Libya Since Kadhafi: A Decade of Civil War and Chaos

A Libyan soldier waves the national flag during a gathering to mark the eighth anniversary of the uprising in Libya’s second city of Benghazi, on February 17, 2019. (Photo by Abdullah DOMA / AFP)
A Libyan soldier waves the national flag during a gathering to mark the eighth anniversary of the uprising in Libya’s second city of Benghazi, on February 17, 2019. (Photo by Abdullah DOMA / AFP)
TT
20

Libya Since Kadhafi: A Decade of Civil War and Chaos

A Libyan soldier waves the national flag during a gathering to mark the eighth anniversary of the uprising in Libya’s second city of Benghazi, on February 17, 2019. (Photo by Abdullah DOMA / AFP)
A Libyan soldier waves the national flag during a gathering to mark the eighth anniversary of the uprising in Libya’s second city of Benghazi, on February 17, 2019. (Photo by Abdullah DOMA / AFP)

With Libya's first direct presidential election due to be held on December 24, here is a timeline of the chaos that has gripped the country since the late Libyan leader
Moamer Kadhafi was ousted in 2011.

- 2011: Kadhafi killed -Encouraged by Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, protests erupt in Libya in February 2011.

The United States, France and Britain give military backing to what becomes an armed revolt in the oil-rich North African country.

Kadhafi, in power for 42 years, flees the capital Tripoli but rebels capture and kill him on October 20.

In August 2012, the rebels hand power to a transitional authority, the General National Congress (GNC).

- 2012: Foreign missions targeted -US ambassador Chris Stevens and three American staff are killed in a September 11, 2012 attack on the consulate in Libya's second city, Benghazi. An Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group is blamed.

A car bomb in April 2013 targets France's Tripoli embassy, wounding two French guards.

Most foreign diplomats leave the country.

- 2014-2016: Rival administrations -Legislative polls are held in June, producing a lower house of parliament -- the House of Representatives -- dominated by anti-Islamists.

But militias contest the results and storm Tripoli in August, restoring the GNC to power.

The internationally recognized House of Representatives takes refuge in the eastern city of Tobruk.

A rival body equivalent to Libya's senate and formally known as the High Council of State is established in Tripoli in the west.

Libya thus finds itself with two administrations and two legislatures.

In December 2015, after months of talks, the rival parliaments sign an accord in Morocco establishing a Government of National Accord.

In March 2016, its chief Fayez al-Sarraj arrives in Tripoli to install the new administration, but eastern-based strongman Khalifa Haftar refuses to recognize it.

- 2019: Haftar's offensives -Haftar announces the "total liberation" of Benghazi from jihadists in July 2017, after more than three years of fighting.

In January 2019, Haftar launches an offensive into oil-rich southern Libya, seizing the region's capital, Sebha, and one of the country's main oil fields.

In April, he orders his troops to advance on Tripoli.

In June 2020, Tripoli's forces, backed by Turkey, say they have overrun Haftar's last western stronghold, driving out Haftar's fighters who are backed by Russia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

- 2020-2021: Talks and tensions -The rival administrations sign a "permanent" ceasefire agreement in October after UN-hosted talks in Geneva. The following month in Tunis they agree to hold parliamentary and presidential elections in December 2021.

Libyan delegates to the UN process approve a unity government headed by interim prime minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah in March, 2021, charging it with leading the country to the elections.

- Election wrangling -In September, the eastern-based parliament adopts a law governing the legislative elections, also ratifying a text governing the presidential poll that critics say favors Haftar.

In early October, the parliament in Tobruk rubber stamps the presidential poll for December 24 but postpones the legislative elections to January.

World powers meeting in Paris in mid-November urge Libyan leaders to stick to the election timetable, and say foreign mercenaries should leave.

Kadhafi's son Seif al-Islam throws his hat into the ring as does Dbeibah, and Haftar confirms he too is standing. Divisions mar the run-up to the poll over who should be allowed to run.

At the end of November, Interior Minister Khaled Mazen says Libya may have to delay the presidential polls if worsening "violations" threatening the electoral process continue, as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says he does not want the vote to become "part of the problem".

Despite Libya's election commission delaying a final list of candidates on Saturday, interim head of government Ramadan Abu Jnah insisted Sunday the elections will go ahead and "nobody should deprive Libyans of this historic" choice.



What to Know About the Flash Floods in Texas That Killed over 100 People

 Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, transport a recovered body on the flooded Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP)
Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, transport a recovered body on the flooded Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP)
TT
20

What to Know About the Flash Floods in Texas That Killed over 100 People

 Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, transport a recovered body on the flooded Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP)
Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, transport a recovered body on the flooded Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP)

Flash floods in Texas killed at least 100 people over the Fourth of July holiday weekend and left others still missing, including girls attending a summer camp. The devastation along the Guadalupe River, outside of San Antonio, has drawn a massive search effort as officials face questions over their preparedness and the speed of their initial actions.

Here's what to know about the deadly flooding, the colossal weather system that drove it in and around Kerr County, Texas, and ongoing efforts to identify victims.

Massive rain hit at just the wrong time, in a flood-prone place

The floods grew to their worst at the midpoint of a long holiday weekend when many people were asleep.

The Texas Hill Country in the central part of the state is naturally prone to flash flooding due to the dry dirt-packed areas where the soil lets rain skid along the surface of the landscape instead of soaking it up. Friday's flash floods started with a particularly bad storm that dropped most of its 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain in the dark early morning hours.

After a flood watch notice midday Thursday, the National Weather Service office issued an urgent warning around 4 a.m. that raised the potential of catastrophic damage and a severe threat to human life. By at least 5:20 a.m., some in the Kerrville City area say water levels were getting alarmingly high. The massive rain flowing down hills sent rushing water into the Guadalupe River, causing it to rise 26 feet (8 meters) in just 45 minutes.

Death toll is expected to rise and the number of missing is uncertain

In Kerr County, home to youth camps in the Texas Hill Country, searchers have found the bodies of 75 people, including 27 children, Sheriff Larry Leitha said Monday morning. Fatalities in nearby counties brought the total number of deaths to 94 as of Monday afternoon.

Ten girls and a counselor were still unaccounted for at Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the river.

For past campers, the tragedy turned happy memories into grief.

Beyond the Camp Mystic campers unaccounted for, the number of missing from other nearby campgrounds and across the region had not been released.

Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday had said that there were 41 people confirmed to be unaccounted for across the state and more could be missing.

Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said during a Monday news conference he couldn't give an estimate of the number of people still missing, only saying “it is a lot.”

Officials face scrutiny over flash flood warnings

Survivors have described the floods as a “pitch black wall of death” and said they received no emergency warnings.

Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, who lives along the Guadalupe River, said Saturday that “nobody saw this coming.” Officials have referred to it as a “100-year-flood,” meaning that the water levels were highly unlikely based on the historical record.

And records behind those statistics don’t always account for human-caused climate change. Though it’s hard to connect specific storms to a warming planet so soon after they occur, meteorologists say that a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture and allow severe storms to dump even more rain.

Additionally, officials have come under scrutiny about why residents and youth summer camps along the river were not alerted sooner than 4 a.m. or told to evacuate.

Rice said Monday that he did not immediately know if there had been any communication between law enforcement and the summer camps between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Friday. But Rice said various factors, including spotty cell service in some of the more isolated areas of Kerr County and cell towers that might have gone out of service during the weather, could have hindered communication.

Rice said officials want to finish the search and rescue and then review possible issues with cell towers, radios and emergency alerts.

Officials noted that the public can grow weary from too many flooding alerts or forecasts that turn out to be minor.

Kerr county officials said they had presented a proposal for a more robust flood warning system, similar to a tornado warning system, but that members of the public reeled at the cost.

Monumental clearing and rebuilding effort

The flash floods have erased campgrounds and torn homes from their foundations.

"It’s going to be a long time before we’re ever able to clean it up, much less rebuild it," Kelly said Saturday after surveying the destruction from a helicopter.

Other massive flooding events have driven residents and business owners to give up, including in areas struck last year by Hurricane Helene.

President Donald Trump said he would likely visit the flood zone on Friday.

AP photographers have captured the scale of the destruction, and one of Texas' largest rescue and recovery efforts.