While the world’s attention has been everywhere else, Libya remains in chaos. The capital city, Tripoli, home of the government recognized by the U.N., is under siege by the forces of General Khalifa Haftar, who already controls much of the country’s east. Almost six weeks of fighting has killed more than 450 people, wounded more than 2,000 and displaced 66,000, according to the U.N.
Haftar, a naturalized U.S. citizen who rose in influence after helping oust Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, launched an offensive to wrest Tripoli from the Government of National Accord on April 4. Although European, U.S. and Gulf leaders have all endorsed the U.N.-backed administration, Haftar’s Libya National Army has received support from Egypt, the UAE, Russia and France. In a phone call with Haftar in April, President Trump appeared to signal a shift in U.S. policy, praising his role in fighting terrorism and talking of a “shared vision” for Libya’s future.
Magnum photographer Lorenzo Meloni first went to Libya after the uprising that led to the death of Gaddafi. His latest series of photographs from April and May depicts the exhaustion of fighters who have again been called to the front line. Many on the ground told him of the betrayal they felt after having been backed by U.S. airstrikes as they ousted ISIS from Sirte in 2016, only to be abandoned now. Libya has now become “a small Syria,” Meloni says. “There is fighting but no progress.”
A fighter from a brigade loyal to the GNA rests on the Ain Zara front line, south of Tripoli, in May.Lorenzo Meloni—Magnum PhotosA GNA fighter spots LNA positions on the front line to recapture the international airport of Tripoli in April.Lorenzo Meloni—Magnum PhotosShipping containers are used in a fortification on the Ain Zara front line in May.Lorenzo Meloni—Magnum PhotosGNA fighters on the Yarmouk front line, south of Tripoli, in May.Lorenzo Meloni—Magnum PhotosA GNA fighter during a battle to control a military base and its surroundings on the Yarmouk front line in May.Lorenzo Meloni—Magnum PhotosAn injured fighter is carried at a field hospital that stabilizes injured GNA forces on the Yarmouk front line in April.Lorenzo Meloni—Magnum PhotosA paramedic after a hard day of fighting, which led to the death of seven fighters loyal to the GNA, on the Wadi Rabie front line in May.Lorenzo Meloni—Magnum PhotosA school that welcomes people displaced by fighting in April.Lorenzo Meloni—Magnum PhotosA night battle for control of a military base and its surroundings in April.Lorenzo Meloni—Magnum PhotosA GNA sniper spots the LNA positions on the front line to recapture the international airport of Tripoli in April.Lorenzo Meloni—Magnum PhotosAn armored vehicle of fighters loyal to Haftar was destroyed by GNA troops in the Ain Zara area in April.Lorenzo Meloni—Magnum PhotosBullet casings on the Yarmouk front line in May.Lorenzo Meloni—Magnum PhotosA GNA fighter during the advance on the Ain Zara front line in April.Lorenzo Meloni—Magnum PhotosA group of vehicles, in a civilian area far from the fighting, that were burned after a GRAD rocket was launched by forces loyal to Haftar in Tripoli in April.Lorenzo Meloni—Magnum PhotosGNA fighters during a battle for control of a military base and its surroundings in April.Lorenzo Meloni—Magnum PhotosAn anti-war demonstration, where protesters accused France of supporting Haftar, in Tripoli's Martyrs' Square in April.Lorenzo Meloni—Magnum PhotosA cushion is placed behind an anti-aircraft gun on a front line south of Tripoli in May. Meloni said fighters will often spend the night on their vehicles.Lorenzo Meloni—Magnum PhotosA funeral is held for three GNA fighters in Martyrs' Square in April.Lorenzo Meloni—Magnum Photos
