TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) – Libyans marked on Wednesday the 10th anniversary of their 2011 uprising, which led to the overthrow and death of longtime ruler Moammar Gaddafi. Many are eyeing a newly appointed government tasked with leading Libya through elections later this year, hoping to unify the divided nation.
The celebrations began on Tuesday night in the capital, Tripoli, where people gathered in the city’s main square amid strong security. The main streets and squares were cleaned and decorated with banners and photos marking the anniversary.
The festivities also took place in other southern cities, where fireworks in the city of Sabha apparently killed a child and injured about 15 people, medical and city officials said. Sabha municipality later called for an investigation into the cause of Tuesday night’s explosion during the celebrations in the Mansheya neighborhood.
There were also celebrations in the eastern city of Benghazi, formerly known as the birthplace of the 2011 Libyan uprising. Holding Libyan flags, some people gathered in the city square, despite a cold wave that hit the country this week.
Hassan Wanis, head of the general cultural authority in Tripoli, said celebrations and commemorative events were planned in the three regions of old Libya: Tripolitania in the west, Cyrenaica in the east and Fezzan in the southwest.
“All people are ready to celebrate this moment especially, to unify the country,” he said.
Faraj Rajab, a teacher, said there was a lot of insecurity and economic difficulties to celebrate. He said he hopes the newly appointed government will pave the way for elections.
“We still live with failure, corruption and destruction,” he said.
Libyans took to the streets ten years ago, shortly after protests led to the overthrow of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, from Tunisia, and Hosni Mubarak, from Egypt, in what became known as the Arab Spring.
Libya has become one of the most intractable conflicts, along with Yemen and Syria, left over from the 2011 uprisings. In the years following the fall of Gaddafi, the North African country fell into chaos and became a haven for Islamic militants and armed groups that survive on looting and human trafficking.
The oil-rich country has in recent years been divided between rival administrations: a UN-backed but weak government in Tripoli – a city largely controlled by a number of armed factions – and an east-based government supported by the strong general. Khalifa Hifter. Each is supported by foreign governments.
There were devastating attacks of violence. The most recent began in April 2019, when Hifter, which has the support of the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia, launched an offensive to capture Tripoli. His campaign failed after Turkey increased its military support for the Tripoli administration with hundreds of soldiers and thousands of Syrian mercenaries.
Months of UN-led negotiations resulted in an agreement in October that ended hostilities and called for the withdrawal of all foreign forces and mercenaries in three months and adherence to a UN arms embargo, provisions that were not enforced.
The negotiations also established a Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, which earlier this month appointed an interim government – a three-member Presidential Council and a prime minister – to lead the country in the elections, scheduled for December 24.
The interim government includes Mohammad Younes Menfi, a Libyan diplomat from the east of the country who comes from the tribe of anti-colonial hero Omar al-Mukhtar, as president of the Libyan Presidential Council. Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah, a pragmatic and well-connected businessman from the western city of Misrata, was named Prime Minister.
Dbeibah is still consulting on the formation of his cabinet, which requires confirmation from the country’s divided parliament. Menfi arrived in Tripoli on Tuesday and met with Dbeibah and other officials. According to Menfi’s office, the three-member Presidential Council held its first meeting in Tripoli on Wednesday to discuss mechanisms for holding the December vote.
In separate calls on Tuesday with Menfi and Dbeiba, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres emphasized the importance of holding the elections and implementing the ceasefire agreement, including the withdrawal of foreign forces from Libya. There are at least 20,000 foreign mercenaries and fighters currently in the country, according to the UN
In a report that marks the anniversary, Amnesty International repeated its calls to hold those who have been involved in war crimes and serious human rights violations accountable for the past 10 years.
“Unless those responsible for the violations are brought to justice, instead of being rewarded with positions of power, the violence, chaos, systematic human rights abuses and the endless suffering of civilians that characterized post-Libya Gaddafi will remain unwavering, ”said Diana Eltahawy, the group’s deputy regional director.
“We ask the parties to the conflict in Libya and the next unity government to ensure that those suspected of committing crimes under international law are not appointed to positions where they can continue to commit abuse and consolidate impunity,” added Eltahawy.
In recent years, Libya has also emerged as the dominant transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East. Traffickers often crowd desperate families into ill-equipped rubber boats that stop and shipwreck along the dangerous Mediterranean route.
Thousands drown along the way, while others end up being held in squalid smugglers’ strongholds or in crowded detention centers if caught by the authorities.
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Magdy reported from Cairo.