Who knew that the desire for democracy would bring destruction to Libya, but it did. Years after ending Muammar Gaddafi’s more than 40-year-old rule in an uprising, the country is still struggling to find the political stability it has been aching for all this while. Foreign interference by non-state actors, militia groups, western military forces has set the oil rich nation on fire. With foreign actors picking sides based on their conflict of interest in the region, the Libyan Civil War is seemingly going way beyond “out of hands”.
France was recently condemned by the Turkish government for giving leeway to UAE in Libya when it recognized Ankara of violating arms embargo, but ignored UAE for the same. The Turkish ambassador to Paris, Ismail Hakki Musa told French senators at a hearing, “When one supports the legitimate government we’re accused of playing a dangerous game but when some countries like Egypt and the UAE support Haftar, then they are deemed legitimate and it’s not dangerous. I’d call that biased, no?”
The United Nations already deemed the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Turkey of breaching arms embargo on Libya. Turkey backs the internationally recognized government of Libya, the Government of National Accord (GNA). Meanwhile, Egypt and UAE in Libya back a warlord like General Khalifa Haftar, heading the Libyan National Army (LNA) and charged for committing several war crimes and breach of international arms embargo.
France Leeway’s UAE
The lawless status of Libya became the black hole that has been sucking in the little scope of democracy and stability in the country. Split between rival governments, Libya is more in control of external forces backing the two sides, looking for their own benefit in the conflict. By going out of way to support LNA leader Khalifa Haftar, backed by UAE and Egypt, France has angered NATO allies like Italy and Turkey and shown signs of acting as an individual nation and not as part of the European Union.
France, with its support for the LNA, has emerged as the only NATO and EU nation to be siding with the warlord, backed by UAE in Libya.
The UAE Libya partnership has been deemed as the most destructive coalition that has resulted in some of the worst war crimes that have led to humanitarian abuse and violation of arms embargo.
Of all EU member nations, Italy has had the most trouble with the French government shaking hands with LNA government. To Italy, the French collaboration is more so troublesome because it would lead to increase in challenges of hosting an increased flow of refugees fleeing the Libya conflict.
On one hand France condemned Ankara of breaching the UN arms embargo on Libya, while on the other hand it turned a blind eye on UAE’s arming of the Haftar militias. The imbalanced approach hit the wrong chords with Turkey, which considered the EU nation’s stance biased towards war criminals.
Despite sharing strong foreign relations with some of the most powerful western nations, the foreign policy of UAE in Libya was only defended by France out of all. Thus, indirectly making Emirates face the fury of EU and NATO countries towards France.
Yet, the UAE has defended its role in the Libyan Civil War as fighting against groups like ISIS and AQAP, a Yemen-based al-Qaeda unit. However, giving civilians weapons, when they asked for democracy and expecting the country to not be in a turmoil is nothing but a wild calculation. Unless intervention by foreign nations like Egypt, Turkey, France and UAE in Libya ends and frees the country from their conflict of interest, the oil rich nation will continue burning.
