By Samuel Ramani, for Foreign Policy. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Libya Business News.
Outsiders’ Battle to Rebuild Libya Is Fueling the Civil War There
In competing for lucrative reconstruction contracts, China, Italy, France, Russia, and others are preventing the conflict from ending.
Four months after Libyan National Army (LNA) chieftain Khalifa Haftar began his assault on Tripoli, Libya is closer than ever to collapse.
Haftar’s hopes for a swift seizure of the Libyan capital have unraveled due to stiff resistance from forces loyal to the United Nations-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA). Meanwhile, a panoply of international stakeholders—including China, Russia, Italy, France, and the Persian Gulf states—have become involved in the conflict, dragging it on.
Although some of these actors cite the need to slow the flow of migrants from Libya to Europe or the hope of stabilizing Libya as rationales for foreign intervention, they’re also motivated by the prospect of lucrative reconstruction contracts.
