87. The Country And People Of Libya
General country information and links.Category Regional Africa libya Guides and Directories...... PoliSci Almanac Facts figures, executive, legislative, judicial, government,parties, economy, diplomacy About libya * Business * Culture * Education
http://www.hejleh.com/countries/libya.html |
Special Arab Files This page contains links to sites in Libya and Libya related sites.
For Middle East, North Africa, Arab and regional information visit Arab Countries Libya History
At various times in its history the territory that is now Libya was occupied by Carthage, Rome, Arabia, Morocco, Egypt, and Spain. It was part of the Ottoman Empire from 1551 to 1911, serving in the 18th cent. as a base for pirates who, in return for immunity, provided large revenues to the local ruler. Libya was seized by Italy in 1911, but Libyan resistance continued until the 1930s. During World War II, as an Italian colony, it was one of the main battlegrounds of N Africa (see North Africa, campaigns in), passing under an Anglo-French military government when the Axis was defeated in the area in 1943. In accordance with a UN decision, in 1951 the country became independent as the United Kingdom of Libya, with King Idris I as ruler.
Idris was ousted in 1969 in a coup d'etat led by Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi, who established an anti-Western dictatorship. British and American bases were closed in 1970, and unification was sought, unsuccessfully, with several other Arab countries. An implacable foe of Israel, Qaddafi used Libya's vast oil wealth to create an extensive social welfare system and to help support the Palestinian guerrilla movement, particularly radical elements. In 1979 Libya intervened in Uganda to help keep Idi Amin in power, and in 1981 it dispatched troops into neighboring Chad (Libya had occupied the disputed Aozou Strip, in N Chad, in 1973), withdrawing most of them later that year. Qaddafi's forces continued to take sides in Chadian fighting, eventually occupying much of N Chad, but they were pushed back somewhat in 1987. In 1990 the dispute over the Aozou Strip was submitted to the International Court of Justice. | |
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