Overview The establishment of a regional government in the east of the country went ahead this week.  This government is not supported by the central government in Tripoli and has grown out of the separatist movement in the east.

The extent of Libya’s deteriorating security conditions is most apparent in al-Rasheed street in the centre of the capital, Tripoli. Russian and Belgian arms are selling briskly. They range from pistols to the much sought-after AK-47, globally known as the Kalashnikov.

Abduction of Ali Zeidan by own security force points up divisions, with regular army and police units increasingly in opposition to powerful militias

Ali Zeidan was held for several hours by former rebel brigades who say they were working under orders from government.

Speaking on BBC World News America, Carnegie’s Frederic Wehrey discussed recent developments in Libya, including the abduction of the Prime Minister Ali Zeidan and the U.S. raid to capture senior al-Qaeda suspect Anas al-Liby. While there has been a real deterioration in security over the past nine months, Wehrey noted, the …

The American commando operation that snatched a suspected leader of Al Qaeda from his neighborhood in Tripoli, while successful, does not offer a permanent strategy to the threat from extremists in Libya. 

Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan has called on Western powers to help stop the spread of militancy in his country.

Libya has morphed into the Wild West of northern Africa just two years after the fall of the Gadhafi regime. In particular, the Libyan Desert has become a sanctuary for radical forces.