UN Finds States Violated Libyan Arms Embargo

A Libyan rebel shoots toward a burning pro-Qaddafi fighting vehicle. (Flickr)

A recent draft of a report by the United Nations reveals that various member states, including the United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Turkey, and Jordan, have violated the years-long arms embargo on Libya. Experts suggest that this widespread international involvement undermines UN efforts to contain the conflict, according to the Washington Post.

The UN Security Council imposed an arms embargo on Libya in February  2011 in order to try to contain the conflict and protect civilians, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. However, the UN found that various countries have been violating the embargo by giving several factions military and financial assistance, which some experts argue has turned the conflict into a proxy war. The ongoing violence has opened up the country to “an ideal breeding ground for ISIS,” according to Frederic Wehrey. Experts on Libya believe the continued foreign  interference undermines UN policies and exacerbates the conflict.

The crisis in Libya stems from a series of violent clashes between armed militias that began after the NATO-backed overthrow of former  Libyan Prime Minister Muammar al- Qaddafi in October 2011. The UN has backed the Government of National Accord (GNA), based in Tripoli, since it was established in 2012.

According to Al Jazeera, the GNA maintains the support of most Western countries, as well as Turkey and Qatar. General Khalifa Haftar, a former Qaddafi loyalist, heads the opposition militia, the Libyan National Army (LNA). The LNA, backed by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Sudan, and the U.A.E., has its own rival government in Tobruk. The rival Libyan governments have created their own central banks and consolidated control over various oil fields, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.

While the rivaling militias have agreed to a number of ceasefires, the agreements have crumbled quickly, according to Al Jazeera. Most recently, Haftar’s army has been fighting for control of Tripoli since April. According to UN data, the clashes this year have killed more than 1,100 people, wounded more than 6,000, and displaced more than 120,000, Al Jazeera reports. 

According to Al Jazeera, the two sides have been growing stronger and more resolute, and each seems to be backing away from the possibility of a compromise. “We want the government to provide us with an air defense system and advanced weapons and demand [the] United Nations to impose a no-fly zone. If that happens, we can defeat Haftar's forces in a matter of days,” said a pro-GNA fighter. Similarly, Haftar has said that he is only willing to seek a political solution once the Tripoli government has relinquished its military power.