From left to right: Armed pro-government supporters; Pro-government protesters gathered in Green Square, now known as Martyrs' Square; anti-Government protesters in Benghazi; Libyan rebels on a captured T-55 tank.
The Libyan civil war, also known as the First Libyan Civil War, was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were seeking to oust his government. The war was preceded by protests in Zawiya on 8 August 2009 and finally ignited by protests in Benghazi beginning on Tuesday 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security forces who fired on the crowd. The protests escalated into a rebellion that spread across the country, with the forces opposing Gaddafi establishing an interim governing body, the National Transitional Council.
The United Nations Security Council passed an initial resolution on 26 February, freezing the assets of Gaddafi and his inner circle and restricting their travel, and referred the matter to the International Criminal Court for investigation. In early March, Gaddafi's forces rallied, pushed eastwards and re-took several coastal cities before reaching Benghazi. A further UN resolution authorised member states to establish and enforce a no-fly zone over Libya, and to use "all necessary measures" to prevent attacks on civilians, which turned into a bombing campaign by the forces of NATO against Libyan military installations and vehicles. The Gaddafi government then announced a ceasefire, but fighting and bombing continued. Throughout the conflict, rebels rejected government offers of a ceasefire and efforts by the African Union to end the fighting because the plans set forth did not include the removal of Gaddafi. (Full article...)
Image 7Flag of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (lasting from 1977 to 2011), the national anthem of which was "الله أكبر" (English: Allahu Akbar=god (is) great) (from History of Libya)
Image 10The Arch of Septimius Severus at Leptis Magna. The patronage of Roman emperor Septimus Severus allowed the city to become one of the most prominent in Roman Africa. (from History of Libya)
Image 11Al Manar Royal Palace in central Benghazi – the location of the University of Libya's first campus, founded by royal decree in 1955 (from Libya)
Image 12Libya is the fourth-most water-stressed country in the world. (from Libya)
Image 13Ethnic composition of the Libyan population in 1974 (CIA map)
Image 17Ambassador Cretz Stands by Fist Crushing a US Fighter Plane Sculpture which was captured after the fall of Tripoli (from Libya)
Image 18A US Navy expedition under Commodore Edward Preble engaging gunboats and fortifications in Tripoli, 1804 (from Libya)
Image 19A proportional representation of Libya exports, 2019 (from Libya)
Image 20Australian infantry at Tobruk during World War II. Beginning on 10 April 1941, the Siege of Tobruk lasted for 240 days. (from History of Libya)
Image 38F-4J of VF-74 with Libyan MiG-23 over Gulf of Sidra in 1981 (from Libya)
Image 39The temple of Zeus in the ancient Greek city of Cyrene. Libya has a number of World Heritage Sites from the ancient Greek era. (from History of Libya)
Image 50Change in per capita GDP of Libya, 1950–2018. Figures are inflation-adjusted to 2011 International dollars. (from Libya)
Image 51King Idris I announced Libya's independence on 24 December 1951, and was King until the 1969 coup that overthrew his government. (from History of Libya)
Image 52Omar Mukhtar was a prominent leader of Libyan resistance in Cyrenaica against Italian colonization. (from Libya)
Image 53Territorial growth of Italian Libya: Territory ceded by Ottoman Empire 1912 (dark-green) but effectively Italy controlled only five ports (black), territories ceded by France and Britain 1919 and 1926 (light-green), territories ceded by France and Britain 1934/35 (red) (from History of Libya)
Image 54Libya map of Köppen climate classification (from Libya)
The Battle of Tripoli took place between the navies of the Kingdom of Sardinia and Vilayet of Tripoli on 26 September 1825 during the Sardinian-Tripolitanian war of the same year. In order to resist Tripolitanian demands for increased tribute, the Sardinian king sent a squadron to force Tripoli to a favorable peace treaty. The Tripolitanians refused to change their demands and as a result the Sardinian squadron assaulted the city of Tripoli, sinking several vessels and landing a force to attack the city. Suffering heavy naval losses the Tripolitanian government quickly agreed to a favorable peace treaty with Sardinia, thus ending the war on favorable terms for the Sardinians. (Full article...)
... that to repel migrants, the European Union has paid hundreds of millions of euros to Libyan partners known to be involved in human trafficking, slavery, and torture?