Libya, officially The state of Libya, state in North Africa with (2018) 6.7 million residents; The capital is Tripoli. Libya is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt and Sudan to the east, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west.
Libya stretches from the approximately 2,000 km long Mediterranean coast on both sides of the Great Syrte far south into the Sahara and is divided into Tripolitania, Fessan and Cyrenaica, which is part of the Libyan desert. 90% of the country is desert.
As a country starting with letter L according to Countryaah.com, Libya lies in the area of a geological basin (Libyan basin), which is divided into five sub-basins (Hamra, West Desert, Syrte, Mursuk, Kufra basins) by swellings (shallow folds). It is southward by the crystalline massif of the Tibesti limited (in the Pic Bette 2 285 m above sea level). Thick shallow sea sediments (2,000–5,000 m) have been deposited in the sub-basins above the Paleozoic base since the Permian. Cretan and Paleogene limestone form large-scale layered landscapes with wide plains and plateaus. The bulges of the Djebel Nefusa and Jabal al-Achdar (876 m above sea level) on the coast have developed into striking layers and fractures with steep drops to the sea. Along the main fault lines in the Neogene, extensive basaltic cover eruptions developed (Djebel es-Soda, Djebel Harudj al-Assuad, inner side of the Djebel Nefusa). The bituminous Cretaceous slate clays of the Syrtebeck (Petroleum mother rocks) as well as limes and sandstones (storage rocks) are extremely important for the country’s economy.
History
After various unsuccessful attempts, international mediation efforts resulted in the signing of a UN peace plan on December 17, 2015 (including the formation of a “government of national unity” by a presidential council) in the Moroccan Shkirat (“Shkirat Agreement”). On January 19, 2016, the Presidential Council announced the formation of a unified cabinet under the leadership of the businessman Fajis al-Sarradsch (* 1960). Neither the House of Representatives in Tobruk, which the internationally recognized government under Abdullah al-Thinni had elected, nor the New General National Congress and that of Khalifa al-Ghweil since March 2015. The “government of national rescue” led in Tripoli were ready to recognize and support the unity government without reservation. While the parliament and the government in Tobruk v. a. Demanding that General Khalifa Haftar, the “strong man” in eastern Libya be taken into account, the rulers in Tripoli rejected the unity government on principle as being imposed from outside. On March 30, 2016, Sarradsch arrived in Tripoli under strict security precautions with other members of his new government, which was supported by the international community. At the beginning of April 2016, the counter-government under Khalifa al-Ghweil declared initially her withdrawal in favor of the unity government, but in October 2016 it reversed the decision and declared the unity government to be deposed. There were repeated military clashes between the regionally and ideologically highly fragmented camps. Sarradsch could only survive in Tripoli through arrangements with several militias.
With the support of US air forces, militias from Misurata recaptured most of the IS territory during the summer of 2016. IS fighters stayed in Sirte until December 2016. In the east of Libya, the largely autonomous army leader Khalifa Haftar expanded his position of power. His troops took control of Benghazi (July 2017) and important centers of the petroleum industry. IS was pushed south and west, but the threat it posed remained manifest. With the mediation of French President Macron, Sarradsch and Haftar reached an understandingon July 25, 2017 in La Celle-Saint-Cloud near Paris on an armistice and the early holding of elections. The agreement, however, as well as a step-by-step plan of the UN to pacify the country from September 2017 based on it, awaited implementation.
Tobruk
Tobruk, port city in eastern Cyrenaica, Libya, 121,100 residents; best natural harbor in the country (but without hinterland), on the steep coast of Marmarika, which forms a 4 km wide bay here; Feed factory, thermal power station (150 MW), seawater desalination plant. 4 km east of the oil export port of Marsa el-Hariga (Sarir pipeline, oil refinery) with airport.
During the Second World War, Tobruk was fought over several times between German-Italian and British troops; it thus became a symbol of the war in North Africa.
Misurata
Misurata, Arabic Misrata, city on the coast of Tripolitania, Libya, 386,100 residents; Administrative seat of the baladiyat of the same name; Center of a 16 km long coastal oasis; Trade center, textile industry, shoe factory. In a steel mill complex (iron and steel works, in operation since 1990) iron ores (hematites) from Fessan are smelted with the help of natural gas; Thermal power plant (480 MW), seawater desalination plant; Port, airport.
From 1916-18 Misurata was the capital of the “Republic of Tripoli” brought into being with German and Turkish support against the Italians.
Benghazi
Benghazi, Banghasi [-g], Ben Ghazi [- ga ː zi], capital of Cyrenaica, Libya, port city on the east coast of the Great Syrte 650 600 residents; two universities (founded in 1955 and 1984), museum. Benghazi has enjoyed a strong economic boom since the start of the oil discovery in the Syrte Basin. Sea salt production, cement factory, cable factory, food industry, brewery, tannery, weaving mill, carpet manufacture; international Airport.
History
Benghazi, initially a Greek colony (Hesperides or Euhesperides) in antiquity , belonged to Ptolemaic Egypt in the Hellenistic period (named after the wife of Ptolemy III. Berenike ). Roman and 395 AD (division of the Roman Empire) Byzantine. In the 7th century Benghazi came under Arab rule, in the 16th century under Ottoman rule; In 1911 (Italian-Turkish War) it was occupied by the Italians, who owned it with interruptions until the Second World War (severe war damage); 1951–72 alternating with Tripoli, capital of Libya.
Tripoli
Tripoli, capital of Libya, port city on the Mediterranean Sea, with 940 700 residents. The modern new town joins a walled oriental old town. – Tripoli was founded in the 7th century BC. Founded as Oea by Phoenicians.
