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Internal conflict and plunging oil prices are strangling Libya's economy

Libya is rapidly joining the ranks of Africa's better-known failed states: Central African Republic, Somalia and South Sudan. The north African country, once boasting one of the continent's highest per capita GDPs, is a shadow of its former self: torn apart by armed conflict and now felled by falling oil prices and declining production.

More than three years since the NATO-backed toppling of Colonel Muammar Qaddafi, Libya "may exist as an entity of international law but, in reality, it doesn't exist anymore," said Slimane Zeghidour, political analyst with France's TV5 Monde. "There is no authority recognised by even half of the country."

Islamist militia groups control the capital, Tripoli, and Benghazi, the second-largest city. The internationally recognised government of Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni has fled to Tobruk, a port city in the east.

The conflict has taken a heavy toll on the economy of north Africa's biggest oil producer. "GDP growth is estimated to have fallen by almost 30% last year, mostly driven by a sharp decline in oil production (down 51% in 2014 from 2013) and oil exports (down 75% in 2014 from 2013)," said Marouane El Abassi, the World Bank's resident representative to Libya.

Libya's official Parliament - still in Tripoli at the time - approved the latest budget, worth 56.5 billion Libyan dinars ($41.6 billion), in June 2014. The budget was based on projections of 26 billion Libyan dinars ($19.1 billion) in oil revenue and an annual oil production of 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) at $100 a barrel, Mohamed Abdullah, the head of the budget committee, told Reuters at the time.

But two months after the budget was approved, Libya Dawn (an alliance of Islamist militias close to the Muslim Brotherhood) chased Mr Thinni's government from Tripoli and the country lurched towards civil war.

By the end of 2014, amid fighting between official government troops and Libya Dawn militias for the control of key oil fields, terminals and ports, oil production was down to less than 300,000 bpd, according to the IMF. This is less than a fifth of the 1.6m bpd Libya was pumping before Mr Qaddafi was toppled in 2011.

Plunging oil prices since mid-2014 have dealt a second blow to Libya's economy. "The budget was made on the assumption that the oil price would stay at $100 per barrel," said Mohammed El-Qorchi, IMF mission chief for Libya. "But the situation is different now that the price has dropped."

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Libya: Internal Conflict and Plunging Oil Prices Strangling Economy

Media say 21 people are wounded after the bomber blew up a vehicle packed with explosives

STRIFE-TORN. Fighters loyal to Libya's parliament General National Congress prepare to launch attacks as they continue to fight Islamic State (ISIS) on the outskirts city of Sirte, Libya, on March 16, 2015. Photo by STR/EPA

TRIPOLI, Libya A suicide bomber killed 4 people outside Libya's militia-controlled 3rd city Misrata on Sunday, April 5, in an attack claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group.

The LANA news agency of the militia-backed Tripoli administration said 21 people were also wounded when the bomber blew up a vehicle packed with explosives at the Saddada checkpoint east of the city.

ISIS radio Al-Bayan said a Sudanese volunteer it named as Abu Dujana had carried out the attack on behalf of its Tripolitania branch.

The jihadist group, notorious for its brutal rule of swathes of Iraq and Syria, has established branches in all 3 of Libya's historic regions.

In February, the Tripolitania branch posted grisly video of the beheadings of 21 Christians, mostly Egyptians, prompting Cairo to launch retaliatory air strikes on jihadist targets in the North African country.

In January, the group claimed an assault on a luxury hotel in the capital popular with diplomats and officials in which at least 9 people including 5 foreigners were killed.

The country has had two governments and parliaments since the Libya Dawn militia seized Tripoli in August and the internationally recognized government fled to the country's far east. Rappler.com

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4 dead in Libya suicide bombing claimed by ISIS

BBC Radio 4 CC Extra Tales from the Arab Spring Libya 20 Dec 11

By: Free Audio Book - BBC Audio, History, Education

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BBC Radio 4 CC Extra Tales from the Arab Spring Libya 20 Dec 11 - Video

The UN-sponsored dialogue between Libya's warring factions paused on Saturday, allowing time for representatives from rival parties to consult on plans to solve the ongoing crisis.

He did not disclose a specific date for the next round of talks.

During the talks in the last few days, the UN worked as a mediator and shuttled between Libya's different groups, trying to persuade them into forming a unity government.

On Saturday, the different factions met face to face for the first time and held a symbolic meeting.

The representatives have headed back to Libya and will elaborate on the new proposals to different groups.

Libya has been witnessing frayed political process since the 2011 turmoil, which toppled its former leader Muammar Gaddafi, and it is now juggling two rival parliaments, the secular House of Representatives and the Islamist-backed General National Congress.

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Libyan peace dialogue pauses for consultation

Western Libya Rocket Strike Kills Filipino, Wounds Eight People: Official
Western Libya Rocket Strike Kills Filipino, Wounds Eight People: Official A Libyan official said on Monday that a Filipino was killed and eight people were wounded when a rocket hit the western...

By: The Times of India

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Western Libya Rocket Strike Kills Filipino, Wounds Eight People: Official - Video