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Political science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government, and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state.^[1] It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior. Political scientists "see themselves engaged in revealing the relationships underlying political events and conditions, and from these revelations they attempt to construct general principles about the way the world of politics works."^[2] Political science intersects with other fields; including anthropology, public policy, national politics, economics, international relations, comparative politics, psychology, sociology, history, law, and political theory. Although it was codified in the 19th century, when all the social sciences were established, political science has ancient roots; indeed, it originated almost 2,500 years ago with the works of Plato and Aristotle.^[3]

Political science is commonly divided into three distinct sub-disciplines which together constitute the field: political philosophy^{[dubious – discuss]}, comparative politics and international relations. Political philosophy is the reasoning for an absolute normative government, laws and similar questions and their distinctive characteristics. Comparative politics is the science of comparison and teaching of different types of constitutions, political actors, legislature and associated fields, all of them from an intrastate perspective. International relations deals with the interaction between nation-states as well as intergovernmental and transnational organizations.

Political science is methodologically diverse and appropriates many methods originating in social research. Approaches include positivism, interpretivism, rational choice theory, behavioralism, structuralism, post-structuralism, realism, institutionalism, and pluralism. Political science, as one of the social sciences, uses methods and techniques that relate to the kinds of inquiries sought: primary sources such as historical documents and official records, secondary sources such as scholarly journal articles, survey research, statistical analysis, case studies, and model building.

"As a discipline" political science, possibly like the social sciences as a whole, "lives on the fault line between the 'two cultures' in the academy, the sciences and the humanities."^[4] Thus, in some American colleges where there is no separate School or College of Arts and Sciences per se, political science may be a separate department housed as part of a division or school of Humanities or Liberal Arts.^[5] Whereas classical political philosophy is primarily defined by a concern for Hellenic and Enlightenment thought, political scientists are also marked by a great concern for "modernity" and the contemporary nation state, along with the study of classical thought, and as such share a greater deal of terminology with sociologists (e.g. structure and agency).

Overview[link]

Political scientists study matters concerning the allocation and transfer of power in decision making, the roles and systems of governance including governments and international organizations, political behavior and public policies. They measure the success of governance and specific policies by examining many factors, including stability, justice, material wealth, and peace. Some political scientists seek to advance positive (attempt to describe how things are, as opposed to how they should be) theses by analyzing politics. Others advance normative theses, by making specific policy recommendations.

Political scientists provide the frameworks from which journalists, special interest groups, politicians, and the electorate analyze issues. According to Chaturvedy, "...Political scientists may serve as advisers to specific politicians, or even run for office as politicians themselves. Political scientists can be found working in governments, in political parties or as civil servants. They may be involved with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or political movements. In a variety of capacities, people educated and trained in political science can add value and expertise to corporations.^{[citation needed]} Private enterprises such as think tanks, research institutes, polling and public relations firms often employ political scientists."^{[citation needed]} In the United States, political scientists known as "Americanists^{[disambiguation needed ]}" look at a variety of data including constitutional development, elections, public opinion and public policy such as Social Security reform,..... foreign policy, US Congressional committees, and the US Supreme Court — to name only a few issues.

Most United States colleges and universities offer B.A. programs in political science. M.A. or M.A.T. and Ph.D or Ed.D. programs are common at larger universities. The term political science is more popular in North America than elsewhere; other institutions, especially those outside the United States, see political science as part of a broader discipline of political studies, politics, or government. While political science implies use of the scientific method, political studies implies a broader approach, although the naming of degree courses does not necessarily reflect their content.^[6] Separate degree granting programs in international relations and public policy are not uncommon at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Master's level programs in political science are common when political scientists engage in public administration.^[7]

The national honor society for college and university students of government and politics in the United States is Pi Sigma Alpha.

History[link]

Niccolò Machiavelli, one of many influential political theorists

Political science as a separate field is a relatively late arrival in terms of social sciences. However, the term "political science" was not always distinguished from political philosophy, and the modern discipline has a clear set of antecedents including also moral philosophy, political economy, political theology, history, and other fields concerned with normative determinations of what ought to be and with deducing the characteristics and functions of the ideal state.

The antecedents of Western politics can be traced back to the Socratic political philosophers, Plato (427–347 BC), Xenophon (c. 430–354 BC), and Aristotle ("The Father of Political Science") (384–322 BC). These authors, in such works as The Republic and Laws by Plato, and The Politics and Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle, analyzed political systems philosophically, going beyond earlier Greek poetic and historical reflections which can be found in the works of epic poets like Homer and Hesiod, historians like Herodotus and Thucydides, and dramatists such as Sophocles, Aristophanes, and Euripides.

The rise and fall of the Roman Empire[link]

During the height of the Roman Empire, famous historians such as Polybius, Livy and Plutarch documented the rise of the Roman Republic, and the organization and histories of other nations, while statesmen like Julius Caesar, Cicero and others provided us with examples of the politics of the republic and Rome's empire and wars. The study of politics during this age was oriented toward understanding history, understanding methods of governing, and describing the operation of governments. Nearly a thousand years elapsed, from the foundation of the city of Rome in 753 BC to the fall of the Roman Empire or the beginning of the Middle Ages. In the interim, there is a manifest translation of Hellenic culture into the Roman sphere. The Greek gods become Romans and Greek philosophy in one way or another turns into Roman law e.g. Stoicism. The Stoic was committed to preserving proper hierarchical roles and duties in the state so that the state as a whole would remain stable. Among the best known Roman Stoics were philosopher Seneca and the emperor Marcus Aurelius. Seneca, a wealthy Roman patrician, is often criticized by some modern commentators for failing to adequately live by his own precepts. The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, on the other hand, can be best thought of as the philosophical reflections of an emperor divided between his philosophical aspirations and the duty he felt to defend the Roman Empire from its external enemies through his various military campaigns. According to Polybius, Roman institutions were the backbone of the empire but Roman law is the medulla.^[8]

Middle Ages[link]

With the fall of the Western Roman Empire, there arose a more diffuse arena for political studies. The rise of monotheism and, particularly for the Western tradition, Christianity, brought to light a new space for politics and political action. Works such as Augustine of Hippo's The City of God synthesized current philosophies and political traditions with those of Christianity, redefining the borders between what was religious and what was political. During the Middle Ages, the study of politics was widespread in the churches and courts. Most of the political questions surrounding the relationship between church and state were clarified and contested in this period. The Arabs lost sight of Aristotle's political science but continued to study Plato's Republic which became the basic text of Judeo-Islamic political philosophy as in the works of Alfarabi and Averroes; this did not happen in the Christian world, where Aristotle's Politics was translated in the 13th century and became the basic text as in the works of Saint Thomas Aquinas.^[9]

Indian subcontinent[link]

In ancient India, the antecedents of politics can be traced back to the Rig-Veda, Samhitas, Brahmanas, the Mahabharata and Buddhist Pali Canon. Chanakya (c. 350–275 BC) was a political thinker in Takshashila. Chanakya wrote the Arthashastra, a treatise on political thought, economics and social order. It discusses monetary and fiscal policies, welfare, international relations, and war strategies in detail, among other topics. The Manusmriti, dated to about two centuries after the time of Chanakya is another important Indian political treatise.

East Asia[link]

Ancient China was home to several competing schools of political thought, most of which arose in the Spring and Autumn Period. These included Mohism (a utilitarian philosophy), Taoism, Legalism (a school of thought based on the supremacy of the state), and Confucianism. Eventually, a modified form of Confucianism (heavily infused with elements of Legalism) became the dominant political philosophy in China during the Imperial Period. This form of Confucianism also deeply influenced and were expounded upon by scholars in Korea and Japan.

West Asia[link]

In Persia, works such as the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and Epic of Kings by Ferdowsi provided evidence of political analysis, while the Middle Eastern Aristotelians such as Avicenna and later Maimonides and Averroes, continued Aristotle's tradition of analysis and empiricism, writing commentaries on Aristotle's works. Averroe did not have at hand a text of Aristotle's Politics, so he wrote a commentary on Plato's Republic instead.

Renaissance[link]

During the Italian Renaissance, Niccolò Machiavelli established the emphasis of modern political science on direct empirical observation of political institutions and actors. Machiavelli was also a realist, arguing that even evil means should be considered if they help to create and preserve a glorious regime. Machiavelli therefore also argues against the use of idealistic models in politics, and has been described as the father of the "politics model" of political science.^[10] Later, the expansion of the scientific paradigm during the Enlightenment further pushed the study of politics beyond normative determinations.

Enlightenment[link]

The works of the French philosophers Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot to name a few are paragon for political analysis, social science, social and political critic. Their influence leading to the French revolution has been enormous in the development of modern democracy throughout the world.

Like Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, well known for his theory of the social contract, believed that a strong central power, such as a monarchy, was necessary to rule the innate selfishness of the individual but neither of them believed in the divine right of kings. John Locke, on the other hand, who gave us Two Treatises of Government and who did not believe in the divine right of kings either, sided with Aquinas and stood against both Machiavelli and Hobbes by accepting Aristotle's dictum that man seeks to be happy in a state of social harmony as a social animal. Unlike Aquinas' preponderant view on the salvation of the soul from original sin, Locke believed man comes into this world with a mind that is basically a tabula rasa. According to Locke, an absolute ruler as proposed by Hobbes is unnecessary, for natural law is based on reason and equality, seeking peace and survival for man.

Religion would no longer play a dominant role in politics. There would be separation of church and state. Principles similar to those that dominated the material sciences could be applied to society as a whole, originating the social sciences. Politics could be studied in a laboratory as it were, the social milieu. In 1787, Alexander Hamilton wrote: "...The science of politics like most other sciences has received great improvement." (The Federalist Papers Number 9 and 51). Both the marquis d'Argenson and the abbé de Saint-Pierre described politics as a science; d'Argenson was a philosopher and de Saint-Pierre an allied reformer of the enlightenment.^[11]

Other important figures in American politics who participated in the Enlightenment were Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.

Modern political science[link]

Because political science is essentially a study of human behavior, in all aspects of politics, observations in controlled environments are often challenging to reproduce or duplicate, though experimental methods are increasingly common (see experimental political science).^[12] Citing this difficulty, former American Political Science Association President Lawrence Lowell once said "We are limited by the impossibility of experiment. Politics is an observational, not an experimental science."^[13] Because of this, political scientists have historically observed political elites, institutions, and individual or group behavior in order to identify patterns, draw generalizations, and build theories of politics.

Like all social sciences, political science faces the difficulty of observing human actors that can only be partially observed and who have the capacity for making conscious choices unlike other subjects such as non-human organisms in biology or inanimate objects as in physics. Despite the complexities, contemporary political science has progressed by adopting a variety of methods and theoretical approaches to understanding politics and methodological pluralism is a defining feature of contemporary political science.

The advent of political science as a university discipline was marked by the creation of university departments and chairs with the title of political science arising in the late 19th century. In fact, the designation "political scientist" is typically reserved for those with a doctorate in the field. Integrating political studies of the past into a unified discipline is ongoing, and the history of political science has provided a rich field for the growth of both normative and positive political science, with each part of the discipline sharing some historical predecessors. The American Political Science Association was founded in 1903 and the American Political Science Review was founded in 1906 in an effort to distinguish the study of politics from economics and other social phenomena.

Behavioral revolution and new institutionalism[link]

In the 1950s and the 1960s, a behavioral revolution stressing the systematic and rigorously scientific study of individual and group behavior swept the discipline. A focus on studying political behavior, rather than institutions or interpretation of legal texts, characterized early behavioral political science, including work by Robert Dahl, Philip Converse, and in the collaboration between sociologist Paul Lazarsfeld and public opinion scholar Bernard Berelson.

The late 1960s and early 1970s witnessed a take off in the use of deductive, game theoretic formal modeling techniques aimed at generating a more analytical corpus of knowledge in the discipline. This period saw a surge of research that borrowed theory and methods from economics to study political institutions, such as the United States Congress, as well as political behavior, such as voting. William H. Riker and his colleagues and students at the University of Rochester were the main proponents of this shift. Criticisms of the use of this rational choice theorizing has been widespread, even among political scientists who adopt quantitative methods.^{[14][Full citation needed]}

Recent developments[link]

In 2000, the Perestroika Movement in political science was introduced as a reaction against what supporters of the movement called the mathematicization of political science. Those who identified with the movement argued for a plurality of methodologies and approaches in political science and for more relevance of the discipline to those outside of it.^[15]

Evolutionary psychology theories argue that humans have evolved a highly developed set of psychological mechanisms for dealing with politics. However, these mechanisms evolved for dealing with the small group politics that characterized the ancestral environment and not the much larger political structures in today's world. This is argued to explain many important features and systematic cognitive biases of current politics.^[16]

Subfields[link]

Most political scientists work broadly in one or more of the following five areas:

• Comparative politics, including area studies
• International relations
• Political philosophy
• Public administration
• Public law

Some political science departments also classify methodology as well as scholarship on the domestic politics of a particular country as distinct sub fields.

In contrast to this traditional classification, some academic departments organize scholarship into thematic categories, including political philosophy, political behavior (including public opinion, collective action, and identity), and political institutions (including legislatures and international organizations). Political science conferences and journals often emphasize scholarship in more specific categories. The American Political Science Association, for example, has 42 organized sections that address various methods and topics of political inquiry.^[17]

See also[link]

• Outline of political science - structured list of political topics, arranged by subject area
• Index of politics articles - alphabetical list of political subjects
• Political lists - lists of political topics
• Outline of law
• Index of law articles
• Process tracing

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• The Evolution of Political Science (Nov. 2006). APSR Centennial Volume of American Political Science Review. Apsanet.org. 4 Feb. 2009.
• Goodin, R. E.; Klingemann, Hans-Dieter (1996). A New Handbook of Political Science. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-829471-9.
• Klingemann, Hans-Dieter, ed. (2007) The State of Political Science in Western Europe. Opladen: Barbara Budrich Publishers. ISBN 978-3-86649-045-3.
• Schramm, S. F.; Caterino, B., eds. (2006). Making Political Science Matter: Debating Knowledge, Research, and Method. New York and London: New York University Press. Making Political Science Matter. Google Books. 4 Feb. 2009.
• Roskin, M.; Cord, R. L.; Medeiros, J. A.; Jones, W. S. (2007). Political Science: An Introduction. 10th ed. New York: Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-242575-9 (10). ISBN 978-0-13-242575-9 (13).
• Tausch, A.; Prager, F. (1993). Towards a Socio-Liberal Theory of World Development. Basingstoke: Macmillan; New York: St. Martin's Press.
• Oxford Handbooks of Political Science
• Noel, Hans (2010) "Ten Things Political Scientists Know that You Don’t" The Forum: Vol. 8: Iss. 3, Article 12.

External links[link]

Wikibooks has a book on the topic of Political Science

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Political science

• International Political Science Association
• IPSAPortal : Top 300 websites for Political Science
• International Association for Political Science Students
• American Political Science Association
• European Consortium for Political Research
• Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. "Political Science Department which offers MA and PhD programmes"
• Political Studies Association of the UK
• PROL: Political Science Research Online (prepublished research)
• Truman State University Political Science Research Design Handbook
• A New Nation Votes: American Elections Returns 1787–1825
• Comparative Politics in Argentina & Latin America: Site dedicated to the development of comparative politics in Latin America. Paper Works, Articles and links to specialized web sites.

Danny Howells (born on 24 November 1970) is an English producer and DJ. His music is often described as progressive house, though he prefers to associate more with tech house and is sometimes described simply as "deepsexyfuturistictechfunkouse". At performances, he is well known to interact personally with the audience.^[1] Howells has mixed several albums for Global Underground in addition to his Nocturnal Frequencies series. Howells is also a member of the duo Science Department with Dick Trevor, which has produced the singles "Breathe" and "Persuasion"/"Repercussion" as well as remixes for artists such as BT. From 2008 he has run his own record label, Dig Deeper - named after his long running club night.

Biography[link]

Danny Howells was born in the South East England town of Hastings in 1970.^[2] Howells's first event DJ-ing came in the late 1980s and he began to perform at local clubs.^[2] In 1991, Bedrock founder John Digweed heard one of Howells's mix tapes and invited Howells to join the Bedrock club nights.^[2] Howells traveled with Bedrock until they settled at the club Heaven in London.^[2] He would spend nine years as warm-up DJ for Digweed at Bedrock.^[3]

In 1995, Howells began producing experimental techno tracks with fellow Hastings native, Tim Cross, under the moniker Squelch.^[2] Over the next two years, Squelch produced several singles and attracted the attention of the record label Jackpot, who released what would be Cross's and Howells's final single together.^[2] In 1997, Cross and Howells split, though Howells stayed with Jackpot. Jackpot teamed Danny Howells up with Rob Green to produce a remix of React 2 Rhythm's "Intoxication".^[2] Howells performed for the first time outside of the UK, traveling to Holland for his first gig abroad, which gained him a large fan base there.^[4] Following his international tour, Howells signed with Dutch record label ID&T to create his debut mix album, Nightlife Report 1: Mick Boskamp Presents Danny Howells.^[2] Howells and Green continued to work together, including on a remix of Robbie Williams's "South of the Border.^[2] Howells began to produce solo as well, taking on projects such as Ashtrax's "Kafka" and BT's "Dreaming".^[2]

In 1999, Danny Howells began his Nocturnal Frequencies series of mix albums on the record label Obsessive. He also began remixing with Dick Trevor, and the two soon adopted the name Science Department for their original productions.^[2] Howells continued his live DJ-ing, playing regularly at clubs including Bedrock, Renaissance, Cream, and Ministry of Sound.^[2] After the release of his next Nocturnal Frequencies album, Howells left Bedrock and Ministry of Sound, taking a residency at Twilo in New York City.^[2] After finishing the Science Department track "Breathe", Howells compiled his next mix album Nubreed 002.^[2] The second entry in Global Underground's Nubreed series, Howells's album consisted largely of funky, progressive, tech house.^[5] Howells was voted number ten of the world's top DJs in DJ Magazine's 2001 Top 100 DJs poll.^[6]

Howells continued his relationship with Global Underground, releasing the first album in their 24:7 series in July 2003. The first disc features a primarily downtempo or chill out music, similarly to Nick Warren's Global Underground 024: Reykjavik, while the second is more of a club mix.^[7] In 2005, Global Underground brought in Howells for the 27th entry in their series. Howells entry, Global Underground 027: Miami, is based on his 31 October 2004 performance at Club Space in Miami, Florida.^[8] The first disc is based on his morning set and the second disc on his late night set.^[8] In 2008 he launched his own record label "Dig Deeper", initially as a means of showcasing his own productions, but more recently featuring many new and established artists. In 2011 he released the first compilation on this imprint, entitled "Phase One".

Genre and style[link]

Up until the late 1990s, DJs such as Howells allowed themselves to be categorised under genres like "deep trance".^[9] However, with the commercialisation of trance, Howells and others began to be classified as progressive house, tribal house, or tech house.^[6][9]

Danny Howells is also known for his unique clothing styles, including wearing eye liner and "loud" Paisley shirts, which he buys from vintage stores or thrift shops.^[8][10]

Selected discography[link]

Albums^[11]

• 1998: Nightlife Report 1: Mick Boskamp Presents Danny Howells (ID&T)
• 1999: Nocturnal Frequencies (Obsessive)
• 1999: Danny Howells Presents Jackpot Records (Jackpot)
• 2000: Nocturnal Frequencies 2 (Obsessive)
• 2000: Nubreed 002 (Boxed)
• 2001: Renaissance: Revelation (Renaissance)
• 2002: Nocturnal Frequencies 3 (Obsessive)
• 2003: 24:7 (Boxed) (Billboard Top Electronic Albums #10)
• 2005: Global Underground 027: Miami (Global Underground Ltd.) (Billboard Top Electronic Albums #14)
• 2006: Choice - A Collection Of Classics (Azuli Records)
• 2008: Renaissance: The Mix Collection (Renaissance)
• 2009: Dig Deeper: The New Label

Remixes

• Felix da Housecat - ("We All Wanna Be Prince") (2009)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Danny Howells Official Website
• Danny Howells discography at Discogs
• Danny Howells discography at MusicBrainz
• Danny Howells Tracklisting archive
• Danny Howells's myspace page

Libyan civil war
Part of the Arab Spring
Clockwise from top-left: The National Transitional Council flag is flown by anti-Gaddafi fighters in Brega on 10 March 2011; protesters in Bayda; protesters and defectors clash with Libyan soldiers in Bayda on 17 February 2011; a French rescue helicopter lands on USS Mount Whitney, at the beginning of the military intervention; remains of two Palmaria heavy howitzers of the Libyan Army, destroyed by French warplanes near Benghazi; USS Barry launches one of its Tomahawk missiles during Operation Unified Protector.
Date 17 February – 23 October 2011 (8 months and 3 days) Location Libya Result Overthrow of Gaddafi government Anti-Gaddafi forces take control of all major Libyan cities. Muammar Gaddafi is killed.[1] The National Transitional Council assumes interim control of Libya. 102 countries, UN, EU, AL and AU diplomatically recognise the National Transitional Council as the sole governing authority for Libya. Inter factional fighting ongoing[2]
Belligerents
National Transitional Council National Liberation Army Free Libyan Air Force Anti-Gaddafi tribes[3][4][5]  Qatar[6][7][8][9] UN member states enforcing UNSC Resolution 1973: 22x20px NATO full list  Bulgaria  Belgium  Canada  Denmark  France  Greece  Italy  Netherlands  Norway[10]  Romania  Spain  Turkey  United Kingdom  United States  Jordan[11]  Qatar  Sweden  UAE[12] Spillover conflict:  Tunisia (minor border clashes)	Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Libyan Armed Forces Libyan Army Libyan Air Force Libyan Navy Paramilitary forces Pro-Gaddafi tribes[3][4][13] Foreign mercenaries[14][15][16][17][18] (disputed)[19] 25px Justice and Equality Movement[20][21]
Commanders and leaders
Mustafa Abdul Jalil (Chairman of the NTC)[22] Abdul Hafiz Ghoga (Vice-Chairman of the NTC) Mahmoud Jibril (Interim Libyan Prime Minister) Omar El-Hariri[23] (Minister of Military Affairs until 19 May) Jalal al-Digheily (Defence Minister from 19 May) Abdul Fatah Younis † (Commander-in-Chief of armed forces until assassinated 28 July in Benghazi) Suleiman Mahmoud[24] (Commander-in-Chief from 28 July) Khalifa Belqasim Haftar (Lieutenant general, 3rd in command) Khalid Shahmah (Major general) Abdelhakim Belhadj (Head of Tripoli Military Council) Mahdi al-Harati (Commander of Tripoli Brigade) Abu Oweis (Deputy commander of Tripoli Brigade) Abdul Hassan (Commander of Al Horia Brigade) Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Hamad bin Ali al-Attiyah 22x20px Anders Fogh Rasmussen (Secretary General) 22x20px James G. Stavridis (SACEUR) 22x20px Charles Bouchard (Operational Commander)[25] 22x20px Ralph Jodice (Air Commander) 22x20px Rinaldo Veri (Maritime Commander) 22x20px Carter Ham Stephen Harper (Prime Minister of Canada) Marc Lessard Lars Løkke Rasmussen (Prime Minister of Denmark to 3 Oct) Helle Thorning-Schmidt (Prime Minister of Denmark from 3 Oct) Knud Bartels Nicolas Sarkozy (President of France) Édouard Guillaud Silvio Berlusconi (Prime Minister of Italy) Rinaldo Veri Jens Stoltenberg (Prime Minister of Norway) Harald Sunde Traian Băsescu (President of Romania) Ștefan Dănilă David Cameron (Prime Minister of the UK) Sir Stuart Peach (Chief of Joint Operations) Barack Obama (President of the United States) Carter Ham Sam Locklear Abdullah II (King of Jordan) Sverker Göranson Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan (President of the United Arab Emirates)	Muammar Gaddafi † Muammar Gaddafi's sons: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi (Captured after war's end) Khamis Gaddafi †[26] Mutassim Gaddafi † Saif al-Arab Gaddafi †[27] Al-Saadi Gaddafi (Captured after war's end)[28] Military leaders: Abu-Bakr Yunis Jabr † (Minister of Defence) Abdullah Senussi (Captured after war's end) Massoud Abdelhafid (Head of the secret police) Baghdadi Mahmudi (POW) (Libyan Prime Minister) Mahdi al-Arabi (POW) (Deputy chief of staff of the army and commander of special forces) Mohamed Abu Al-Quasim al-Zwai (POW) (Secretary-General of the General People's Congress) Abuzed Omar Dorda (POW) (Head of National Intelligence) Khouildi Hamidi (POW) (Deputy head of the secret police) Abdul Ati al-Obeidi (POW) (Foreign Minister) Moussa Ibrahim (Gaddafi Spokesman) Hasan al-Kabir al-Gaddafi (Head of Revolutionary Guard Corps) Rafi al-Sharif (Head of the Navy) Ali Sharif al-Rifi (General and Head of the Air Force) Ali Kana (General and commander of southern forces) Nasr al-Mabrouk (General and primary police commander) Ahmed al-Gaddafi al-Qahsi † (Army colonel and Gaddafi's cousin) Mansour Dhao (POW) (Head of Gaddafi's personal guards)
Strength
17,000 defecting soldiers and volunteers[29] 200,000 volunteers by war's end (NTC estimate)[30] International Forces: Numerous air and maritime forces (see here)	20,000[31]–40,000[32] soldiers and militia
Casualties and losses
5,849–7,241 opposition fighters and supporters killed, 2,716–2,835 missing (see here) 1 airman killed in traffic accident in Italy[33] 3 Dutch Marines captured (later released)[34]	2,319–3,224 soldiers killed (see here), 7,000 captured*[35]
Estimated total casualties on both sides, including civilians: 25,000[36]–30,000 killed, 4,000 missing,[37] 50,000 injured[38]
*Large number of loyalist or immigrant civilians, not military personnel, among those captured by rebels,[39] only an estimated minimum of 1,542+ confirmed as soldiers[40]

The Libyan civil war (also referred to as the Libyan revolution^[41]), was an armed conflict in the North African state of Libya, fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and those seeking to oust his government.^[42][43] The war was preceded by protests in Benghazi beginning on Tuesday, 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security forces that fired on the crowd.^[19] The protests escalated into a rebellion that spread across the country,^[44] with the forces opposing Gaddafi establishing an interim governing body, the National Transitional Council.

The United Nations Security Council passed an initial resolution on 26 February, freezing the assets of Gaddafi and his inner circle and restricting their travel, and referred the matter to the International Criminal Court for investigation.^[45] In early March, Gaddafi's forces rallied, pushed eastwards and re-took several coastal cities before attacking Benghazi. A further U.N. resolution authorised member states to establish and enforce a no-fly zone over Libya, and to use "all necessary measures" to prevent attacks on civilians.^[46] The Gaddafi government then announced a ceasefire, but failed to uphold it,^[47] though it then accused rebels of violating the ceasefire when they continued to fight as well.^[48] Throughout the conflict, rebels rejected government offers of a ceasefire and efforts by the African Union to end the fighting because the plans set forth did not include the removal of Gaddafi.^[49]

In August, rebel forces began a coastal offensive, taking back territory lost weeks before and ultimately capturing the capital city of Tripoli,^[50] while Gaddafi evaded capture and loyalists engaged in a rearguard campaign.^[51] On 16 September 2011, the National Transitional Council was recognised by the United Nations as the legal representative of Libya, replacing the Gaddafi government. Muammar Gaddafi remained at large until 20 October 2011, when he was captured and killed attempting to escape from Sirte.^[52] The National Transitional Council "declared the liberation of Libya" and the official end of the war on 23 October 2011.^[53]

Amidst the aftermath of the civil war, a low-level insurgency by former Gaddafi loyalists still continued. In addition, there have been various disagreements and strife between local militia and tribes. The most serious clashes erupted in late January 2012. On 23 January, the former Gaddafi stronghold of Bani Walid was captured by local fighters, who subsequently established a non-NTC town council due to the NTC's refusal to cooperate with tribal leaders.^[54][55]

Background[link]

Leadership[link]

Muammar Gaddafi became the de-facto ruler of Libya after he led a military coup that overthrew King Idris I in 1969.^[56] He abolished the Libyan Constitution of 1951, and adopted laws based on his own ideology outlined in his manifesto The Green Book. He officially stepped down from power in 1977, and subsequently claimed to be merely a "symbolic figurehead" until 2011, with the Libyan government up until then also denying that he held any power.^[57][58]

Under Gaddafi, Libya was theoretically a decentralized, direct democracy^[59] state run according to the philosophy of Gaddafi's The Green Book, with Gaddafi retaining a ceremonial position. Libya was officially run by a system of people's committees which served as local governments for the country's subdivisions, an indirectly elected General People's Congress as the legislature, and the General People's Committee, led by a Secretary-General, as the executive branch. According to Freedom House, however, these structures were often manipulated to ensure the dominance of Gaddafi, who reportedly continued to dominate all aspects of government.^[60]

WikiLeaks' disclosure of confidential US diplomatic cables revealed US diplomats there speaking of Gaddafi's "mastery of tactical manoeuvring".^[61] While placing relatives and loyal members of his tribe in central military and government positions, he skillfully marginalized supporters and rivals, thus maintaining a delicate balance of powers, stability and economic developments. This extended even to his own sons, as he repeatedly changed affections to avoid the rise of a clear successor and rival.^[61]

Both Gaddafi and the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, however, officially denied that he held any power, but claimed he was merely a symbolic figurehead.^[57][58] While he was popularly seen as a demagogue in the West, Gaddafi always portrayed himself as a statesman-philosopher.^[62]

According to several Western media sources, Gaddafi feared a military coup against his government and deliberately kept Libya's military relatively weak. The Libyan Army consisted of about 50,000 personnel. Its most powerful units were four crack brigades of highly equipped and trained soldiers, composed of members of Gaddafi's tribe or members of other tribes loyal to him. One, the Khamis Brigade, was led by his son Khamis. Local militias and Revolutionary Committees across the country were also kept well-armed. By contrast, regular military units were poorly armed and trained, and were armed with largely outdated military equipment.^[63][64][65] According to Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, however, the reason for the country's de-militarization was a reaction to the Iraq War, so that Libya wouldn't be accused of possessing weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and face the same fate. He also accused NATO of betraying their trust and taking advantage of this weakness to launch an air attack, recommending that other nations build up their military defences in order to avoid facing the same fate as Libya.^[66]

Development and corruption[link]

Much of the state's income came from its oil production, which soared in the 1970s. In the 1980s, a large portion of it was spent on arms purchases, and on sponsoring militant groups and independence movements around the world.^[67][68]

Petroleum revenues contributed up to 58% of Libya's GDP.^[69] Governments with resource curse revenue have a lower need for taxes from other industries and consequently feel less pressure to develop their middle class. To calm opposition, they can use the income from natural resources to offer services to the population, or to specific government supporters.^[70] Libya's oil wealth being spread over a relatively small population gave it a higher GDP per capita than in neighbouring states.^[71][72][73] Libya's GDP per capita (PPP), human development index, and literacy rate were better than in Egypt and Tunisia, whose Arab Spring revolutions preceded the outbreak of protests in Libya.^[74] Libya's corruption perception index in 2010 was 2.2, ranking 146th out of 178 countries, worse than that of Egypt (ranked 98th) and Tunisia (ranked 59th).^[75] One paper speculated that such a situation created a broader contrast between good education, high demand for democracy, and the government's practices (perceived corruption, political system, supply of democracy).^[74]

An estimated 13% of Libyan citizens were unemployed.^[76] More than 16% of families had none of its members earning a stable income, while 43.3% had just one. Despite one of the highest unemployment rates in the region, there was a consistent labor shortage with over a million migrant workers present on the market.^[77] These migrant workers formed the bulk of the refugees leaving Libya after the beginning of hostilities. Despite this, Libya's Human Development Index in 2010 was the highest in Africa and greater than that of Saudi Arabia. Libya had welfare systems allowing access to free education, free healthcare, and financial assistance for housing, while the Great Manmade River was built to allow free access to fresh water across large parts of the country.^[78]

Some of the worst economic conditions were in the eastern parts of the state, once a breadbasket of the ancient world, where Gaddafi extracted oil.^[79][80] Despite improvements in housing and the Great Manmade River allowing access to free fresh water,^[78] not much infrastructure beyond this was developed in the region for many years, with the only sewage facility in Benghazi being over 40 years old, and untreated sewage has resulted in environmental problems.^[81]

Several foreign governments and analysts have claimed that a large share of the business enterprise was controlled by Gaddafi, his family, and the government.^[82] A leaked US diplomatic cable claimed that the Libyan economy was "a kleptocracy in which the government – either the Gaddafi family itself or its close political allies – has a direct stake in anything worth buying, selling or owning".^[83] According to US officials, Gaddafi amassed a vast personal fortune during his 42-year leadership.^[84] The New York Times pointed to Gaddafi's relatives adopting lavish lifestyles, including luxurious homes, Hollywood film investments, and private parties with American pop stars.^[83][85]

Gaddafi claimed he was planning to combat corruption in the state by proposing reforms where oil profits are handed out directly to the country's five million people^[86] rather than to government bodies, stating that "as long as money is administered by a government body, there would be theft and corruption."^[87] Gaddafi urged a sweeping reform of the government bureaucracy, suggesting that most of the cabinet system should be dismantled to "free Libyans from red tape" and "protect the state's budget from corruption." According to Western diplomats, this move appeared to be aimed at putting pressure on the government to speed up reforms.^[86] In March 2008, Gaddafi proposed plans to dissolve the country's existing administrative structure and disburse oil revenue directly to the people. The plan included abolishing all ministries except those of defence, internal security, and foreign affairs, and departments implementing strategic projects.^[88] He claimed that the ministries were failing to manage the country’s oil revenues,^[89] and that his "dream during all these years was to give power and wealth directly to the people."^[90]

A national vote on Gaddafi's plan to disband the government and give oil money directly to the people was held in 2009, where Libya's people's congresses, collectively the country's highest authority, voted to delay implementation. The General People's Congress announced that, out of 468 Basic People's Congresses, 64 chose immediate implementation while 251 endorsed implementation "but asked for (it) to be delayed until appropriate measures were put in place." This plan led to dissent from top government officials, who claimed it would "wreak havoc" in the economy by "fanning inflation and spurring capital flight." Gaddafi acknowledged that the scheme, which promised up to 30,000 Libyan dinars ($23,000) annually to about a million of Libya's poorest, may "cause chaos before it brought about prosperity," but claimed "do not be afraid to experiment with a new form of government" and that "this plan is to offer a better future for Libya's children."^[90][91]

The civil war was viewed as part of the Arab Spring, which had already resulted in the ousting of long-term presidents of adjacent Tunisia and Egypt, with the initial protests all using similar slogans.^[92] Social media played an important role in organizing the opposition.^[93]

Human rights in Libya[link]

In 2009 and 2011, the Freedom of the Press Index rated Libya the most-censored state in the Middle East and North Africa.^[94][95] In contrast, a January 2011 report of the United Nations Human Rights Council, on which the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya sat prior to the uprising, released a month before protests began, praised certain aspects of the country's human rights record, including its treatment of women and improvements in other areas.^[96]

The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya's delegation to the United Nations issued a report about human rights in Libya. The report claimed that the country was founded on direct people's democracy that guaranteed direct exercise of authority by all citizens through the people's congresses. Citizens were claimed to be able to express opinions of the congresses on issues related to political, economic, social, and cultural issues. In addition, the report claimed that there were information platforms such as newspapers and TV channels for people to express their opinions through. Libyan authorities also argued that no one in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya suffered from extreme poverty and hunger, and that the government guaranteed a minimum of food and essential needs to people with low incomes. In 2006, an initiative was adopted for providing people with low incomes investment potfolios amounting to $30,000 to be deposited with banks and companies.^[97]

The Revolutionary Committees occasionally kept tight control over internal dissent; reportedly, ten to twenty percent of Libyans worked as informants for these committees, with surveillance taking place in the government, in factories, and in the education sector.^[98] The government sometimes executed dissidents through public hangings and mutilations and re-broadcast them on public television channels.^[98][99] Up to the mid-1980s, Libya's intelligence service conducted assassinations of Libyan dissidents around the world.^[98][100]

In December 2009, Gaddafi reportedly told government officials that Libya would soon experience a "new political period" and would have elections for important positions such as minister-level roles and the National Security Advisor position (a Prime Minister equivalent). He also promised that international monitors would be included to ensure fair elections. His speech was said to have caused quite a stir. These elections were planned to coincide with the Jamahiriya's usual periodic elections for the Popular Committees, Basic People's Committees, Basic People's Congresses, and General People's Congresses, in 2010.^[101]

Dissent was illegal under Law 75 of 1973, and in 1974, Gaddafi asserted that anyone guilty of founding a political party would be executed.^[98] With the establishment of the Jamahiriya ("state of the masses") system in 1977, he established the Revolutionary Committees as conduits for raising political consciousness, with the aim of direct political participation by all Libyans rather than a traditional party-based representative system.^[102] In 1979, some of the Revolutionary Committees had eventually evolved into self-appointed, sometimes zealous, enforcers of revolutionary orthodoxy.^[102] During the early 1980s, the Revolutionary Committees had considerable power and became a growing source of tension within the Jamihiriya,^[103] to the extent that Gaddafi sometimes criticized their effectiveness and excessive repression,^[102][103] until the power of the Revolutionary Committees were eventually restricted in the late 1980s.^[103]

The Green Book, which Gaddafi authored in the 1970s, was for years the principal text of political education. BBC cited a Libyan who claimed that teachers who called it "rubbish" could face execution.^[104] According to the Libyan Government, "the death penalty may not be imposed except in tretribution (qisas) or on persons whose lives endanger or corrupt society."^[97]

In 1988, Gaddafi criticized the "excesses" he blamed on the Revolutionary Councils, stating that "they deviated, harmed, tortured" and that "the true revolutionary does not practise repression."^[102] That same year, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya issued the Great Green Document on Human Rights, in which Article 5 established laws that allowed greater freedom of expression. Article 8 of The Code on the Promotion of Freedom stated that "each citizen has the right to express his opinions and ideas openly in People’s Congresses and in all mass media."^[96] A number of restrictions were also allegedly placed on the power of the Revolutionary Committees by the Gaddafi government, leading to a resurgence in the Libyan state's popularity by the early 1990s.^[103] In 2004, however, Libya posted a $1 million bounty for journalist and governmental critic Ashur Shamis, under the allegation that he was linked to Al-Qaeda and terror suspect Abu Qatada.^[105]

Anti-Gaddafi movement, beginnings of the National Transitional Council[link]

Beginnings of protests[link]

Protests on Al Oroba Street, Bayda, 13 January 2011

The flag of the former Kingdom of Libya was used by many protesters as an opposition flag, sometimes in a modified form.^[106][107]

Between 13 and 16 January 2011, upset at delays in the building of housing units and over political corruption, protesters in Bayda, Derna, Benghazi and other cities broke into, and occupied, housing that the government had been building. Protesters also clashed with police in Bayda and attacked government offices.^[108][109] By 27 January, the government had responded to the housing unrest with a €20 billion investment fund to provide housing and development.^[110][111]

In late January, Jamal al-Hajji, a writer, political commentator and accountant, "call[ed] on the Internet for demonstrations to be held in support of greater freedoms in Libya" inspired by the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions. He was arrested on 1 February by plain-clothes police officers, and charged on 3 February with injuring someone with his car. Amnesty International claimed that because al-Hajji had previously been imprisoned for his non-violent political opinions, the real reason for the present arrest appeared to be his call for demonstrations.^[112] In early February, Gaddafi, on behalf of the Jamahiriya, met with political activists, journalists and media figures and warned them that they would be held responsible if they disturbed the peace or created chaos in Libya.^[113]

Uprising and civil war[link]

The first demonstrations in Bayda. A police car burns on 16 February 2011, at the crossroads of At-Talhi, now known as the Crossroads of the Spark.

A girl in Benghazi with a placard saying that the Libyan tribes are united, on 23 February 2011.

The protests, unrest and confrontations began in earnest on 15 February 2011. On the evening of 15 February, between 500 and 600 demonstrators protested in front of Benghazi's police headquarters after the arrest of human rights lawyer Fathi Terbil. Crowds were armed with petrol bombs and threw stones. Marchers hurled Molotov cocktails in a downtown square in Benghazi, damaging cars, blocking roads, and hurling rocks. Police responded to crowds with tear gas, water cannon, and rubber bullets.^[114] 38 people were injured, among them ten security personnel.^[115][116] The novelist Idris Al-Mesmari was arrested hours after giving an interview with Al Jazeera about the police reaction to protests.^[115]

In a statement released after clashes in Benghazi, a Libyan official warned that the Government "will not allow a group of people to move around at night and play with the security of Libya". The statement added: "The clashes last night were between small groups of people - up to 150. Some outsiders infiltrated that group. They were trying to corrupt the local legal process which has long been in place. We will not permit that at all, and we call on Libyans to voice their issues through existing channels, even if it is to call for the downfall of the government."^[117]

In Bayda and Zintan, hundreds of protesters in each town called for an end to the Gaddafi government and set fire to police and security buildings.^[115][118] In Zintan, the protesters set up tents in the town centre.^[115] The armed protests continued the following day in Benghazi, Derna and Bayda. Libyan security forces allegedly responded with lethal force. Hundreds gathered at Maydan al-Shajara in Benghazi, and authorities tried to disperse protesters with water cannons.^[119]

The Libyan National Transitional Council flag is flown from a communications tower in Bayda in July.

A "Day of Rage" in Libya and by Libyans in exile was planned for 17 February.^{[113][120][121]} The National Conference for the Libyan Opposition asked that all groups opposed to the Gaddafi government protest on 17 February in memory of demonstrations in Benghazi five years earlier.^[113] The plans to protest were inspired by the Tunisian and Egyptian revolution.^[113] Protests took place in Benghazi, Ajdabiya, Derna, Zintan, and Bayda. Libyan security forces fired live ammunition into the armed protests. Protesters torched a number of government buildings, including a police station.^[122][123] In Tripoli, television and public radio stations had been sacked, and protesters set fire to security buildings, Revolutionary Committee offices, the interior ministry building, and the People's Hall.^[124][125] According to a report from the International Crisis Group, "much Western media coverage has from the outset presented a very one-sided view of the logic of events, portraying the protest movement as entirely peaceful and repeatedly suggesting that the government's security forces were unaccountably massacring unarmed demonstrators who presented no security challenge".^[124]

On 18 February, police and army personnel later withdrew from Benghazi after being overwhelmed by protesters. Some army personnel also joined the protesters; they then seized the local radio station. In Bayda, unconfirmed reports indicated that the local police force and riot-control units had joined the protesters.^[126] On 19 February, witnesses in Libya reported helicopters firing into crowds of anti-government protesters.^[127] The army withdrew from the city of Bayda.

Cultural revolt[link]

Rap, hip hop and traditional music, alongside other genres, have played a role in encouraging the dissidents to Gaddafi's government. Music has been controlled and dissenting cultural figures have been arrested or tortured in Arab Spring countries, including Libya.^[128] The music has provided an important platform by means of communication among the demonstrators. The music has helped create moral support and encouraged a spirit of resistance and revolt against the governments.^[128]

An anonymous hip hop artist called Ibn Thabit has given a voice to "disenfranchised Libyans looking for a non-violent way to express their political will".^[129][130] On his website, Ibn Thabit claims he "has been attacking Gaddafi with his music since 2008" when he posted his first song on the internet, titled "Moammar – the coward".^[129][131] Lyrics of a song 'Al-Soo'al' released by Ibn Thabit on YouTube on 27 January 2011, weeks before the riots began in Libya are indicative of the rebel sentiment.^[128]

Some groups, such as a rock band from Benghazi called the "Guys Underground", used metaphors to cloak the censure of the authorities. The group released a song just before the uprising entitled "Like My Father Always Says" to ridicule an autocratic fictional male head of a family which was a veiled reference to Colonel Gaddafi.^[128]

Organisation[link]

Libyan Boy Scouts helping in the social services in Benghazi.

Many opposition participants have called for a return to the 1952 constitution and a transition to multi-party democracy. Military units who have joined the rebellion and many volunteers have formed an army to defend against Jamahiriya attacks and to work to bring Tripoli under the influence of Jalil.^[132] In Tobruk, volunteers turned a former headquarters of the government into a centre for helping protesters. Volunteers reportedly guarded the port, local banks and oil terminals to keep the oil flowing. Teachers and engineers set up a committee to collect weapons.^[80] Likewise supply lines were run by volunteers. For example, in Misrata people organised a pizza service which delivered up to 8,000 pizzas a day to fighters.^[133]

The National Transitional Council (Arabic: المجلس الوطني الانتقالي‎) was established on 27 February in an effort to consolidate efforts for change in the rule of Libya.^[134] The main objectives of the group did not include forming an interim government, but instead to co-ordinate resistance efforts between the different towns held in rebel control, and to give a political "face" to the opposition to present to the world.^[135] The Benghazi-based opposition government had called for a no-fly zone and airstrikes against the Jamahiriya.^[136] The council refers to the Libyan state as the Libyan Republic and it now has a website.^[137] Former Jamahiriya Justice Minister Mustafa Abdul Jalil said in February that the new government would prepare for elections and they could be held in three months.^[138] On 29 March, the political and international affairs committee of the Council presented its eight-point plan for Libya in The Guardian newspaper, stating they would hold free and fair elections and draft a national constitution.^[42][43]

An independent newspaper called Libya appeared in Benghazi, as well as rebel-controlled radio stations.^[139] Some of the rebels oppose tribalism and wear vests bearing slogans such as "No to tribalism, no to factionalism".^[80] Libyans have said that they have found abandoned torture chambers and devices that have been used in the past.^[140]

Composition of rebel forces[link]

Court square in Benghazi, April 2011. At the central place for gatherings and demonstrations the walls are draped with pictures of casualties, mourners passing by.

The rebels are composed primarily of civilians, such as teachers, students, lawyers, and oil workers, and a contingent of professional soldiers that defected from the Libyan Army and joined the rebels.^[141] The Islamist group Libyan Islamic Fighting Group is considered part of the rebel movement,^[142] as is the Obaida Ibn Jarrah Brigade which has been held responsible for the assassination of top rebel commander General Abdul Fatah Younis.^[143]

Gaddafi's administration had repeatedly asserted that the rebels included al-Qaeda fighters.^[144] NATO's Supreme Allied Commander James G. Stavridis stated that intelligence reports suggested "flickers" of al-Qaeda activity were present among the rebels, but also added that there is not sufficient information to confirm there is any significant al-Qaeda or terrorist presence.^[145][146] Denials of al-Qaeda membership were issued by the rebels.^[147] Gaddafi's claims are supported by a secret cable to the State Department from the US embassy in Tripoli in 2008 and an analysis by the Combating Terrorism Center at the US Military Academy at West Point of a set of documents called the Sinjar Records, purporting to show a statistical study of the al-Qaeda personnel records. The West Point analysis of these documents concluded that Libya provided "far more" foreign fighters in per capita terms than any other country.^[148] A disclosed file from 2005 on WikiLeaks found that rebel leader Abu Sufian Ibrahim Ahmed Hamuda Bin Qumu was a former Guantanamo Bay detainee alleged to be a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, to have joined the Taliban in 1998, and that he was a “probable member of Al Qaida and a member of the African Extremist Network.”^[149]

State response[link]

In the days leading up to the conflict, Gaddafi called for a rally against the government that was to be held on 17 February. The International Crisis Group believes this to have been a political manoeuvre to divert attention away from himself and the Jamahiriya political system towards government officials currently in power.^[124]

Later in February, Gaddafi claimed that the rebels were influenced by Al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, and hallucinogenic drugs put in drinks and pills. He specifically referred to substances in milk, coffee, and Nescafé, and claimed that Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda were distributing these hallucinogenic drugs. He also blamed alcohol.^{[150][151][152]} Gaddafi later also claimed that the revolt against his rule was the result of a colonialist plot by foreign states, particularly blaming France, the US and the UK, to control oil and enslave the Libyan people. He referred to the rebels as "cockroaches" and "rats", and vowed not to step down and to cleanse Libya house by house until the insurrection was crushed.^{[153][154][155]} He said that if the rebels laid down their arms, they would not be harmed. He also said that he had been receiving "thousands" of phone calls from Benghazi, from residents who were being held hostage and who wanted to be rescued. Gaddafi said in a speech addressed to Benghazi on 17 March 2011 that the rebels "can run away, they can go to Egypt...Those who would surrender their weapons and would join our side, we are the people of Libya. Those who surrender their weapons and would come without their arms, we would forgive them, and would have amnesty for those who put down their weapons. Anyone who throws his arms away and stays at home would be protected.^[156]

Libya's ambassador in Malta explained that "many people instigating unrest were arrested. Libya will show that these belonged to Al Qaeda. Some young protestors were also misled. The government is ready to dialogue with them." He cited reports from the Libyan Foreign Ministry that up to 2,500 al-Qaeda foreign operatives have been working in eastern Libya and were mostly responsible for "stirring up trouble." He concluded, “What we saw in Tahrir Square, and in Tunisia, was a clear situation. But in Libya, there is something different."^[157]

He called himself a "warrior", and vowed to fight on and die a "martyr", and urged his supporters to leave their homes and attack rebels "in their lairs". Gaddafi claimed that he had not yet ordered the use of force, and threatened that "everything will burn" when he did. Responding to demands that he step down, he claimed that he could not step down, as he held a purely symbolic position like Queen Elizabeth, and that the people were in power.^[158]

The Swedish peace research institute SIPRI reported flights between Tripoli and a dedicated military base in Belarus which only handles stockpiled weaponry and military equipment.^[159]

Violence[link]

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, in an interview with ABC on 17 March, stated that the rebels in Benghazi engaged in terror against the population. He stated, "You know, the armoured militia yesterday, they killed four young boys in Benghazi. Why? Because they were against them. Everybody is terrified because of the armed militia. They live in terror. Nightmare. Armed people are everywhere. They have their own courts. They execute the people who are against them. No school. No hospital. No money. No banks."^[160]

The Libyan government were reported to have employed snipers, artillery, helicopter gunships, warplanes, anti-aircraft weaponry, and warships against demonstrations and funeral processions.^[161] It was also reported that security forces and foreign mercenaries repeatedly used firearms, including assault rifles and machine guns, as well as knives against protesters. Amnesty International initially reported that writers, intellectuals and other prominent opposition sympathizers disappeared during the early days of the conflict in Gaddafi-controlled cities, and that they may have been subjected to torture or execution.^[162]

In a 17 March 2011 interview, shortly before the military intervention, Muammar Gaddafi's son and heir apparent Saif al-Islam Gaddafi claimed "armed militia" fighters in Benghazi were killing children and terrorizing the population.^[160]

Rebel fighter in hospital in Tripoli

Amnesty International also reported that security forces targeted paramedics helping injured protesters.^[163] In multiple incidents, Gaddafi's forces were documented using ambulances in their attacks.^[164][165] Injured demonstrators were sometimes denied access to hospitals and ambulance transport. The government also banned giving blood transfusions to people who had taken part in the demonstrations.^[166] Security forces, including members of Gaddafi's Revolutionary Committees, stormed hospitals and removed the dead. Injured protesters were either summarily executed or had their oxygen masks, IV drips, and wires connected to the monitors removed. The dead and injured were piled into vehicles and taken away, possibly for cremation.^[167][168] Doctors were prevented from documenting the numbers of dead and wounded, but an orderly in a Tripoli hospital morgue estimated to the BBC that 600–700 protesters were killed in Green Square in Tripoli on 20 February. The orderly claimed that ambulances brought in three or four corpses at a time, and that after the ice lockers were filled to capacity, bodies were placed on stretchers or the floor, and that "it was in the same at the other hospitals".^[167]

In the eastern city of Bayda, anti-government forces hung two policemen who were involved in trying to disperse demonstrations. In downtown Benghazi, anti-government forces killed the managing director of al-Galaa hospital. The victim's body showed signs of torture.^[169]

On 19 February, several days after the conflict began, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi announced the creation of a commission of inquiry into the violence, chaired by a Libyan judge, as reported on state television. He stated that the commission was intended to be "for members of Libyan and foreign organizations of human rights" and that it will "investigate the circumstances and events that have caused many victims."^[125] Later in the month, he went on state television to deny allegations that the government had launched airstrikes against Libyan cities and stated that the number of protesters killed had been exaggerated.^[150]

Later in February, it was reported that the Gaddafi government had suppressed protests in Tripoli by distributing automobiles, money and weapons for hired followers to drive around Tripoli and attack people showing signs of dissent.^[170] In Tripoli, "death squads" of mercenaries and Revolutionary Committees members reportedly patrolled the streets and shot people who tried to take the dead off the streets or gather in groups.^[171]

In March 2011, the International Federation for Human Rights concluded that Gaddafi was implementing a scorched earth strategy. The organization stated that "It is reasonable to fear that he has, in fact, decided to largely eliminate, wherever he still can, Libyan citizens who stood up against his regime and furthermore, to systematically and indiscriminately repress civilians. These acts can be characterized as crimes against humanity, as defined in Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court."^[172]

In May 2011, International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo estimated that 500–700 people were killed by security forces in February 2011, before the rebels took up arms. According to Moreno-Ocampo, "shooting at protesters was systematic".^[173]

During the siege of Misrata in May 2011, Amnesty International reported "horrifying" tactics such as "indiscriminate attacks that have led to massive civilian casualties, including use of heavy artillery, rockets and cluster bombs in civilian areas and sniper fire against residents."^[174] Gaddafi's military commanders also reportedly executed soldiers who refused to fire on protesters.^[175] The International Federation for Human Rights reported a case where 130 soldiers were executed.^[176] Some of the soldiers executed by their commanders were reportedly burned alive.^[177]

In June 2011, a more detailed investigation carried out by Amnesty International found that many of the allegations against Gaddafi and the Libyan state turned out to either be false or lack any credible evidence, noting that rebels at times appeared to have knowingly made false claims or manufactured evidence. According to the Amnesty investigation, the number of casualties was heavily exaggerated, some of the protesters may have been armed, "there is no proof of mass killing of civilians on the scale of Syria or Yemen," and there is no evidence that aircraft or heavy anti-aircraft machine guns were used against crowds. It also doubted claims that the protest movement was "entirely peaceful" and "presented no security challenge."^[19]

In July 2011, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi had an interview with Russia Today in which he denied the ICC's allegations that he or his father Muammar Gaddafi ordered the killing of civilian protesters. He claimed that he was not a member of the government or the military and therefore had no authority to give such orders. He also claimed his father made recorded calls to General Abdul Fatah Younis, who later defected to the rebel forces, in order to request not to use force against protesters, to which he said Fatah Younis responded that protesters were attacking a military site and soldiers were acting in self-defense.^[66][178]

Prison sites and torture[link]

Gaddafi reportedly imprisoned thousands or tens of thousands residents in Tripoli, with Red Cross denied access to these hidden prisons. One of the most notorious is a prison which was set up in a tobacco factory in Tripoli where inmates are reported to have been fed just half a loaf of bread and a bottle of water a day.^[179]

In late April, United States Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice alleged that soldiers loyal to Gaddafi were given Viagra and encouraged to commit rapes in rebel-held or disputed areas. The allegations surfaced in an Al Jazeera report the previous month from Libya-based doctors, who claimed to have found Viagra in the pockets of government soldiers.^[180] Human rights groups and aid workers had previously documented rapes by loyalist fighters during the war. The British aid agency "Save the children" said it got reports that children were raped by unknown perpetrators, although the charity warns that these reports could not be confirmed.^[181][182]

In Misrata, a rebel spokesman claimed that government soldiers had committed a string of sexual assaults in Benghazi Street before being pushed out by rebels. A doctor claimed that two young sisters were raped by five Black African mercenaries after their brothers joined the rebels. According to aid workers, four young girls were abducted and held for four days, and were possibly sexually assaulted.^[183] In a questionnaire 259 refugee women reported that they had been raped by Gaddafi's soldiers, however the accounts of these women could not be independently verified as the psychologist who conducted the questionnaire claimed that "she had lost contact with them".^[19]

The validity of the rape allegations is questioned by Amnesty International, which has not found evidence to back up the claims and notes that there are indications that on several occasions the rebels in Benghazi appeared to have knowingly made false claims or manufactured evidence.^[19]

Mercenaries[link]

The Libyan government alleged that the armed rebellion was composed of "criminal gangs and mercenaries."^[184] A Libyan official reported to Libyan television that security forces arrested Tunisians and Egyptians that were "trained to sow chaos."^[185] According to the Libyan Government authorities, mercenaries from Turkey, Egypt, and Tunisia allegedly entered Libya to fight on the side of the rebels. Dozens of them were arrested. Libya's Jamahiriya News Agency reported that the detained men were part of a “foreign network (and were) trained to damage Libya’s stability, the safety of its citizens and national unity.”^[186] Military advisors from Qatar participated on the side of the rebels,^[187] and were sometimes labelled as "mercenaries" by the media.^[188]

After clashes between Government and anti-government forces, allegations arose of the Libyan Gaddafi using foreign mercenaries. The Libyan Government's ambassador to India Ali al-Essawi claimed that the defections of military units had indeed led to such a decision.^[189] Video footage purporting to show this started to leak out of the country.^[189] Gaddafi's former Chief of Protocol Nouri Al Misrahi claimed in an interview with the Al Jazeera that Nigerien, Malian, Chadian and Kenyan mercenaries are among foreign soldiers helping fight the uprising on behalf of Gaddafi.^[190] Chadian sources repudiated allegations that mercenaries from Chad were involved in the fighting in Libya. The Chadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement said that "Chadians are not sent or recruited in Chad to serve as mercenaries in Libya," and that allegations about Chadian mercenaries were "likely to cause serious physical and material harm to Chadians residing in Libya."^[191]

According to African Union chairman Jean Ping, the "NTC seems to confuse black people with mercenaries,". Ping said that for the rebels, "All blacks are mercenaries. If you do that, it means (that the) one-third of the population of Libya, which is black, is also mercenaries. They are killing people, normal workers, mistreating them."^[192]

In Mali, members of the Tuareg tribe confirmed that a large number of men, about 5,000, from the tribe went to Libya in late February.^{[18][193][194][195]} Locals in Mali said they were promised €7,500 ($10,000) upfront payment and compensation up to €750 ($1,000) per day.^[193][194] Gaddafi has used Malian Tuaregs in his political projects before, sending them to fight in places like Chad, Sudan and Lebanon and recently they have fought against Niger government, a war which Gaddafi has reportedly sponsored. Malian government officials told BBC that it's hard to stop the flow of fighters from Mali to Libya.^[193] A recruitment center for Malian soldiers leaving to Libya was found in a Bamako hotel.^[195]