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Ambassador Wafa Bughaighis of Libya will join the Council for an Ambassadors Roundtable on Wednesday, December 4.
Since Muammar al-Qaddafi's ouster and death in October 2011, Libya has struggled to establish a united government and rebuild state institutions. In 2012 the country's newly elected General National Congress (GNC) failed to maintain stability while armed Islamist groups spread throughout the country, conducting numerous attacks including the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that resulted in the assassination of Ambassador Christopher Stevens.
The battle for control over Libya launched into civil war in 2014. Then-UN Special Envoy to Libya facilitated a series of talks between the Tobruk-based House of Representatives (HoR) and Tripoli-based GNC. The talks resulted in the creation of the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), recognized today by the international community as Libya's legitimate government.
Civil war continues today between GNA, based in Tripoli, and HoR, based in the east. HoR is a key supporter of the Libyan National Army and it's leader General Khalifa Haftar - a former Qaddafi loyalist. As a result of continued fighting, Libya faces major stressors including frequent attacks on its oil fields, the spread of armed Islamist groups like the Islamic State, and over 260,000 people internally displaced with an estimated 1.3 million in need of humanitarian assistance. Further, Libya is in the midst of a severe migrant crisis. An estimated 50,000 registered refugees and asylum-seekers are in Libya, many of whom are trapped in detention centers and face human rights abuses.
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