The Libyan Civil War began not long after the 2011 revolution that removed long-time dictator, Muammar Ghaddafi, from power. Libya now has two rival administrations. One is based in the country's capital, Tripoli, in the west, and the other is based in the eastern city of Tobruk.

Oil-rich Libya has been in chaos since the Arab spring movement and Nato bombing campaign that toppled Gaddafi in 2011. Attempts to build a democratic state after Gaddafi fell disintegrated into a new civil war between rival governments in 2014.

Under Gaddafi’s brutal rule, Libya had one of the highest standards of living in Africa. Now, the war economy has sent costs skyrocketing, and there are widespread problems with medicine shortages and power cuts. Civilians are in danger of getting caught in the unpredictable fighting – and kidnappings for ransom by militias are common.

The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, expressed his fears of a "full civil war" in Libya, unless the international community finds a political solution for the country's conflict. [291] In 2019, the United Nations reported that Jordan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates had systematically violated the Libyan arms embargo. [292]