Libyan Civil War
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Khalifa Haftar's role in the Libyan civil warThe fight against political Islam
The news that General Khalifa Haftar had been rushed to the military hospital in Paris on 5 April 2018 for the treatment of a serious health problem caused a variety of reactions in Libya: shock and anxiety on one side; jubilance and rejoicing on the other. To his supporters, he is the "Saviour of Libya"; to his adversaries, the "new Gaddafi". Farag Al Esha provides a portrait of this controversial figure
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Interview with Libyan author Hisham Matar″You can't turn back the clock″
London-based author Hisham Matar writes about the disappearance of his father, a member of the Libyan opposition who was kidnapped while exiled in Cairo and has never been seen since. In ″The Return″, Matar describes his own fruitless search to trace his father and Libya′s brief moment of hope following the fall of Gaddafi. Interview by Claudia Mende
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Interview with Syrian playwright Wael KadourA vehicle for integration
Syrian playwright and dramatist Wael Kadour came of age in Damascus a decade before the revolution. His plays speak of life in his home country and social tensions across the Middle East. Interview by Laura Cappelle
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Resolving the crisis in LibyaAnother fine mess
How to resolve the conflict in Libya remains one of the most difficult and important questions facing policy-makers today. Given the complex attitudes towards foreign interventions on the ground, we need a clear strategy that will stand up to local, regional and international scrutiny. By Alison Pargeter
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Arab identity crisisWhat is left of the Arabs?
Despite war and mass murder, the Arabs were never as numerous as they are today. But they were also never as unsure about who they are. Does an Arab identity survive? What about Arab culture? These are the questions being asked today. In view of the political and social downward spiral, all of this is now at stake, says Stefan Buchen in his essay
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Book review: Hisham Matar′s ″The Return″A painful void
In his new memoir, "The Return", the writer Hisham Matar confronts the ghosts of his past: the disappearance of his father, the expropriation of his country's history and the shattered dream of a new Libya. Claudia Kramatschek read the book
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Civil war in LibyaForever at loggerheads
After one year in office, Libya′s Government of National Accord is on the verge of collapse. While its ministers are trying to maintain order in the capital, the armed opposition is challenging them for strategic positions. At the same time, the government is involved in a proxy war with the East Libyan army. Valerie Stocker reports from Tripoli
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Libya′s domestic crisisOn the road to nowhere
Libya′s domestic crisis, which has been rumbling on since the outbreak of civil war in the summer of 2014, has peaked this year. With a gamut of issues – political, social, security and financial – confronting the country, Libya is more divided than ever. Houda Mzioudet writes from Tunis
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Non-fiction: ″The Age of Jihad ″ by Patrick CockburnA catalogue of blunders
″The Age of Jihad: The Islamic State and the Great War for the Middle East″ by journalist Patrick Cockburn traces not just the rise of Islamic State and other extremist groups who are striving for power in Muslim countries, but how American and British foreign policy in this century has contributed directly to their emergence. Richard Marcus read the book
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Alsatoor, Libya′s caricaturistThe pen is mightier
Since the 1970s, the Libyan Hasan Dhaimish, aka Alsatoor, has furnished a mostly Arabic public with daringly acerbic political observations about his former homeland. His son, Sherif Dhaimish, looks back over his long career – a career that is far from over
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LibyaFacing hell in Sirte
The war against the Islamic State Group is taking a heavy toll on Libya, especially on the youth at the front line, and a military victory is only the first step toward stability, writes Valerie Stocker