Libya In Turmoil

As Libya struggles to become the independent democratic state it so much wished to become when it revolted against Muammar Gaddafi last year, numerous issues are being brought up, with recent incidents highlighting them. It seems becoming a free and fair country is harder harder than it seems. Recently, former fighters that helped liberate Libya attacked a Libyan government building trying to get the money that they were promised from the interim government for helping oust Gaddafi and his followers. The attack left a guard dead and several injured, and shows the deeply rooted chaos that is prevalent in Libya right now. With so many people wanting to achieve their own personal goals in their newly freed country, issues and conflict are popping up left and right.

Libya's untamed militias protect the shaky state but terrorise those seen as enemies [GALLO/GETTY]

Corruption seems to be widespread as newly assumed government funds are disappearing as it is being decided what to do with it. It is also important to note that while the interim government is trying to determine what to do in basically every area, local militias are tasked with keeping order. And like they were during the revolution, they often take justice into their own hands in cases where they think there are enemies about. Enemies could include black Africans, who were often seen as mercenaries during the revolution and now distrusted through out the country.

Five months after the fall of Tripoli, the Libyan capital, the security situation is getting worse, not better. Militias operating outside the control of the interim government - the National Transitional Council (NTC) - remain heavily armed and they continue to detain, and sometimes even torture, hundreds of prisoners suspected of being loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, the former Libyan leader. Revolutionary forces were involved in recent fatal clashes in Tripoli, Bani Walid and Gharyan - in the west, and Benghazi in the east. Doctors Without Borders (MSF), the international medical humanitarian organisation, has decided to suspend its operations in detention centres in Misrata after confirming that detainees are being tortured and denied urgent medical care. The UN says Libyan militias are holding thousands of people in secret detention centres, while the interim government struggles to assert its authority. It seems that the struggle for democracy is much harder than many Libyans have anticipated, but one that others have.