Walid Ellafi
“Whatever happened to Libya?” The question, posed on 9 September, reflects a frustration many Libyans feel themselves.
It is easy to paint our country in strokes of despair – militias, divided institutions, criminal networks, corruption. But this narrative of permanent failure tells only half the story. It overlooks the resilience of our people and the real progress being made.
Yes, Libya has endured a decade of fracture. But to suggest that nothing has changed since the 2020 ceasefire, or that our institutions are “mummified in decay,” is deeply misleading.
The Government of National Unity (GNU) is under no illusion about the significant obstacles it faces.
The corrosive influence of armed groups and the malign role of external geopolitical forces remain major challenges – most prominently in the breakaway regions of eastern Libya, led by the Russian-backed renegade Khalifa Haftar.
And for years, militias have exploited the vacuum of authority, infiltrating and eroding vital sectors, from state security to national financial institutions.
These are facts the GNU does not deny; rather, we have chosen to confront them head-on in service of the Libyan people and their right to a free, democratic, and prosperous nation under the rule of law.
Commentators should be clear that a sustained programs is under way to dismantle criminal trafficking networks, subdue militias, and bring security forces under central command.
In a clear demonstration of this serious and renewed commitment, the GNU in July began using drones for the first time to target people-smuggling networks operating along the coast.
This is part of an ongoing, systematic security campaign and a comprehensive strategic plan to degrade and dismantle criminal enterprises and their many offshoots.
It is painstaking work – but as the old adage goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Political progress is also real, if imperfect.
Last month, despite operational challenges, municipal elections were successfully held in 26 municipalities. Not every community was able to participate – particularly those in the east under the brutish control of Haftar and his puppet government – but the process itself marks genuine steps, and a real commitment to representative governance.
We do not minimize the remaining challenges.
Corruption must be tackled root and branch, public services must improve, and citizens must feel fully included in political and civic life. But what Libya needs now is not a chorus of despair that echoes the past; it requires recognition that its people – with international support – are determined to rebuild their country.
The GNU’s objective is clear: dismantle militias, unify the armed forces under civilian control, agree on a national constitution, and deliver free and fair elections – all as part of the UN-sponsored political process.
That is the future we are building.
Libya is not trapped in failure.
What has happened to Libya is not a story of endless decay, but of a people steadily reclaiming their future.
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Walid Ellafi is Minister for Communications and Political Affairs, Government of National Unity, State of Libya.
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