International reactions to the 2011 Libyan Civil War


The international reactions to the Libyan Civil War were the responses to the series of protests and military confrontations occurring in Libya against the government of Libya and its de facto head of state Muammar Gaddafi.
Many states and supranational bodies condemned Gaddafi's regime over its attacks on civilian targets within the country. Virtually all Western countries cut off diplomatic relations with Gaddafi's government over an aerial bombing campaign in February and March, and a number of other countries led by Peru and Botswana did likewise. The regime's use of the Libyan Air Force to strike civilians led to the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 to create a Libyan no-fly zone on 17 March, though several countries involved in the resolution's enforcement have also carried out regular strike missions to degrade the offensive capacity of the Libyan Army and destroy the regime's command and control capabilities, effectively acting in de facto support of anti-Gaddafi forces on the ground. Many members of the international community, including the United Nations, the Arab League, and the African Union, explicitly recognized the anti-Gaddafi National Transitional Council as Libya's legitimate representative, with many of those countries explicitly describing it as the legal interim government of the country due to the perceived loss of legitimacy on the part of Gaddafi's regime.
Many states also either issued travel advisories or attempted evacuations. Some evacuations were successful in either going to Malta or via land borders to Egypt or Tunisia; other attempts were hindered by tarmac damage at Benghazi's airport or refusals of permission to land in Tripoli. There were also several solidarity protests in other countries that were mostly composed of Libyan expatriates. Financial markets around the world had adverse reactions to the instability with oil prices rising to a two-and-a-half-year high.

Supranational

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

condemned Gaddafi and expressed solidarity with the protesters. "We were pained by the carnage and the cowardly massacres carried out by the killer of innocents Gaddafi against our people and our unarmed Muslim brothers who only came to lift his oppression, his disbelief, his tyranny and his might." It also said: " will do whatever we can to help you, with power from Allah, because your fight is the fight of every Muslim who loves Allah and His Messenger. It is time for the impostor, sinful, hard-hearted bastard Gaddafi to meet the same end as Hosni Mubarak and Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. We declare our support and aid to the Libyan revolution in its legitimate demands, and we assure our people in Libya that we are with you and we will not let you down." The statement came amid warnings by the Libyan deputy foreign minister that the group has organised an Islamic emirate in Derna, though some residents of the city claimed this was not true and said the Libyan government was trying to "scare Europe".
Avaaz.org, an international civic organisation, initiated an appeal, to international officials to impose specific actions to stop the violence against civilians and prosecute violators, which collected 400,000 signatures as of 23 February.
Doctors Without Borders issued a statement saying that while there were members in Libya working with wounded protesters more needed to be sent with medical supplies, including necessary surgical materials, and faced difficulties due to blocks on entering the country. Arjan Hehenkamp, the director of operations, said: "All information we receive points towards a critical situation in terms of medical care for the injured. We need to be working alongside Libyan health professionals to care for people who have been caught in the violent clashes over recent days. It is unacceptable that medical staff and supplies are kept away from people who need them."
Juventus was said to be concerned about a 7.5 percent stake in the company owned by the Libyan Arab Foreign Investment Company, otherwise known as Lafico. The shares in Juventus fell 2.3 percent to 84.8 euro on 25 February.
The London School of Economics came under fire for its links with Saif al-Islam Gaddafi. After he got a PhD in 2008 the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation gave the school a gift of £1.5m the following year. A professor, David Held, who was a beneficiary of the gift was also appointed a trustee of GICDF before the gift was formally accepted. The LSE was also said to be investigation allegations of plagiarism and said that the degree can be "revoked if there are substantiated concerns about the manner in which it was attained – for example if there is a later discovery of plagiarism."
The president of the online Tuareg community Tamust said there was consternation among the Tuareg over Gaddafi's precarious position, as many see Gaddafi as a lonely advocate for the Saharan tribe on the international stage. He warned that it would be "legitimate" for the Tuareg to turn back to violence if governments did not address their demands.
On 5 April, Al Jazeera and the Committee to Protect Journalists called on Gaddafi's regime to release three Al Jazeera journalists allegedly being held by Tripoli. The statement from Al Jazeera on 5 April accused the regime of deliberately targeting journalists attempting to report on the war and said that "Libyan authorities have not provided any information about why or where the journalists are being held".

Individuals

Egyptian Islamist Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi declared his support for the rebels led by the National Transitional Council in the 2011 Libyan civil war, urging Arab nations to recognize them and "to confront the tyranny of the regime in Tripoli". He suggested weapons be sent to the rebels to assist the, and said "Our Islamic nation should stand against injustice and corruption and I urge the Egyptian government to extend a helping hand to Libyan people and not to Gaddafi." He subsequently issued a fatwa that any Libyan soldier who can shoot Gaddafi should do so "to rid Libya of him."
A French MEP and president of the Front National, Marine Le Pen claimed that the confrontations in Libya pertain to a civil war in which France's interest is not to interfere. She regretted the haste of the French diplomacy which had "prematurely recognized the National Transitional Council which speaks in the name of the Libyan rebels".
United States Senator John McCain, a former presidential candidate, said the U.S. and other states should recognize the National Transitional Council while on a visit to Benghazi in late April. " have earned this right and Gaddafi has forfeited it by waging war on his own people," said McCain, who also expressed concern that the situation could provide an opening for Islamic extremists to gain a foothold in Libya.

Travel advisories and evacuations

Overview

During the uprising, many states evacuated their citizens.
Various states including Britain, the United States, Germany, Italy, France, Pakistan, the Netherlands, Turkey, Peru, China, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Greece put into place arrangements for the evacuation of their citizens from the country on 23 February. However evacuation appeared to be difficult due to "chaos" at the international airport in Tripoli as well as a "destroyed" runway at Benina International Airport and the temporary closure of all Libyan ports. Consequently, many international flights, including those of British Airways, were cancelled, although others appeared to operate. Further reports indicated that Libyan harbours in many cities were closed. To address that problem, many governments have sent civilian and military aircraft and ships to evacuate their citizens. TV coverage indicated that the airport in Malta had turned into a hub for various European rescue missions. Both Italy and Bulgaria joined China in warning against all travel to Libya while Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez said counterparts from around the 27-state EU were considering pulling people out, particularly from the eastern opposition stronghold of Benghazi.
May expats and local refugees were fleeing the violence of Tripoli by road, as many as 4,000 people have been crossing the Libya-Tunisia border daily. Among those escaping the violence are foreign nationals including Egyptians, Tunisians, Vietnamese, Chinese and Turks, as well as war-displaced Libyans. During the uprising many countries evacuated its citizens. On 25 February 500 passengers, mostly Americans, sailed into Malta after a rough eight-hour journey from Tripoli and two-day wait for the seas to calm down. A planned evacuation flight for Canadian citizens from Tripoli, for which 213 people had stated they need to board, was grounded in Rome due to lack of coverage by the airline's insurance. A Canadian Foreign Affairs official described the "deteriorating security situation" in Tripoli as the reason for the cancellation.
Greece's Foreign Ministry completed an air evacuation in different cities of Libya for Greek and Cypriot citizens by the use of C-130 military transport planes provided by the Greek Air Force.

Timeline of the evacuations

On 22 February, British Foreign Secretary William Hague announced that HMS Cumberland had been redeployed to Libyan waters where she will assist in the evacuation of British citizens and other nationals. The Cumberland entered the Port of Benghazi on 24 February, leaving the same day for Malta with an international collection of passengers that included British, Commonwealth, European and American nationals. Cumberland is returning to Benghazi to continue evacuations of foreign nationals.
India has launched a multi-pronged sea and air rescue operation to evacuate the 18,000 Indian nationals currently trapped in Libya. Two Indians have died in the clashes between pro and anti-Gaddafi forces. Two aircraft from Air India will shuttle passengers from Libya to Delhi and Mumbai. A chartered passenger vessel will shuttle Indian citizens from Libya to Malta. The Indian Navy vessels, INS Aditya and INS Mysore have been deployed to the region.
Italy sent in an airlift to rescue its 1,500 residents in Libya on 22 February. The Netherlands said it wanted to evacuate 100 of its citizens and prepared an aircraft for the evacuation. It also sent the navy frigate to lend support by sea. The UK's Royal Navy frigate was sent to international waters near Libya to help with the evacuation if necessary.
Greece, Germany, Austria, Portugal and other EU nations planned or conducted airlifts. A Spanish military plane was already on standby on 22 February.
On 23 February, Turkey has evacuated 5099 nationals within 72 hours of evacuations with charter flights and ferries organized by Turkish government. Also, Turkey readied 2 more frigates to make journey to Libya. The ships that will sail on Wednesday will be escorted by a helicopter and special teams to serve as a deterrent against possible attacks. Both Portugal and Austria sent military planes to Tripoli to evacuate their nationals and those of other EU countries as companies with major interests in the country including British energy giant BP and Italy's Eni and Finmeccanica were also preparing to repatriate their employees. Various states including Britain, Chile, the United States, Germany, Spain, Australia, Greece, Portugal, Germany, France, Austria, Italy, France, Serbia, the Netherlands, Peru, India, China, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh put into place arrangements for the evacuation of their citizens from the country on 23 February.
The Brazilian Government deployed a ship from the Greek port of Piraeus on to fetch 180 of an estimated 600 of its nationals in Benghazi and transported them to Malta, from where they traveled to Brazil. Brazil then obtained permission from the Libyan government for five flights to land in Tripoli to rescue the remainder of its citizens. China was sending Greek ships to evacuate 15,000 of the 30,000 Chinese citizens in Libya. Canada had initially chartered a private aircraft to pick up Canadians and now have a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III from the No. 429 Squadron RCAF on standby in Germany to fly to Tripoli via Rome if and when needed. The Governor General of Canada's plane is also in Rome and is on standby as well.
India launched a multi-pronged sea and air rescue operation to evacuate its 18,000 nationals trapped in Libya. Two aircraft from Air India shuttled passengers from Libya to Delhi and Mumbai. A chartered passenger vessel will also shuttle Indian citizens from Libya to Egypt or Malta. The Indian Navy vessels, and are being deployed to the region. Two Indians also died during the protests.
On the evening of 25 February a joint British and German operation consisting of two British and two German military transport planes evacuated 22 Germans and about 100 other Europeans, mostly British oil workers from the airport at Nafurah to Crete.
On 27 February, two Royal Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft with British Special Forces evacuated approximately 100 foreign nationals, mainly UK. Irish, German and Romanian oil workers, to Malta from the desert south of Benghazi, one of which was shot at and suffered some damage, but no one was injured. The same day Gaddafi's trusted nurse Galyna Kolotnytska arrived back in Ukraine.
In the afternoon of 27 February, it is reported that 57 Nepalis, employed to work in Libya, landed at the Tribhuvan International Airport, but over 1,300 Nepalese nationals are yet to be rescued from the chaos in Libya.
By 28 February, China had already evacuated nearly 29,000 nationals by land, sea and air, using both Crete and Malta as staging posts. Two vessels docked in Valletta, Malta bringing 3,200 workers, mostly Chinese.
By 2 March, The total number of people evacuated by Turkey reached 22,554 which are carried on 67 planes, 5 ships, 1 frigate, as well as other ferries organized by private sector. 3870 of the people evacuated are foreign nationals with rest being Turkish citizens.
Various petroleum companies evacuated their expatriate employees. BP said that it was preparing to evacuate about 40 expatriate workers from Libya, where it has suspended onshore oil exploration due to the political unrest. Norway's Statoil said it already has started pulling out a handful of international staff and has closed its Tripoli corporate office. Shell said it had completed a withdrawal of its staff on 22 February. Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht said they were putting into place mandatory evacuations for the nearly 5,000 staff they have in Libya.
Other oil companies also withdrew their employees to ensure their safety, including: Gazprom, Shell, Suncor, Pertamina and BP. Other companies that decided to evacuate their employees include Siemens and Russian Railways.
About 15 Danes who were in Libya working for FLSmidth left on 24 February.

Protests against the government of Libya

A crowd of about 250 Libyans called on the ambassador to Malta, Saadun Suayeh, to resign and for the Libyan embassy to replace the current Libyan flag with the older Libyan monarchy flag. Suayeh said he would not give in to demands. He stated that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi "should not go", adding "His presence for the time being is definitely a guarantee for the country's unity,".
About 200 protesters gathered outside the consulate in Istanbul in support of the protesters.
In Albert Square, Manchester in the United Kingdom, over 100 people demonstrated in support of the protesters. In London, protesters gathered outside the embassy. One man scaled the building unchallenged and removed the Libyan flag and replaced it with the flag of the Kingdom of Libya.
DateCityCountryNotes
17 FebruaryAlexandriaEgypt
17 FebruaryLondonUK
19 FebruaryGenevaSwitzerland
19 FebruaryWashington, DCUS
19 FebruaryAtlanta, GAUS
19 FebruaryKansas City, MOUS
20 FebruaryToronto, ONCanada
20 FebruaryAlexandriaEgypt
20 FebruaryPortland, ORUS
21 FebruaryEdmontonCanada
21 FebruaryCairoEgypt
21 FebruaryMarseillesFrance
21 FebruaryVallettaMalta
21 FebruaryLondonUK
21 FebruaryManchesterUK
21 FebruaryLansing, MIUS
21 FebruarySeattle, WAUS
22 FebruaryBelgradeSerbiaLibyans stoned the embassy.
22 FebruaryKievUkraine
22 FebruaryMelbourneAustralia
22 FebruaryBrandon, MBCanada
22 FebruaryOttawa, ONCanada
22 FebruaryMontreal, QCCanada
22 FebruaryParisFrance
22 FebruaryGaza CityPalestine
22 FebruaryBerlinGermany
22 FebruaryAmmanJordan
22 FebruaryKuala LumpurMalaysia
22 FebruaryBudapestHungary
22 FebruaryTunisTunisia
22 FebruaryIstanbulTurkey
22 FebruarySacramento, CAUS
22 FebruaryOrlando, FLUS
22 FebruaryPullman, WAUS
23 FebruarySydneyAustralia
23 FebruaryWellingtonNew Zealand
23 FebruaryCairoEgypt
23 FebruaryAthensGreece
23 FebruaryDublinIreland
23 FebruaryRomeItalyProtesters said they would stay there till Gaddafi leaves.
23 FebruaryTokyoJapan
23 FebruaryBeirutLebanon
23 FebruaryEdinburghUK
23 FebruaryLondonUK
23 FebruaryDenver, COUS
23 FebruaryColumbia, MOUS
24 FebruaryDetroit, MIUS
25 FebruaryNew York City, NYUS
26 FebruaryVallettaMalta
26 FebruarySan Francisco, CAUS
26 FebruaryGlasgowUKStop the War said that: "It is very important that people here show their support for the protesters. Let's mobilise and unite in our thousands to send the message that we stand in solidarity with those struggling for a better world."
26 FebruaryChicago, ILUS

UK squatting by 'Topple the Tyrants'

Topple the Tyrants is an activist group which squatted a London home belonging to Saif al-Islam, son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, in March 2011. The home the group occupied is an eight-bedroom mansion in Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, which had been listed by Saif as for sale for €12.75 million as the 2011 Libyan civil war began.
As of 10 March 2011, Scotland Yard had stated the issue was being treated as a "civil matter", and that no arrests had yet been made.

Mediation proposals

There were several peace mediation prospects during the crisis. The South African government also floated the idea of an African Union-led mediation effort to prevent "civil war".
Another initiative came from Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez. Though Gaddafi accepted in principle a proposal by Chávez to negotiate a settlement between the opposition and the Libyan government, Saif al-Islam, later voiced some skepticism to the proposal. On news of Gaddafi in principle accepting the Chávez's proposal for international mediation, there was a worldwide decrease in oil and gold prices. The proposal is also under consideration by the Arab League, according to chairman Amr Moussa. The Libyan opposition was cold to the proposal, saying that while they are willing to save lives, any deal would have to involve Gaddafi stepping down, while the US and French governments dismissed any initiative that would allow Gaddafi to remain in power.

International aid

On 2 March, the Royal Navy destroyer HMS York had arrived in Benghazi carrying medical supplies and other humanitarian aid donated by the Swedish government. The medical supplies, a donation to the Benghazi Medical Centre, were supposed to have been flown direct to Benghazi airport but when the airport was closed down, they were diverted to Malta. They were transferred from the airport to the frigate at short notice by the Armed Forces of Malta. On 8 March, a convoy of trucks from the United Nations World Food Programme had entered Libya and was due to arrive in the eastern port city of Benghazi on the same day, the WFP said in a statement. A convoy carrying seventy metric tonnes of high-energy date bars crossed the Egyptian border overnight on its way to the eastern port. On 7 March, U.N. aid coordinator Valerie Amos stated that fighting across Libya meant that more than a million people fleeing or inside the country needed humanitarian aid.

Financial markets

Regional financial stock-market indices fell on 20 February on concern of spreading instability. Global stock markets fell the next day. On 22 February, crude oil and bonds climbed while Asian stocks fell on concern for stability in OPEC-member state Libya. US stock-market futures also dropped on the first working day following the aerial bombardments of protesters.
On 27 February, Saudi Arabia's Tadawul stock market index fell to a six-month low along with other regional Arab markets due to the clashes in Libya that caused a price increase in oil and amid fears that a recovery from the global economic crisis would slow. The following day Asian stock also declined because of the unrest.

Media

Libya's state television made no mention of the anti-government protests in the eastern provinces of the country, and continued with its usual programming until 17 February. During the morning news bulletin on 16 February, state TV repeatedly showed demonstrations in support of Colonel Gaddafi, which were about 200 to 300 strong and allegedly "from across the country". At one point a crowd could be heard chanting anti-Al Jazeera slogans. The Qatar-based outlet channel had started broadcasting footage from a pro-Gaddafi demonstration live from Sirte, Gaddafi's home town, that numbered 1,000. State TV also showed live coverage of a speech by Gaddafi from the previous evening, in which he denounced both the United States and their alleged "Zionist" allies in front of a cheering crowd on 16 February. It also began broadcasting images of burning buildings and cars in what viewers said was the first time government media had acknowledged the growing unrest in the east, which it suggested was spreading to the point that the government had no choice but to address it directly, possibly even with force of arms on the 20th. Gaddafi was shown with his supporters during a rally in Nalut on 19 February.
Libya's privately owned and London-based electronic newspaper al-Yawm, which reports favourably on Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, was the only Libyan source of any kind to freely report on the anti-Gaddafi protests in both the cities of Benghazi and Bayda. The paper usually carries balanced, un-opinionated reporting published a total of 16 articles on the anti-Gaddafi regime protests, quoting allegedly tapped "trustworthy" sources in Benghazi and Bayda, and carried no reports on the pro-Gaddafi demonstrations in Tripoli. Four protesters were killed in Bayda, the Al-Yawm paper said, as a crowd attempted to storm the Internal Security Building, set fire two cars and the burnt down headquarters of the local traffic police on 16 February.
According to the state-owned Al-Shams and Al-Jamahiriya newspapers, mobile phone users were sent a text message warning them against taking to the streets on 17 February as a result of "directives from the state security service", which is the body that monitors and controls the country's two mobile telecommunications networks. The front page of Al-Jamahiriya was dedicated to pro-Gaddafi demonstrations and his timely public appearance at the Ahly football Club in Tripoli the day before, while state-owned Al-Shams led exclusively with coverage of this event. It later added that additional security forces had been bussed in to "control" the situation and that they had "out-of-town" accents "and foreign agents".
Quryna, which had once been a part of Saif-al-Islam's Al-Ghad Media Corporation but was taken over by the state in 2010, carried an upbeat report about order being restored in Benghazi. One article reported on the families of "17 February martyrs" who met Gaddafi and condemned the protests.
Domestically, BBC News reported on 18 February, that the "leading pro-government newspaper", Al-Zahf Al-Akhdar, has adopted a seemingly uncompromising stance towards the protests, stating:
State TV broadcast images of Colonel Gaddafi paying a brief visit to Tripoli's Green Square, early on 18 February, during which supporters chanted pro-government slogans. BBC News stated that "diplomats reported the use of heavy weapons in Benghazi," on 18 February. The government imposed a near-total news blackout, and foreign reporters are banned from the country, although at least one BBC reporter has ignored this and is broadcasting from opposition controlled Benghazi, as was Al Jazeera. The British newspaper, the Independent Online, reported on 20 February that at least one state-run newspaper, Al-Zahf Alakhdar, blamed the protests on Zionism.

Additional developments

No-fly zone

Prime Minister David Cameron of the United Kingdom proposed the idea of a no-fly zone to prevent Gaddafi from airlifting mercenaries and using his military aeroplanes and armoured helicopters against civilians. Italy said it would support a no-fly zone if it was backed by the United Nations. U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates was cautious on this option, warning the US Congress that a no-fly zone would have to begin with an attack on Libya's air defenses. This proposal was rejected by Russia and China. On 7 March, US Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder announced that NATO decided to step up surveillance missions to 24 hours a day. On the same day it was reported that one UN diplomat confirmed to AFP on condition of anonymity that France and Britain were drawing up a resolution on the no-fly zone and it go before the United Nations Security Council as early as this week.
On 8 March, the GCC issued a joint statement, calling on the UN Security Council to impose a no-fly zone on Libya to protect civilians. On Saturday 12 March the foreign ministers of the Arab League agreed to ask the UN Security Council to impose a no-fly zone over Libya. The Group of Eight met in Paris on 14 March to discuss their potential support of a no-fly zone. On 17 March, the United Nations Security Council voted to impose a no-fly zone, and other measures, to protect the Libyan people.

Relations with the rebels

On 4 March, one British diplomat, accompanied by a Secret Intelligence Service officer and six Special Forces troops were landed by helicopter close to Benghazi. However, they were quickly surrounded by the local militia who demanded to know who they were and what they were doing. They claimed that they were unarmed but their weapons were discovered and they were detained. Then Richard Northern, the British ambassador to Libya, was purportedly recorded having a conversation with one of the rebel leaders to try to solve the situation. On 6 March, the British were released but their weapons were confiscated. The British left Libya by the frigate HMS Cumberland, which docked briefly in Benghazi before setting sail to Malta.
On 7 March, Robert Fisk of The Independent reported that the US government had asked Saudi Arabia if it could supply weapons to the rebels in Benghazi. The Saudis have been told that the opponents of Gaddafi need anti-tank rockets, mortars and surface-to-air missiles. However, on 8 March the US State Department denied the reports and that the United States would arm opposition groups without explicit international authorization. It maintained that United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970, which imposed international sanctions on Libya including an arms embargo, applied to both the Gaddafi regime and the rebel groups.
U.S. global security consultancy Stratfor reported that Egypt's special operations force Unit 777 and Tunisian volunteers were in Libya fighting for the rebels.
On 10 March, France became the first nation to recognize the National Transitional Council as the sole representative of Libya.

Gaddafi's death

On 20 October 2011, Muammar Gaddafi was killed while attempting to flee the Battle of Sirte at the end of the war. NATO forces involved in the military intervention in Libya were among the participants in the battle, and warplanes and at least one unmanned aerial vehicle operated by coalition partners struck Gaddafi's convoy, leaving him seriously injured and forcing him to abandon his retreat from the city. Opposition fighters located Gaddafi and took him into custody later that day, but he died from a gunshot wound to the head before reaching the hospital in Misrata.
Many countries responded to Gaddafi's death by pronouncing it to mark the end of "tyranny" in Libya, with some world leaders even describing it as the end of the war. However, a few countries, such as Venezuela, Russia, met the news with anger, calling his death an "outrage".

Retrospective assessments

In 2016, U.S. President Barack Obama stated that not preparing for a post-Gaddafi Libya was the "worst mistake" of his presidency.
In 2015 through 2016 the British parliament's Foreign Affairs Select Committee conducted an extensive and highly critical inquiry into the British involvement in the civil war. It concluded that the early threat to civilians had been overstated and that the significant Islamist element in the rebel forces had not been recognised, due to an intelligence failure. By summer 2011 the initial limited intervention to protect Libyan civilians had become a policy of regime change. However that new policy did not include proper support and for a new government, leading to a political and economic collapse in Libya and the growth of ISIL in North Africa. The former Prime Minister David Cameron was ultimately responsible for this British policy failure.