Investigating The Arab Spring & Libya

The Arab Spring

Image: A collage for MENA protests - User:ليبي صح">ليبي © Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

The Arab Spring was wave of protests, riots, and wars that began on 18 December 2010 in Tunisia with the Tunisian Revolution, and spread throughout the countries of the Arab League and its surroundings.

Celebrations in Cairo

Image: Celebrations in Tahrir Square after Omar Soliman's statement that concerns Mubarak's resignation. February 11, 2011 - Jonathan Rashad © Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

By February 2012, rulers had been forced from power in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen. Uprisings had occurred in many other countries. 

Sadly in many areas the hopeful Arab Spring has turned into an awful Arab Winter. 

In West Africa a terrorist group called Boko Haram has taken control of parts of Northern Nigeria and neighbouring border areas. Boko Haram has become a part of so called Islamic state/ISIL. 

• 2.3 million people have been displaced by the Boko Haram conflict since May 2013.

• 250,000 have left Nigeria and fled into Cameroon, Chad or Niger.

• Boko Haram has killed more than 17,000 people since 2009, including over 10,000 in 2014.

• The group have carried out mass abductions including the kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in April 2014.

Michelle Obama remembering the Chibok girls

Image: First Lady Michelle Obama holding a sign with the hashtag "#bringbackourgirls" in support of the 2014 Chibok kidnapping. Posted to the FLOTUS Twitter account on May 7, 2014. - Michelle Obama, Office of the First Lady © Public Domain

Libya

Libya in North Africa has been one of the biggest problem places since the Arab Spring. Libya had been controlled by a ruthless dictator – President Gaddafi since 1969. 

President Gaddafi had openly supported many international terrorist groups including the IRA. 

Libya had been involved in terrorist attacks including bombing a passenger jet plane over Scotland. Killing 259 passengers and crew on board and 11 people on the ground.

Image: Muammar al-Gaddafi at the 12th AU summit, February 2, 2009, in Addis Abeba. - U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jesse B. Awalt/Released © Public Domain

In 2011 opposition groups began a civil war against Gaddafi; at first these groups were defeated by the superior military power of the government especially its air forces. However many innocent civilians were caught up in the fighting especially being from the air; the United Nations authorised member states to take action to protect civilians. 

Image: Caricatures of Gadafi in old square, Street Al Oroba, Al Bayda - User:ليبي_صح © Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication

An international coalition including the UK provided air support and weapons to the rebels. In October 2011 Gaddafi and his senior leaders/close family members were killed.

The Arab Winter

After 2011 the situation deteriorated into what has been called the Arab Winter; rival groups could not agree a new government and now six different groups control different parts of Libya with constant fighting taking place. 

A major source of money for these groups is people trafficking of refugees to Europe. 

Many refugees are suffering appalling abuse at the hands of traffickers being forced into slave labour or into fighting for groups if they cannot afford to pay.

Migrants with money are often imprisoned by gangs until they have available boats to prevent them falling into the hands of rivals. Few migrants carry cash but their families at home can be forced to make transfers by online or mobile phone banking. 

Libya is a major people smuggling centre for:

• The rest of North Africa.

• Iraq & Syria.

• Sub-Saharan Africans from the West driven out by violence from Islamic extremists such as Boko Haram.

• Sub-Saharan Africans from East Africa including:
  • Somalia which has been devastated by the extremist group al-Shabaab which is linked to al-Qaeda.
  • Eritrea which has a country of extreme Human rights abuse and openly supports and funds al-Shabaab.
  • Sudan & South Sudan which recently have both suffered from civil war and government abuses amounting to genocide. 

Libya has become a desperate and lawless place with many of the groups fighting for control; one area is even being controlled by a Libyan branch of so called Islamic State/ISIL.

Image: Libyan Civil War - John Smith © Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license 

 

 

 

Other articles you may find of interest, Mexico to USA migration, Migration in the UK and Making Decisions - The Migrant Crisis.