Showing posts with label libya. Show all posts
Showing posts with label libya. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

The Fall of Libya's "Islamic State": Sept. 2016 Control Map & Timeline (Subscription)

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This is the second of a pair of Libya map reports, the first one chronicling the major political realignment that occurred in Libya between March and May of 2016. 

There are newer versions of this map available. To see them, view all Libya updates.

Research by Djordje Djukic. Map by onestopmap.com and Evan Centanni

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Libya control map: Shows detailed territorial control in Libya's civil war as of September 2016, including all major parties (Government of National Accord (GNA), Tobruk House of Representatives, General Haftar's Libyan National Army, Zintan militias, Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG); Tripoli GNC government, Libya Dawn, and Libya Shield Force; Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries and other hardline Islamist groups; and the so-called Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL)). Also file under: Map of Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) control in Libya. Now includes terrain and major roads. Color blind accessible. The past four months have seen a drastic reduction in "Islamic State" (ISIS/ISIL) control in Libya, with the group now barely holding any territory in the country. Meanwhile, the struggle continues between Libya's two rival governments, as well as other religious hardline militias.
 
See all this and more on the latest update to PolGeoNow's concise, professional Libyan Civil War control map, which comes with a timeline of changes since our May 2016 Libya map report.

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Exclusive report includes:
  • Up-to-date map of current territorial control in Libya, color-coded for the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), the rival Tobruk parliament (supported by General Haftar's Libyan National Army), "Islamic State" (ISIS/ISIL) fighters, and other religious hardline groups. 
  • Detailed indication of city-by-city control, including key towns and other locations important to current events.
  • Locations of recent fighting and military operations, including Sirte, Ajdabiya, Abu Grain, Bin Jawad, Harawa, and more.
  • Detailed timeline of important events and changes to territorial control since May 10, 2016, with all sources cited.
  • New since last year: Major roads are marked on the map for reference

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Libya's Political Realignment: May 2016 Control Map & Timeline

This is the first of a pair of Libya map reports, with the second spotlighting the retreat of "Islamic State" forces from May to September. The second report, with a more up-to-date map, is available to members of our conflict map subscription service. 

There are newer versions of this map available. To see them, view all Libya updates.

Libya control map: Shows detailed territorial control in Libya's civil war as of May 2016, reflecting the political realignment after UN peace deal, including all major parties (Government of National Accord (GNA), Tobruk House of Representatives, General Haftar's Libyan National Army, Zintan militias, Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG); Tripoli GNC government, Libya Dawn, and Libya Shield Force; Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries and other hardline Islamist groups; and the so-called Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL)). Also file under: Map of Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) control in Libya. Now includes terrain and major roads. Color blind accessible.
Base map by Koen Adams of onestopmap.com, with territorial control by Evan Centanni. All rights reserved.

(Subscribers click here to view this article in the member area)

Timeline by Djordje Djukic, with additional reporting by Evan Centanni

Drastic Political Shift
Starting soon after our last Libya control map report in March, the structure of Libya's divided control and rival governments underwent a massive realignment, with international recognition essentially switching from one side of the country to the other, and some key fighting forces switching sides as well.

Friday, March 18, 2016

Libya Control Map & Report: March 2016 (Subscription)

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Map by onestopmap.com and Evan Centanni

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Libya control map: Shows detailed territorial control in Libya's civil war as of March 2016, including all major parties (Tobruk government, General Haftar's Operation Dignity forces, and Zintan militias; Tripoli GNC government, Libya Dawn, and Libya Shield Force; Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries and other hardline Islamist groups; and the so-called Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL)). Also file under: Map of Islamic State (ISIS) control in Libya. Now includes terrain and major roads. Color blind accessible. Despite hopes that a UN-backed unity deal might bring Libya's two rival governments back together, fighting in continues against the so-called "Islamic State" (ISIS/ISIL) and other religious hardline groups. Though most of the major cities have stayed in the same hands since last summer, there have still been several important changes to territorial control.
 
See all this and more on the latest update to PolGeoNow's concise, professional Libyan Civil War control map, which comes with a timeline of changes since our previous Libya map report last August.

This map and report are professional subscriber content, available to paid members or for separate purchase. Download PDF (US$9.99)

Want to see before you buy? Check out our most recent FREE SAMPLE Libya map!

Exclusive Libya map report includes:
Libya control map: Shows detailed territorial control in Libya's civil war as of February 2016, including all major parties (Tobruk government, General Haftar's Operation Dignity forces, and Zintan militias; Tripoli GNC government, Libya Dawn, and Libya Shield Force; Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries and other hardline Islamist groups; and the so-called Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL)). Also file under: Map of Islamic State (ISIS) control in Libya. Now includes terrain and major roads. Color blind accessible.
  • Up-to-date map of current territorial control in Libya, color-coded for the internationally-recognized Tobruk government (supported by General Haftar's Operation Dignity), the rival Tripoli-based GNC government (supported by the Libya Dawn militias), "Islamic State" (ISIS/ISIL) extremists, and other religious hardline groups. 
  • Detailed indication of city-by-city control, highlighting key towns and other locations important to current events.
  • Locations of recent fighting and military operations, including Benghazi, Ajdabiya, Janzur, Bin Jawad, and more.
  • Detailed timeline of important events and changes to territorial control since August 21, 2015, with all sources cited.
  • New in this edition: Major roads are marked on the map for reference

MEMBERS CLICK HERE TO PROCEED TO ARTICLE AND MAP

Not a member yet? Click here to learn more about our professional subscription service!


Saturday, August 22, 2015

War in Libya: Map of Control in August 2015

There are newer versions of this map available. To see them, view all Libya updates.

This is the first of a series of professional Libya control maps. Secure your access to future updates: sign up now for our conflict map subscription service!

Libya control relief map: Shows detailed territorial control in Libya's civil war as of August 2015, including all major parties (Tobruk government, General Haftar's Operation Dignity forces, and Zintan militias; Tripoli GNC government, Libya Dawn, and Libya Shield Force; Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries and other hardline Islamist groups; and the so-called Islamic State). Also file under: Map of Islamic State (ISIS) control in Libya.
Base map by Koen Adams of onestopmap.com, with territorial control by Evan Centanni. All rights reserved.

Subscribers click here to view this article in the ad-free members area. Not a member yet? Subscribe now! 

Background summary by Djordje Djukic; timeline by Evan Centanni and T.H.

Included in this free article:
  • Concise summary of events in Libya since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011
  • Detailed timeline of conflict, changes to territorial control, and political events since 2011, with each mentioned location illustrated on the map above

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Map Update: Kosovo Recognized by 3 More Countries (103/193)

Map of countries that recognize the Republic of Kosovo as an independent state, updated for October 2013 with most recent additions (Thailand, Libya, Granada) and disputed recognitions highlighted
Countries recognizing the Republic of Kosovo in green, highlighting recent additions. Disputed recognitions in yellow. Kosovo in magenta. Map by Evan Centanni, modified from public domain graphic (source).

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Libya Changes Official Name

Map of rebel campaigns during the last stage of Libya's 2011 civil war
Map of the last stage of Libya's 2011 civil war (click to see full map and original article). Map by Evan Centanni, based on public domain map from Wikipedia (source).
State of Libya
Last month, the North African country of Libya changed its official long-form name to "State of Libya" (Arabic: Dawlat Libya). This comes as part of Libya's governmental transition following its 2011 civil war, in which a rebel coalition defeated the regime of dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Over the last year, the country's formal name had not been clearly defined, with the country referred to in most documents simply as "Libya". The rebel National Transitional Council had only made a point of ceasing to use the Gaddafi-era name.

During the last decades of Gaddafi's reign, the country was known in long form as the "Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya". The word "jamahiriya" was coined by Gaddafi by combining the Arabic words for "republic" (jumhuriya) and "the masses" (jamahir).


Monday, November 7, 2011

Libya Reunited Under Rebels

Country Name (official): Libya (English), Lībyā (Arabic)
News Category: Divided Countries
Summary: Libya's civil war came to an end two weeks ago, as rebels under the National Transitional Council (NTC) completed their two-month campaign to flush out the last forces loyal to dictator Muammar Gaddafi. After taking the capital city of Tripoli in August, the NTC had already assumed Libya's seat in the United Nations, the African Union, and the Arab League, with formal recognition from 100 U.N. member states. With the end of the war, the air-based foreign military intervention that helped bring victory to the rebels has also now come to a close.
The NTC's last campaigns to reunite Libya. Gaddafi-held cities (green) and
rebel-held cities (black) as of 2 Sep. Rebel movements and capture dates
in red. My own work based on public domain map from Wikipedia (source).

Full Story
Libya's participation in the "Arab Spring" movement happening across the Middle East and North Africa began as a series of protests in February, and quickly transformed into an armed uprising after national leader Muammar Gaddafi responded with violent crackdowns. Soon the country's territory was divided between Gaddafi's government and rebel forces under the National Transitional Council (NTC), with the latter dominating the eastern half of the country as well as the western mountains near Tripoli, the national capital. A near-stalemate held for about five months, as a U.N.-mandated no-fly zone and NATO-led bombing campaign kept Gaddafi's forces at bay. Then, in late August, the rebels suddenly stormed into Tripoli, taking the national capital and many of the surrounding areas. The Gaddafi government only remained in control of a few scattered cities and desert outposts.

See Also: Political Geography Now: Libyan Rebels Take Capital

The NTC's official flag of Libya (bottom) has replaced that
of Gaddafi (top). Public domain, from this Wikipedia page.
For two months following the takeover of Tripoli, the NTC mounted a campaign to drive out the last bastions of Gaddafi loyalist control and reunite the country under their own banner. The first area to fall was the southwestern Fezzan, a desert region with Sabha as its major city, in mid-to-late September. Then came Tripoli's neighbor Bani Walid on 17 October, and finally Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte three days later. As Sirte fell to the rebels, Gaddafi himself was finally captured, and soon died under mysterious circumstances. NTC Chair Mustafa Abdul Jalil declared the war officially over on 23 October. NATO's enforcement and bombing mission ended one week later, following the U.N. Security Council's withdrawal of its authorization for a no-fly zone and military protection of civilians. The rebel victory also brings an end to the dispute over the country's flag (see illustration at left) and its official name, now just "Libya" rather than Gaddafi's inventive "Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya."

Wikipedia: 2011 Libyan Civil War

As the NTC rebels expanded their control over the country and Libyan diplomats abroad defected by the dozen, many countries around the world made the gesture of recognizing the NTC as the legitimate government of Libya. One hundred U.N. member states and four non-member states have declared their recognition of the new government, though the point is largely moot now that the NTC officially represents Libya in the United Nations itself. On 16 September, the U.N. General Assembly voted by a majority to hand over the country's seat to the NTC, with 114 countries in favor and only 17 countries from Africa and Latin America voting against (a number of other delegations abstained or were absent). The African Union, within which Muammar Gaddafi was until recently a prominent figure, had declined to fully support the rebels during the war, but finally authorized the NTC to hold Libya's seat in the organization on 20 October. Libya is also a member of the Arab League, which handed representation over to the NTC after the fall of Tripoli in August. Prior to that, Libya's Arab League membership had been suspended in support of the rebels.

Countries officially recognizing the NTC during the war in dark blue, and countries officially opposing it in dark red. Libya in yellow. Countries in lighter colors unofficially acknowledged or opposed the NTC through diplomatic activities or votes in the U.N. General Assembly. Slightly modified from public domain Wikimedia map (source).
Wikipedia: International Recognition of the National Transitional Council

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Libyan Rebels Take Capital

Country Name: Libya (English), Lībyā (Arabic)
Official Name (National Transitional Council): Libya, Libyan Republic
Official Name (Gaddafi Regime): Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahariya (English), al-Jamāhīriyyah al-‘Arabiyyah al-Lībiyyah ash-Sha‘biyyah al-Ishtirākiyyah al-‘Uẓmá (Arabic)
News Category: Divided Countries
Summary: Libyan rebels last month took sudden control of the national capital of Tripoli and other cities, ending months of stalemate in the North African country's civil war. Although the old government of Muammar Gaddafi maintains control of a few holdout cities, the rebel National Transitional Council is gaining increasing recognition internationally. The power transition is bringing with it changes to the country's flag and official name.

Control of Libya on June 1 (left) and September 2 (right). Gaddafi-held cities in green, rebel-held cities in
black. Blue represents ongoing struggle for control. Public domain maps from Wikimedia (source).


Sunday, June 5, 2011

News Bits: June 2011

"News Bits" posts cover minor political geography events from the previous month. Although the news may be of great political relevance, these events haven't (yet) affected major changes to the shapes, sovereignty, or international positions of the world's countries.

Abyei's location within Sudan
(yellow). The south (blue) gains
independence this July. Based
on this map (license: CC BY-SA).
Sudan Government Forces Overrun Disputed Abyei
The Abyei Area, subject of a territorial dispute between the central Government of Sudan and the autonomous Southern Sudan region, has been invaded by Sudanese government forces. Southern troops, who had shared joint control of the area with the central government, have been driven out, along with many of the area's inhabitants. Southern Sudan is set to become an independent country this July, based on the 2005 peace agreement that ended Sudan's second civil war. A referendum was planned for Abyei residents to choose whether they would stay in Sudan or join the new Republic of South Sudan, but it was never held due to disagreements about who was eligible to vote. The Sudan government in Khartoum has asserted that it will not give up Abyei, and southern president Salva Kiir has promised not to go to war again over the territory.

Israel with occupied territories (green).
The PLO claims both the West Bank
and Gaza Strip, but they are currently
ruled by rival factions (map source).
West Bank & Gaza Strip to be Reunited
Rival Palestinian political parties Fatah and Hamas have agreed to form a new unity government in the coming months, which will effectively reunite their respective territories in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Both groups claimed control of the Palestinian Authority (PA) government after a brief civil war following the 2006 elections, in which Hamas won a majority of seats in the previously Fatah-dominated Palestinian Legislative Council. The armed clash left Hamas in control of the Gaza Strip, while Fatah retained its authority in the Palestinian-controlled areas of the West Bank. Known to the U.N. as the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the West Bank and Gaza Strip are claimed as the State of Palestine by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), parent organization of the PA. Over half of the U.N.'s member countries have recognized the state's independence, but the U.N. itself has not. Furthermore, the territories remain under military occupation by Israel, which controls much of the West Bank as well as all air space and territorial waters in the region.

Peruvian and Ecuadorian waters, with the newly agreed
upon boundary marked in yellow. My own work, based
on data sources listed on map (terms of use).




Ecuador & Peru Define Sea Border
The neighboring South American countries of Ecuador and Peru have formally agreed on a boundary between their respective territorial waters in the Pacific Ocean. Although the location of the border was never actively in dispute, its acceptance had been called into question by Peru's ongoing territorial dispute with Chile, in which Peru claims a 1952 agreement between the three countries did not technically establish the location of their maritime borders. The new agreement is widely seen as a move by Peru to gain Ecuador's support as the case of the Peru-Chile conflict heads to the International Court of Justice. The agreed upon boundary is located along the parallel of 3° 23' 33.96" S, originating at the point where the countries' land border reaches the ocean.

Libya as of June 1, 2011. Cities controlled by Gaddafi
government in green, rebel-held cities in black, and
areas of ongoing fighting in blue. Public domain map
from Wikipedia (source).
Libyan Rebels Gain Further Recognition
Libya's rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) over the last month gained diplomatic recognition from five more national governments, bringing to 11 the list of countries recognizing its legitimacy. The NTC forms the political leadership of the rebel forces fighting for control of the North African country against dictator Muammar Gaddafi, in a civil war provoked by Gaddafi's violent crackdown on popular protests last February. Although Libya's independence is already recognized by the U.N. and all of it's members, countries have begun to make the special diplomatic gesture of switching their recognition from Gaddafi's government to the NTC. Recent additions to the list are Jordan, Russia, and Malta; two other countries, Senegal and Turkey, have acknowledged the NTC's status as a legitimate opposition group, while still maintaining ties with Gaddafi. Six other countries, starting with France in early March, had all previously recognized the NTC as Libya's sole representative, some of them expelling Gaddafi's diplomats and sending ambassadors to the rebel command center in Benghazi. As Gaddafi's forces continue to face NATO bombing attacks, the war has ground to a near-stalemate, with Gaddafi controlling the capital city of Tripoli and several smaller western cities, while the rebels control the eastern half of the country and some areas of the west.