Portal:Libya

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The Libya Portal

A view of the Benghazi port, 2013

Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad to the south, Niger to the southwest, Algeria to the west, and Tunisia to the northwest. With an area of almost 1.8 million km² (700,000 sq mi), it is the 4th-largest country in Africa and the Arab world, and the 16th-largest in the world. Libya claims 32,000 square kilometres of southeastern Algeria, south of the Libyan town of Ghat. The largest city and capital is Tripoli, which is located in northwestern Libya and contains over a million of Libya's seven million people.

Libya has been inhabited by Berbers since the late Bronze Age as descendants from Iberomaurusian and Capsian cultures. In classical antiquity, the Phoenicians established city-states and trading posts in western Libya, while several Greek cities were established in the East. Parts of Libya were variously ruled by Carthaginians, Numidians, Persians, and Greeks before the entire region becoming a part of the Roman Empire. Libya was an early centre of Christianity. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the area of Libya was mostly occupied by the Vandals until the 7th century when invasions brought Islam to the region. From then on, centuries of Arab migration to the Maghreb shifted the demographic scope of Libya in favour of Arabs. In the 16th century, the Spanish Empire and the Knights of St John occupied Tripoli until Ottoman rule began in 1551. Libya was involved in the Barbary Wars of the 18th and 19th centuries. Ottoman rule continued until the Italo-Turkish War, which resulted in Italy occupying Libya and establishing two colonies, Italian Tripolitania and Italian Cyrenaica, later unified in the Italian Libya colony from 1934 to 1943.

During World War II, Libya was an area of warfare in the North African Campaign. The Italian population then went into decline and Libya became independent as a kingdom in 1951. A bloodless military coup in 1969, initiated by a coalition led by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, overthrew King Idris I and created a republic. Gaddafi was often described by critics as a dictator, and was one of the world's longest serving non-royal leaders. He ruled for 42 years until being overthrown and killed in the 2011 civil war, which was part of the wider Arab Spring, with authority transferred to the National Transitional Council then to the elected General National Congress. Since 2011, Libya has been involved in a political and humanitarian crisis, and by 2014, two rival authorities claimed to govern Libya, which led to a second civil war, with parts of Libya split between the Tobruk and Tripoli-based governments as well as various tribal and Islamist militias. The two main warring sides signed a permanent ceasefire in 2020, and a unity government took authority to plan for democratic elections, though political rivalries continue to delay this.

In March 2022, the House of Representatives ceased recognising the Government of National Unity and proclaimed an alternative government, the Government of National Stability (GNS). Both governments have been functioning simultaneously since then, which has led to dual power in Libya. The international community continues to recognise the unity government as the legitimate government of the country. Libya is a developing country ranking 92nd by HDI, the highest score in mainland Africa, and has the 10th-largest proven oil reserves in the world. Libya has the highest level of greenhouse gas emissions per person in Africa, but has made little progress toward developing climate commitments. Libya is a member of the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the African Union, the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and OPEC. The country's official religion is Islam, with 96.6% of the Libyan population being Sunni Muslims. The official language of Libya is Arabic, with vernacular Libyan Arabic being spoken most widely. The majority of Libya's population is Arab.

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The February 2015 Egyptian airstrikes in Libya against Islamic State positions in Libya took place on 16 February 2015, and were triggered by a video released by ISIL in Libya a day earlier, depicting the beheading of 21 Coptic Christians from Egypt. Within hours, the Egyptian Air Force responded with airstrikes against ISIL training camps and weapons stockpiles in retaliation for the killings. Warplanes acting under orders from the Libyan government also struck targets in Derna, reportedly in coordination with Egypt.

The air strikes had allegedly killed up to 64 ISIL militants, including three of the leadership, in the coastal cities of Derna and Sirte. Libyan media reported that at least 35 more Egyptians had been rounded up by ISIL in retaliation for the air raids. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various Libya-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Al-Fatah Revolution day decorations in Tripoli 2008 (from Libya)
Image 2Omar Mukhtar was a prominent leader of Libyan resistance in Cyrenaica against Italian colonization. (from Libya)
Image 3Prehistoric Libyan rock paintings in Tadrart Acacus reveal a Sahara once lush in vegetation and wildlife. (from History of Libya)
Image 4The Atiq Mosque in Awjila is the oldest mosque in the Sahara. (from Libya)
Image 5Gaddafi was the leader of Libya until 2011 Civil War. (from Libya)
Image 6An elevation of the city of Ottoman Tripoli in 1675 (from History of Libya)
Image 7Khalifa Haftar, the head of the Libyan National Army, one of the main factions in the 2014 civil war (from Libya)
Image 8Libya is the fourth-most water-stressed country in the world. (from Libya)
Image 9The Atiq Mosque in Awjila is the oldest mosque in the Sahara. (from History of Libya)
Image 10An oil platform off the Libyan coast (from Libya)
Image 11Ambassador Cretz Stands by Fist Crushing a US Fighter Plane Sculpture which was captured after the fall of Tripoli (from Libya)
Image 12Septimius Severus, the first Roman emperor native to Roman Africa, was born in Leptis Magna. (from Libya)
Image 13Demonstrations in Bayda, on 22 July 2011 (from History of Libya)
Image 14Libya map of Köppen climate classification (from Libya)
Image 15The Siege of Tripoli in 1551 allowed the Ottomans to capture the city from the Knights of St. John. (from History of Libya)
Image 16Pivot irrigation in Kufra, southeast Libya, 2008 (from Libya)
Image 17Omar Mukhtar was the leader of Libyan resistance in Cyrenaica against the Italian colonization. (from History of Libya)
Image 18The siege of Tripoli in 1551 allowed the Ottomans to capture the city from the Knights of St. John. (from Libya)
Image 19King Idris of Libya (from Libya)
Image 20Territorial 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 21Muammar Gaddafi, leader of Libya (r. 1969–2011) (from Libya)
Image 22A view of Tripoli, c. 1766 (from Libya)
Image 23F-4J of VF-74 with Libyan MiG-23 over Gulf of Sidra in 1981 (from Libya)
Image 24Ethnic composition of the Libyan population in 1974 (CIA map):
  Arab and Arab-Berber

  Berber

  Tuareg

  Toubou

  Uninhabited
(from Libya)
Image 25Mosque in Ghadames, close to the Tunisian and Algerian border (from Libya)
Image 26Change in per capita GDP of Libya, 1950–2018. Figures are inflation-adjusted to 2011 International dollars. (from Libya)
Image 27Italian propaganda postcard depicting the Italian invasion of Libya in 1911 (from Libya)
Image 28A protest against the anti-Gaddafi supporters in Tripoli (from Libya)
Image 29Oil is the major natural resource of Libya, with estimated reserves of 43.6 billion barrels. (from Libya)
Image 30Australian 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 31Bazeen, a communal bread dish (from Libya)
Image 32King Roger II of Sicily was the first Norman King to rule Tripoli when he captured it in 1146. (from History of Libya)
Image 33An effigy of Muammar Gaddafi hangs from a scaffold in Tripoli's Martyrs' Square, 29 August 2011 (from History of Libya)
Image 34USS Enterprise of the Mediterranean Squadron capturing Tripolitan Corsair during the First Barbary War, 1801 (from History of Libya)
Image 35U.S. naval officer Stephen Decatur boarding a Tripolitan gunboat during the First Barbary War, 1804 (from Libya)
Image 36Ancient Roman mosaic in Sabratha (from Libya)
Image 37Libya is a predominantly desert country. Over 95% of the land area is covered in desert. (from Libya)
Image 38Leptis Magna (from Libya)
Image 39Archaeological site of Sabratha, Libya (from Libya)
Image 40The 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 41Temple of Zeus in Cyrene (from Libya)
Image 42Libyan soldier of the Achaemenid army, c. 480 BCE. Xerxes I tomb relief. (from History of Libya)
Image 43King 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 44Royal Palace of Tripoli—headquarters of King Idris (from Libya)
Image 45Districts of Libya since 2007 (from Libya)
Image 46Areas of control in the Civil War, updated 11 June 2020:
Tobruk-led Government
Government of National Accord
Petroleum Facilities Guard
Tuareg tribes
Local forces (from Libya)
Image 47Muammar Gaddafi, former leader of Libya, in 2009. (from History of Libya)
Image 48Libya has emerged as a major transit point for people trying to reach Europe. (from Libya)
Image 49Flag of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (lasting from 1977 to 2011), the national anthem of which was "الله أكبر" (lit. 'God is Great') (from History of Libya)
Image 50Al 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 51The 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)

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Chadian soldiers on a Toyota Land Cruiser utility vehicle in 2008. Vehicles such as these gave the 1986–1987 conflict its name.

The Toyota War (Arabic: حرب التويوتا, romanized: Ḥarb al-Tūyūtā, French: Guerre des Toyota), also known as the Great Toyota War, which took place in 1987 in Northern Chad and on the Chad–Libya border, was the last phase of the Chadian–Libyan War. It takes its name from the Toyota pickup trucks, primarily the Toyota Hilux and the Toyota Land Cruiser, used to provide mobility for the Chadian troops as they fought against the Libyans, and as technicals. The 1987 war resulted in a heavy defeat for Libya, which, according to American sources, lost one tenth of its army, with 7,500 men killed and US$1.5 billion worth of military equipment destroyed or captured. Chadian forces suffered 1,000 deaths.

The war began with the Libyan occupation of northern Chad in 1983, when Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi, refusing to recognise the legitimacy of the Chadian President Hissène Habré, militarily supported the attempt by the opposition Transitional Government of National Unity (GUNT) to overthrow Habré. The plan was foiled by the intervention of France which, first with Operation Manta and later with Operation Epervier, limited Libyan expansion to north of the 16th parallel, in the most arid and sparsely inhabited part of Chad. (Full article...)

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Chadian–Libyan conflict Muammar Gaddafi Haruj Battle of Tripoli (1825) Waw an Namus Vandalic War Battle of Lukaya Air campaign of the Uganda–Tanzania War Alex Owumi Battle of Entebbe Fatimid invasion of Egypt (914–915)

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... that Libyan Jews and Arabs traded and bartered with each other at the fence of the Giado concentration camp?
... that after being freed from Buq Buq labor camp in Italian-occupied Egypt, Libyan Jewish prisoners had to walk home across the desert?
... that cave art, indigenous dance and an ancient flute inspired the work of Libyan artist Shefa Salem?