Inspired by popular revolts in Tunisia and Egypt, Libyan protesters seized parts of Libya in February 2011 in an attempt to end Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's 41-year rule.
In a bid to quell the uprising, government and pro-Gaddafi forces gunned down hundreds of protesters in the capital Tripoli, Libya's second city Benghazi and other areas in the north African desert state.
But the protests continued, and fighting between the two sides broke out in east and west Libya. In the ensuing violence, the country has struggled with shortages of food, fuel and medical supplies.
Some of Gaddafi's armed forces defected to the rebel side, as did several prominent members of his regime including the justice minister, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, and interior minister, General Abdul Fatah Younis.
INTERNATIONAL BOMBARDMENT
As Gaddafi's forces closed in on the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi, the international community decided to step in.
On March 18, the U.N. Security Council passed Resolution 1973 creating a Libyan no-fly zone to protect civilian areas from attack, while excluding the possibility of invasion and occupation.
The military bombardment that followed was the largest against an Arab country since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. It was carried out by the United States in a coalition with Britain, France, Italy, Canada and Qatar among others.
The Arab League supported the U.N. resolution.
NATO was initially divided over involvement in enforcing the no-fly zone, and instead approved on March 20 a plan to help enforce a U.N. arms embargo on Libya.
NATO members Turkey and Germany spoke out against the no-fly zone, and diplomats said France had argued against involvement by NATO, whose reputation in the Arab world had been tainted by its involvement in the war in Afghanistan.
But on March 27, NATO took full control of the military operation.
FLEEING THE VIOLENCE
Tens of thousands of migrant workers and a growing number of Libyans have fled the country since the crisis began. The majority have fled to Tunisia and Egypt, and increasingly to Algeria and Niger.
Aid agencies have appealed to Libya's neighbours to keep borders open as they brace for an exodus of refugees from Libya following intensified fighting and the declaration of the no-fly zone.
Some third country nationals were flown home by the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and International Organization for Migration (IOM). They included many Bangladeshis, Ghanaians and Sudanese.
"This is one of the biggest humanitarian evacuations in history," IOM director-general William Lacy Swing said on March 18, when appealing for further international funding.
Expat nurses are among the many who have fled the country. Medical students have volunteered to fill their places, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said on March 17.
The escalating violence also forced staff from MSF, the International Committee of the Red Cross, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to temporarily pull out of Benghazi.
In a bid to quell the uprising, government and pro-Gaddafi forces gunned down hundreds of protesters in the capital Tripoli, Libya's second city Benghazi and other areas in the north African desert state.
But the protests continued, and fighting between the two sides broke out in east and west Libya. In the ensuing violence, the country has struggled with shortages of food, fuel and medical supplies.
Some of Gaddafi's armed forces defected to the rebel side, as did several prominent members of his regime including the justice minister, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, and interior minister, General Abdul Fatah Younis.
INTERNATIONAL BOMBARDMENT
As Gaddafi's forces closed in on the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi, the international community decided to step in.
On March 18, the U.N. Security Council passed Resolution 1973 creating a Libyan no-fly zone to protect civilian areas from attack, while excluding the possibility of invasion and occupation.
The military bombardment that followed was the largest against an Arab country since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. It was carried out by the United States in a coalition with Britain, France, Italy, Canada and Qatar among others.
The Arab League supported the U.N. resolution.
NATO was initially divided over involvement in enforcing the no-fly zone, and instead approved on March 20 a plan to help enforce a U.N. arms embargo on Libya.
NATO members Turkey and Germany spoke out against the no-fly zone, and diplomats said France had argued against involvement by NATO, whose reputation in the Arab world had been tainted by its involvement in the war in Afghanistan.
But on March 27, NATO took full control of the military operation.
FLEEING THE VIOLENCE
Tens of thousands of migrant workers and a growing number of Libyans have fled the country since the crisis began. The majority have fled to Tunisia and Egypt, and increasingly to Algeria and Niger.
Aid agencies have appealed to Libya's neighbours to keep borders open as they brace for an exodus of refugees from Libya following intensified fighting and the declaration of the no-fly zone.
Some third country nationals were flown home by the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and International Organization for Migration (IOM). They included many Bangladeshis, Ghanaians and Sudanese.
"This is one of the biggest humanitarian evacuations in history," IOM director-general William Lacy Swing said on March 18, when appealing for further international funding.
Expat nurses are among the many who have fled the country. Medical students have volunteered to fill their places, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said on March 17.
The escalating violence also forced staff from MSF, the International Committee of the Red Cross, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to temporarily pull out of Benghazi.
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