The rise of “super militias,” which last  month triggered the worst spasm of violence in the Libyan capital Tripoli in four years, has exposed the weakness of Western efforts to stabilize Libya while creating an opening for the Islamic State to resurrect itself in North Africa.

Derna in eastern Libya has been the scene for fierce clashes since Sunday between Derna Protection Force and the self-styled army forces led by Khalifa Haftar.

Two armed groups engaged in heavy fighting in Wirshiffana region, southwest of Tripoli, on Friday. Local sources said the clashes broke out in Enjila and Awlad Issa districts between Brigade 55 led by Muammar Dawi and Brigade 3 led by Ramzi Al-Lifah.

The Man-Made River’s administration said water flow from Hasawna wells had been blocked after an assault by an armed group Wednesday.

As a number of conflicting and simultaneous narratives emerge, more news is emerging of the different possible reasons for the sudden lull in Tripoli’s militia war.

France said on Monday it wanted the UN Security Council to implement sanctions on militias involved in month-long clashes between rival factions in Libya’s capital Tripoli, which has undermined UN efforts to hold elections by year-end.

Half a million children are in “immediate danger” in Libya’s capital Tripoli due to fighting, the United Nations children’s fund UNICEF said on Monday.

In an interview, Emadeddin Badi talks about today’s Libya, which faces both civil war and state collapse.

The jihadist threat is not new to the Maghreb. However, the fallout of the 2011 Arab uprisings has fundamentally altered the political and security environment of North African countries. While states such as Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia witnessed an increase in deaths from jihadist attacks, others like Algeria and Morocco experienced a …

Islamic State is staging a resurgence in chaotic Libya, claiming more than a dozen attacks in the North African country this year and threatening to disrupt the flow of oil from one of the world’s most significant suppliers.