establish a no-fly zone, but the US and Germany was against it. The African Union was against any military intervention. The Arab League on the other hand called for a no-fly zone. Then pro-Qaddafi forces took the last city before Benghazi on 15 February and closed in on Benghazi itself, Tobruk and Misratah.

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Held by anti-Gaddafi forces by 1 March.

Contested areas between March and August.

Rebel western coastal offensive in August.

Rebel gains by 1 October.

Last loyalist pockets.

UN Security Council acts

The UN Security Council voted 10-0 to authorize military intervention including a no-fly zone. Russia, China, Germany, India and Brazil abstained. The Libyan government declared a cease-fire, but fighting continued. Then on 19 March a coalition of Western powers struck Libyan forces, destroyed the air force by 23 February and continued to attack ground forces. But even then the rebels were to ill-equipped and lacked training and organization to defeat pro-Qaddafi forces. An African Union cease fire was rejected by rebels. The UK, France and Italy sent military advisors to break the stalemate, and the bombing, including of sites where Qaddafi and his inner circle stayed. His son Sayf al-Arab and three grandchildren were killed by NATO strikes. In August rebels entered Zawiyah with a large oil-refinery and the capital Tripoli. The TNC transferred to Tripoli and then on 20 October Qaddafi was captured and killed by rebels in his hometown Surt.