India evacuates peacekeeping CRPF contingent from Libya

India has evacuated its entire contingent of peacekeeping forces comprising of 15 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel from Tripoli after the situation in the war-hit nation suddenly worsened.

Libyan Crisis

Ever since the 2011 uprising which overthrew and killed long-ruling dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Libya is engulfed in a crisis.

Even though there is an UN-backed internationally recognised government headed by Fayez al-Sarraj, Libya is governed by rival authorities in the east and in Tripoli, in the west, each backed by various armed groups.

Libyan National Army  (LNA) is backing the Tobruk-based parliament which governs the East of Libya and the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) controls Libya’s western parts from Tripoli.

An agreement signed in 2015 created the GNA as the legitimate interim Libyan government. It was not wholly implemented due to disagreements with the Tobruk-based parliament.

The recent tipping point of the crisis was the attempts by the Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter led LNA to capture Tripoli which is the seat of GNA. The GNA determined to defend Tripoli struck back against LNA. This escalation led to the killing of 23 civilians and several others were injured.

Month: Current Affairs - April, 2019