Libya’s Slide Into Civil War

Four years ago, Libya dominated the headlines as the country struggled to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi. Now, despite the fact that this country of vital importance in the region is sliding into civil war, it has all but disappeared from the news.

As well as the violence, the people of Libya are also facing chronic power shortages and escalating prices of basic everyday goods. The local media that flourished after the revolution has been killed off and human rights organisations have left the country. Now with foreign powers backing different factions the conflict looks set to take on new dimensions.

In a new book, The Libyan Revolution and its Aftermath, leading journalists, academics and specialists trace the journey from the outbreak of protests in Benghazi in February 2011 to the subsequent conflict. Some of its contributors and other experts will be joining us to offer an insight into what led to the current crisis and how Libya might be able to rebuild itself.

Chaired by BBC journalist Mohamed Madi.

The panel:

Guma el-Gamaty is a Libyan politician and was National Transitional Council (NTC) envoy to the UK during the 2011 revolution.

Abdul Rahman al-Ageli is co-Founder of the Libyan Youth Forum. He also worked as a security coordinator in the Libyan prime minister’s office.

Mary Fitzgerald is a journalist who has reported from Libya since February 2011 and lived there throughout 2014.

Elham Saudi is co-founder and director of Lawyers for Justice in Libya (LFJL) and associate fellow at Chatham House’s International Law Programme and Middle East and North Africa Programme.

Peter Cole is a former International Crisis Group Libya analyst who has also worked for the UN mission in Libya.