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1 1 (September 21, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdbvn0001 and id is 1 raw text is: FF.ri E~$~ & p\w -- , gnom go mppm qq\ , q I as 11LIANJILiN, Updated September 21, 2020 Libya and U.S. Policy Major conflict erupted in Libya in April 2019, when the Libyan National Army/Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LNA/LAAF) movement a coalition of armed groups led by Khalifa Haftar-launched a bid to seize the capital, Tripoli, from militias and the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA). Fighters in western Libya rallied with Turkish military support to blunt the LNA's advance, and Haftar's forces withdrew from northwestern Libya in June 2020. The LNA and its local partners control much of Libya's territory and key oil production and export infrastructure (Figure 1). The GNA and anti-LNA groups control Tripoli and the western coast and seek to assert control over the entire country. Southern Libya is marginalized and faces threats from criminals, rival ethnic militias, and terrorists. The U.S. government has supported a ceasefire, while rival coalitions (Figure 2) have prepared to fight and restarted negotiations. Conflict dynamics shifted in 2019 and early 2020 as Russian-national Wagner Group contractors intervened on behalf of the LNA, Turkey and the GNA concluded maritime and security cooperation agreements, Turkey deployed fighters and arms on behalf of the GNA, and outsiders shipped weapons to both sides. According to U.S. officials, Russia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates arm the LNA and aid its operations. Turkey provides overt military support to anti-LNA forces. Both sides have recruited and deployed Syrian militias. Egypt has prepared to intervene militarily if GNA and Turkish forces advance further east; GNA and Turkish forces have sought to control all of Libya and demanded that LNA forces withdraw beyond the oil crescent east of Sirte. Nongovernment conflict observers estimate that fighting between LNA forces, GNA supporters, and anti-LNA militias has killed more than 2,400 fighters, along with more than 430 civilians since April 2019. More than 425,000 Libyans are internally displaced, and mines left by retreating LNA forces have complicated the return of displaced civilians in western Libya. More than 650,000 foreign migrants (largely from sub-Saharan Africa) also are in Libya and remain especially vulnerable. In 2020, multilateral diplomatic initiatives have sought to achieve and sustain a ceasefire as a precursor to renewed political reconciliation efforts. Meeting in Berlin, Germany in January, the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and other key foreign actors jointly committed to new arrangements aimed at permanently ending the conflict. GNA and LNA figures attended, but did not commit to a ceasefire. The Security Council endorsed the Berlin arrangements in Resolution 2510. The U.N. Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) then supported security, political, and economic discussions, but pandemic concerns and renewed fighting undermined progress. Figure I. Libya: Areas of Influence As of September 2020 Source: Prepared by CRS using media and social media reporting. Years of division and conflict have weakened the health care system's ability to mitigate risks from the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Acting UNSMIL head Stephanie Williams has called fragmented governance a serious obstacle to the COVID-19 response, and said in August that humanitarian access remains restricted. U.S. and U.N. officials have condemned persistent post- Berlin weapons shipments to Libya as violations of the U.N. arms embargo and called for a humanitarian ceasefire to allow the country to combat the spread of COVID-19. In August and September 2020, some GNA officials and their rivals in the House of Representatives (HOR) and interim government each proposed different arrangements for a ceasefire and, conditionally, to allow oil exports to resume. Both sides were positioned to resume fighting if necessary. Libya's political transition has been disrupted by armed nonstate groups and threatened by the indecision and infighting of interim leaders for years. After an armed uprising ended the 40-plus-year rule of Muammar al Qadhafi in 2011, interim authorities proved unable to form a stable government, address security issues, reshape the country's finances, or create a viable framework for post- conflict reconciliation. Insecurity spread as local armed groups competed for influence and resources.

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