February 18, 2021 at 9:00 am
Wednesday marked ten years since the start of the Libyan uprising against the government of Muammar Gaddafi. France s military intervention was eventually ushered in before the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the strongest military alliance in history, took over.
After seven months of around-the-clock air bombardment, Gaddafi s government was toppled and the man himself murdered, leaving Libya in chaos, perpetual war and more divided than ever before.
NATO s intervention was vaguely authorised by the United Nations (UN) Resolution 1973, which gave the green light to any willing country to use all necessary measures to protect civilians allegedly under attack by state forces. By September 2011, the mission changed to forcible regime change , in clear violation of the UN mandate.