Over the summer, Italy began funneling cash and logistical support to two major militias in Sabratha after they agreed to stop their involvement in human trafficking and instead act as a police force against it, stopping migrant boats.
It began when a Libyan militia intercepted a group of human traffickers offshore. That confrontation has spiraled into a weeks-long battle among rival militias for control of a Libyan coastal city that has left dozens dead.
This is a war that started between human traffickers, then snowballed into an ideological and political one. But voices in Libya decried the deal, fearing that the salaries and supplies would enrich the militias and make them more powerful. The boost to one side threw off the balance of power in Sabratha.
We willingly destroyed the Country of Libya and the outcome is misery all over.
